Award miss, business cards on the way

I won't be taking any hardware home this year. I submitted part three of my autism documentary series (I considered part two to be too similar to part one and didn't want to compete with myself for the same category) for the ACM Hometown Video Awards in the Documentary Public Awareness category and it lost to a group in Washington. $40 went down the drain either way; that's the fee I have to pay to ACM in order for my program to get accepted for consideration. I find it somewhat strange since the production quality for later episodes outdid the first program. I doubt I'll get judging forms back; I didn't last year even though I won, so I'll likely be left to wonder what was missing that catapulted my first program to an award win. However, I've entered a new realm as I pursue other subjects outside of autism. Perhaps a fresh topic will help in 2010, but I've got nine months to worry about that and seven more months to submit programming.

My co-worker asked how awards would change my life. I don't think it does in a drastic measure, but an award from an organization people don't laugh at does help get your name out there as a qualified producer, reporter, or whatever you end up doing. Unfortunately, the process is subjective. That's the downside with art. In the end, people do it because they love it, but there is a thirst for recognition beyond the pat on the back from mom and dad, theoretically speaking.

For the organization I work for part-time, it was a down year for SPNN. They only took home one win in the Empowerment category, youth division for the Youth Internship Program TV special. The Youth program consistently performs well at the Hometown Awards, which remains a bright spot.

On the bright side, my multiracial documentary will be screened on June 12th. I can't be there because I'll be working on another shoot that weekend, plus the Mixed Roots festival came up pretty quickly and I couldn't afford travel costs. I hope to attend next year. Not quite an award win, but if my show gets business and/or attention up here in flyover country, I'll consider it a win.

I went online to Vistaprint and ordered my first set of business cards. It will take about three weeks to process them and ship them here, which works out well since I don't anticipate any situations in the next three weeks where I'll need them. It also gives me something to look forward to when I get back from Milwaukee. They're basic for now. I want to keep them simple as I look for the best deal.

Documentary updates to come soon.