2013 Interactive Media Awards


A Few Words from the Interactive Media Peer Group Executive Committee
For 2013, the PGEC proposed an expansion of our awards structure to reflect the industry-wide evolution in the programs considered for outstanding achievement. This proposal won the overwhelming approval of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and we are delighted to announce two exciting changes for Interactive Media for the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards.

As the Interactive Media industry has developed and grown over the 11-year history of the Interactive Media Awards, the PGEC has re-evaluated and evolved our Primetime Emmy Awards every year to keep pace, and to recognize the types of programs and the level of achievement we see in the industry each year. Today, we see a new degree of maturity and breadth in the Interactive Media projects entered in the Primetime Emmy Awards contest that now routinely goes beyond what we’ve seen in years past.

In brief, here are the changes for Interactive Media for the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards:

   • The addition of a new Category Award for OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE PROGRAM. This is a head-to-head competition among entries, resulting in a single, “must-give” award to the winner.

   • The expansion of our existing Juried Award for OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA to now include four Areas of Competition described below. Entries are evaluated by a jury panel of domain experts in each Area, and are awarded an Emmy based on individual excellence, rather than a head-to-head competition.

The PGEC believes this new structure represents a landmark advance in keeping our awards relevant and meaningful in our rapidly evolving industry.


This page describes the changes and new awards structure for Interactive Media for the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as submission requirements and entry instructions.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY as there is considerable detail in the descriptions.

UPLOAD YOUR SUPPORTING VIDEO AND PDF FILES HERE

Quick links:

I. OVERVIEW - AWARDS STRUCTURE

II. ELIGIBILITY

III. AWARDS DESCRIPTIONS

IV. SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY

V. THE ENTRY, EVALUATION AND VOTING PROCESS

VI. VIDEO TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

For common questions, check our FAQs:
• Category and Eligibility information FAQ
• Upload FAQ

Check back for our FAQ, coming soon.

Got other questions? Contact us at awards@interactiveemmys.com

Press inquires: Contact Laurel Whitcom whitcomb@emmys.org

 

 

I. OVERVIEW - AWARDS STRUCTURE

For 2013, the Interactive Media Peer Group is instituting both a new Emmy® Awards structure, and an updated requirements and submissions/voting process. Please read this entire description of the requirements and process for the award(s) for which you plan to enter, and don’t make any assumptions based on past years.

The new structure defines two distinct classes of Awards for Interactive Media.

An individual or identical team may enter a particular program or project for either the Category Award or a Juried Award, but not both.

For a Juried Award, entrant(s) must submit a given program or project into only one of the four Areas of Competition. Please carefully read the descriptions below to determine which is most relevant for your entry.

An individual or identical team may make multiple entries in either class of Award, so long as the entries are for different programs or projects.

The Awards are:
1. OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE PROGRAM (Category 38)

2. OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA
(Juried 39)
    Within the Juried Award, there are four Areas of Competition:

Please read below in Section III for detailed descriptions of the Category Award and the four Areas of Competition under Juried Awards.

 

II. ELIGIBILITY

The Interactive Media Emmy Awards recognize excellence in interactive media productions that extend or enhance the viewing experience of a television program or series, and in interactive media productions that stand alone as original storytelling experiences, which have been commercially deployed, domestically, in the period from June 1, 2012 - May 31, 2013.

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III. AWARDS DESCRIPTIONS


A. OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE PROGRAM (Category 38 )
One Emmy Award is given for the Category.

Emmy(s) awarded to the producer(s), organization(s) or team(s) responsible for an outstanding interactive experience associated with a linear program, or for an outstanding original interactive program.

Awarded for the overall creative excellence in the interactive media components of a program or series, or for a wholly original interactive program. Content beyond passive, linear television viewing will be considered, including programming and features that provide access to additional information, extend plots or characters into the interactive realm, create cross-platform environments, or contain elements facilitating individual or community participation and interaction.

Each entry is limited to a maximum of five entrants. Entrants may either be all individuals or all companies, but not a mix of individuals and companies.

 


B. OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA (Juried 39)
One, more than one, or no award given in each of four Areas of Competition.

Each entry in each of the four Areas of Competition is limited to a maximum of four entrants. Entrants may be individuals, companies or both.


PLEASE READ CAREFULLY THE DESCRIPTION OF EACH OF THE FOUR AREAS OF COMPETITION.


39a. Multiplatform Storytelling
Awarded to the individual or creative team responsible for the creation of story-driven audience interactive experiences related to, or integrated with, a linear program. Such experiences must exist on at least one additional platform other than the linear platform, complementing the storyline of the program. Requires active input from the audience that impacts/influences the story world of the program.

Multiplatform interactive storytelling presents the opportunity for the audience to interact and participate, within a story world established by the content creators, across one or more additional platforms that complement the linear program.

Examples of interactivity may include such features as: behind-the-scenes dialogue with creators, exchanges with characters, tasks that unlock content and drive story forward or provide back-story or richer mythology, social collaboration and interactive ancillary content.

Platforms that enable interactivity may include: Mobile (Smartphone or Tablet), Personal Desktop/Laptop Computer, Over-the-Top set-top box or Console, or Internet- Connected/Smart TV and others.


39b. Original Interactive Program
Emmy(s) awarded to the individual or creative team responsible for the creative excellence of a wholly original, standalone interactive media program or series. Such storytelling experiences may not be derivative of, or related to, an existing linear program or series, and must stand on their own in terms of storytelling, characters and setting. In these productions, the interactive components are integral to the work, and emphasize immersion and engagement in the storyline of the program itself.

Examples include such elements as:

  • Crowd-sourced and/or user-generated narratives
  • Interactive story competitions, user-developed story lines, or other breakthrough uses of interactive narrative
  • Digital media applications that drive story immersion, engagement, or other enhancements in narrative, character development and settings.


39c. Social TV Experience
Emmy(s) awarded to the individual or creative team responsible for the creation of a social experience that supports audience communication and interaction for a linear program or related content. Such experiences extend the storytelling of the program into the fan community, emphasizing the use of social media platforms and/or original online features, tools or apps that harness social interaction. Entries provide opportunities for audience members to interact with each other in an experience created specifically for a program, sharing unique information, interactions and reactions to the show’s content and characters. These elements must go beyond interactive features natively available on the social platform(s).

Examples of interactivity include such features as: text chat/comments, voice/video communication, sharing of content, contextual awareness, recommendations, ratings, quizzes and polls, as well as others.


39d. User Experience and Visual Design
Emmy(s) awarded to the individual or creative team responsible for the creation of an outstanding user experience design for users of an interactive media experience supporting a linear program or series, or digital platform for viewing such programs or series. User experience is defined as incorporating information design, interaction design, interface design, visual design and graphics for the interactive features of the content presented in the experience. Ultimately, winning entries provide superior usability and performance on the intended platform(s) for the interactive experience.

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IV. SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY

There are three steps in the entry process:

1. Fill out the entry form
Fill out the official 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards entry form online. A link to the form may be found at www.emmys.tv/awards/65th-primetime-emmy-awards

The entry form includes an area for you to provide your written description of the submitted entry per the requirements detailed for each award below.

 

2. Submit your entry fee
• Individuals - For an individual or group of individuals submitting as the Official Entrant
, the fee is $400. (Note that there may be five (5) individuals maximum for the Category Award, four (4) individuals maximum for Juried Awards.)

NOTE: This fee is waived for any Television Academy member within an individual/group entry. For example, if there is one entrant, the entry fee for that person is $400, and it is waived. If there are two entrants, the entry fee for each person is $200, and it is waived for each member. If there are three entrants, the entry fee is $133 for each person, and it is waived for each member. If there are four entrants, the entry fee is $100 for each person, and it is waived for each member. If there are five entrants (Category Award only), the entry fee is $80 for each person, and it is waived for each member.

• Companies/Partnerships - For a company or partnership submitting as the Official Entrant, the fee is $600. (Note that a partnership may consist of up to five (5) companies for the Category Award, up to four (4) companies for Juried Awards.)

NOTE: This fee is waived for any Television Academy member within a company/partnership entry. For example, if there is one company, the entry fee for that company is $600, and it is waived. If there are two companies, the entry fee for each company is $300, and it is waived for each member making an entry on behalf of his/her company. If there are three companies, the entry fee is $200 for each company, and it is waived for each member making an entry on behalf of his/her company. If there are four companies, the entry fee is $150 for each company, and it is waived for each member making an entry on behalf of his/her company. If there are five companies (Category Award only), the entry fee is $120 for each company, and it is waived for each member making an entry on behalf of his/her company.

 

3. Create your supporting materials, and submit online
Once your entry has been processed and the information approved by you, you will assigned an entrant ID and be provided with login information to submit your supporting documentation and video demonstration through the Academy’s For Your Consideration portal. You may then upload the following supporting materials:

For the Category Award - All entries for the Category Award are required to include a linear, non-interactive video that demonstrates the viewer’s user experience and clearly details the interactive features and functionality of the submitted achievement. In addition, Category Award entrants may optionally submit a single PDF document containing additional supporting materials such as wireframes, screenshots, visual design comps, etc. to further illustrate the features and functionality of the submitted work.

For Juried Awards - Entrants for Juried Awards may optionally include a single supporting PDF document as described in the paragraph above, and/or a supporting video with their submissions. Neither of these elements is required for Juried Awards.

Further details are provided in the appropriate part of Section V below.

Deadline for Entry
All entries must be completed online by Friday, May 3, 2013, 6:00pm PT. All supporting video submissions must be uploaded by Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 6:00pm PT.

NOTE: All video recordings, images, and written comments supporting the entries automatically become part of the Interactive Television archives at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. Primetime Emmy Award Nominated entries may be displayed as part of Academy of Television Arts & Sciences marketing and membership programs. It is the responsibility of all Primetime Emmy Awards Nominees to clear rights for limited promotional use by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Interactive Media Peer Group. Additionally Primetime Emmy Award Nominees may be asked to participate in industry trade events sponsored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is a nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of telecommunication arts and sciences and to fostering creative leadership in the telecommunication industry.

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V. THE ENTRY, EVALUATION AND VOTING PROCESS

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY THE APPROPRIATE SECTION FOR THE AWARD AREA IN WHICH YOU ARE ENTERING.

UPLOAD YOUR SUPPORTING VIDEO AND PDF FILES HERE

Quick links:

A. PROCESS - OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE PROGRAM

B. PROCESS - OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA


A. PROCESS - OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE PROGRAM (Category 38)

Each entry is limited to a maximum of five (5) entrants. Entrants may either be all individuals or all companies, but not a mix of individuals and companies.

For the OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE PROGRAM (Category) Award, the entry and voting process will look similar to that of recent years, but with some important changes.

1. ENTRY ELEMENTS
Each entry will consist of two required elements and one optional element.

Required elements:
i. A Written Description of no more than 3000 characters (approx. 600 words)
ii. A Video Demonstration no more than three (3) minutes in length.

Optional element:
iii. A Supporting Document of additional visual materials.

The Written Description is provided at the time the entry is submitted, and should include discussion of:

  • The Program - A brief background of the linear content that is the anchor or source material for the interactive piece.
  • The Goals - A description of the overall goals and strategy of the interactive piece.
  • The Interactivity - An explanation of the features, functionality and user experience of the interactive piece.

The Video Demonstration is a video walkthrough of the actual audience experience, highlighting a typical user scenario, showing design, audience flow, and interactivity. The demo should emphasize interactivity – tasks, content contribution, social media integrations, augmented reality, etc. – that furthers the involvement of the audience in the world of the linear program and, in some cases, with each other.

The optional Supporting Document is a single PDF file containing visual elements such as wireframes, flow diagrams, screenshots, design comps, etc. that you feel further illustrate the goals, experience and execution of the project.

If you wish to include URLs/links to websites, microsites, etc. as additional supporting material, these should be included in your Written Description.

 


2. VIDEO REQUIREMENTS
Entrants must submit a video of no more than three (3) minutes in length. The purpose of the video is to provide a walkthrough of the actual audience experience for benefit of the Interactive Media Peer Group voters. The video should be focused on illustrating a typical user scenario, showing design, audience flow, and interactivity of the entry. The demo should emphasize interactivity (tasks, content contribution, social media integrations, augmented reality, etc.) that furthers audience involvement in the world of the linear program and, in some cases, with each other.

The Interactive Media Peer Group Executive Committee will apply a strict review standard for each submitted video to ensure that it contains a true demonstration of the key features and typical user experience of the project, and is not a promotional, marketing, sales or sizzle video.

It is strongly recommended that entrants limit the degree of production “slickness” that has crept into entries in recent years – including the gratuitous use of elements and techniques that do not directly support the demonstration of the audience’s interactive experience. Video submissions that appear to be primarily marketing or promotional trailers for the program will also be disqualified.

In particular, your video should limit non-relevant use of:

  • Music and Sound FX – some music and sound FX are permitted, so long as they serve the demonstration, or are integral to the interactive experience itself.
  • Show clips and talent participation – avoid using talent or show clips in any way that does not directly relate or pertain to the interactive experience. For example, using the star of the linear program to narrate the demonstration is acceptable; isolated shots of the star from the linear program purely for entertainment purposes are not.
  • Motion Graphics – avoid using motion graphics for other than simple titling, unless they are within or are part of the interactive experience, or are required to illustrate the experience.

Videos will be strictly held to the 3-minute length limit, as well as the technical formatting requirements defined in Section VI, Video Technical Specifications below.

Remember, this is not about selling your product, but to show a clear and accurate representation of the interactive media experience. Your work should speak for itself! Any video not adhering to these requirements will be rejected and the entry will be disqualified unless replaced by a video that does comply.

Please check back after April 15th for complete upload instructions.

 

3. THE VOTING PROCESS
Qualifying entries for the OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE PROGRAM (Category) Award will be made available for viewing on the Academy’s For Your Consideration website, and will be voted on by the entire Interactive Media Peer Group to determine Nominees. The nominated entries will be reviewed by a Blue Ribbon Panel of industry experts whose votes will determine the winner of the Category Emmy Award. Unless there is a tie in the voting, there will be exactly one Emmy awarded in the Category.

The Emmy winner will be announced at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards Ceremony in September.

 

4. EVALUATION CRITERIA
Interactive Media Peer Group judging for the Category Award will be based on the following criteria:

  • 
Creative Achievement
    Superior creative achievements exhibit a compelling overall vision, masterful execution, consistent integration of elements, and the fulfillment of the goals expressed in your written description.
  • 
User Experience
    Interactive media scenarios should provide user experiences that are easy to navigate, flexible, responsive, robust, and rewarding. Each element of the whole should be seamlessly integrated and optimized for the intended platform(s).
  • 
Visual Design and Interface
    The overall look and feel of entries should be attractive, intuitive, and consistently implemented. Graceful integration of layout and navigation elements, palettes, graphics, video, audio, social networking opportunities, and other features are considered essential to audience enjoyment and usability.
  • 
Goal Fulfillment
    Superior examples of interactive programming set and fulfill goals that are visionary, appropriate for the audience, and that exhibit winning business practices.
  • 
Enhancing the Experience
    Entries associated with linear programming should extend and enhance the viewer experience, and provide interactive opportunities for viewers including but not limited to: acquiring additional information, communicating with characters or hosts, playing games, engaging other users, submitting user-generated content, voting, commenting and/or other ways of directly engaging the user in the program or series.

    • Entries not associated with linear programming should stand alone as storytelling experiences, and provide interactive opportunities for viewers, including such elements as crowd-sourced storytelling or content generation, online story competitions, user-customized story lines and other breakthrough uses of interactive media that emphasize immersion, engagement, and enhancement of the narrative, characters and setting.

  • Innovation Factor
    Innovative integration of new technologies or techniques influences the evolution of interactive media, elevating the profile for trend-setters, informing the discourse among producers, and providing audiences with new modes of engaging.
  • Advancing Interactive Media
    Superior achievements reflect the constantly evolving state of today’s entertainment landscape, and advance the industry by providing interactive experiences that are fresh, engaging, relevant, commercially viable and engage a large audience.
  • Overall Excellence
    Emmy-winning entries exhibit overall vision, coherence and interactive and creative excellence.

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B. PROCESS - OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA (Juried 39)

One, more than one, or no award given in each Area of Competition.

Each entry in each of the four Areas of Competition is limited to a maximum of four entrants. Entrants may be individuals and/or companies.

Please read carefully the descriptions of the four Areas of Competition above to determine which is the most appropriate for your entry.

1. ENTRY ELEMENTS
Each entry will consist of one required element and two optional elements.

Required elements:
i. A Written Description of no more than 5000 characters (approx. 1000 words)

Optional element:
ii. A Supporting Document of additional visual materials.
iii. A Video Demonstration no more than three (3) minutes in length.

The Written Description is provided at the time the entry is submitted, and should include discussion of:

  • The Program - A brief background of the linear content that is the anchor or source material for the interactive piece.
  • The Goals - A description of the overall goals and strategy of the interactive piece.
  • The Interactivity - An explanation of the features, functionality and user experience of the interactive piece.

The optional Supporting Document is a single PDF file containing visual elements such as wireframes, flow diagrams, screenshots, design comps, etc. that you feel further illustrate the goals, experience and execution of the project.

The optional Video Demonstration is a video walkthrough of the actual audience experience, highlighting a typical user scenario, showing design, audience flow, and interactivity. The demo should emphasize interactivity – tasks, content contribution, social media integrations, augmented reality, etc. – that furthers the involvement of the audience in the world of the linear program and, in some cases, with each other.

Neither the Supporting Document and Video Demonstration are required for Juried Awards. Entrants may choose at their discretion to include one, both, or neither.

If you wish to include URLs/links to websites, microsites, etc. as additional supporting material, these should be included in your Written Description.

 

2. VIDEO REQUIREMENTS
If a video is submitted it must adhere to the same requirements and specifications as for the Category Award, described above.

 

3. THE JURY PROCESS
A Jury of domain experts in the particular Area of Competition will evaluate qualifying entries. The entries are assessed individually and independently, and some may be selected as Finalists. The primary purpose of the initial entry is to provide sufficient evidence of the high quality of the submitted achievement to warrant selection as a Finalist by the Jury, with the opportunity to present a live demonstration of the achievement to the Jury.

Live Presentations (for selected Finalists only)
This year, in order to reflect the advancements taking place in our industry in technology platforms and in the sophistication of user experiences, and to maintain the integrity of the Primetime Emmy Award in Interactive Media, entrants selected as Finalists under the Juried Awards will be required to demonstrate the actual user audience experience to the panel of Jurors via live walkthough. (This will be done in person, or via video-conference, WebEx or Skype.) The Jury may require Finalists to provide additional supporting material as part of the presentation.

Presentations by selected Finalists will be limited to 10 minutes, immediately followed by Q&A session with the Jurors. Invited Finalists will be provided with any additional details needed for their presentation, and may also confirm the availability of appropriate technical capabilities they may need.

Your presentation will be your opportunity to fully demonstrate creative excellence in your Area of Competition. You may incorporate video, audio and graphics that best showcase the audience/user experience. Remember, you are walking the Jurors through the best-case user experience, highlighting what you would like them to see.

This will be a live presentation, not a sizzle reel or marketing/sales pitch. Again, the objective is to demonstrate the creative excellence of the actual interactive experience for individual audience participants.

Directly following your presentation, the Jurors will have the opportunity to ask questions. Your presenter(s) therefore should be well prepared to answer questions regarding any relevant details of the programming and applications.

Juried Awards are non-competitive. The Jury evaluates each Finalist individually and independently, rather than head-to-head, to determine if it is an Emmy winner. Note that there may be one, more than one, or no winner in each of the four Areas of Competition.

Emmy winners in the Juried Awards will be announced prior to the Creative Arts Emmy Awards Ceremony in September.

 

4. EVALUATION CRITERIA
Each Jury of domain experts that comprise the panels will set their own evaluation criteria and process based on their knowledge of the Area of Competition, and on the entries received.

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VI. VIDEO TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Please check back after April 15th for video upload instructions.

Video Demonstrations submitted with entries as described above must be in one of the following acceptable digital video formats:

      File Extension File Format
.mp4, .f4v H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10),
MPEG-4 Part 14 (recommended)

.mov QuickTime multimedia format

.avi Windows video format

.ogv Ogg video container format (used in some HTML5 video)

Entries will be transcoded into the MP4 media type to be displayed by our secure, online Brightcove Video Player that will be used during Peer Group and Jury review and balloting.

Depending on a clip’s original proportion (aspect ratio), it will be scaled to fit our player marquee: 4:3 clips will be sized at 720x540 pixels and 16:9 clips will be 960x540 pixels. It is recommended that you submit your original video at one of these two sizes, based on your preferred display aspect ratio, for best results.

Clips should be encoded at the highest possible quality that results in a file size of less than 2GB, the maximum allowable upload size. Bit rates need not exceed 10 Mb/sec (megabits per second) as our transcoded rates will be in the 3 Mb/sec range.

Quicktime MOVs as well as MPEG4 (.mp4) file types compressed with the H.264 codec are strongly preferred.

Deinterlacing your source video when compressing into a lossy compressor is highly recommended. We cannot remove field artifacts once they are rendered into a clip as they are no longer available as individual fields within a single file.

Final Compression Settings and Formats
Uploaded clips are transcoded to the following format settings. Clips submitted within these specifications should not require transcoding.


      Media type MPEG4 (.mp4) files
Compressor family   H.264
Deinterlacing “on” / Field dominance set appropriate to source

Bit Rates 3 Mb/sec (2808K for video / 192K for stereo audio)


Frame Size 4:3 aspect ratio = 720x540 pixels

16:9 aspect ratio = 960x540 pixels


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