Annie Awards: Some Questions About Teams

This year, we’ve instituted the possibility of nominating teams of creators in many more of our Annie categories. We did this because 1) for many production pipelines, the creation of animation has become more collaborative and team based over the years and 2) our Annie members, both studio groups and individuals have asked for this. It is important to note that, by allowing teams to be nominated, we are not excluding individual nominations as well, but, as with any new development, we have had a number of questions about team nominations. Here are the most asked questions and some answers.

Question: Is there a limit on how many people can be submitted as part of a “team” for the various achievement categories that allow teams? Could a whole department be submitted if they all performed the hands-on work?

Answer: We strongly advise that if a team builds to more than four or five members, the submitting body may want to revise the process by which the team is being selected. In that case, we suggest that selection criteria be limited to principal creative personnel.

Question:  The team descriptions say that the members must have worked in the capacity of, and received appropriate screen credit on the submitted project. What are “appropriate screen credits?” Why not just list what these credits are in each category?

Answer: We did consider doing just that, but there are literally hundreds of credits that may apply in one category or another and different studios may have different job titles for similar work. By trying to specify credits, we likely could not cover every eventuality or description and would, inadvertently cause some folks to be omitted simply because their particular job title was not listed. Therefore, we have left the definition of “appropriate screen credits” up to the submitter’s discretion and common sense. If, however, the credits of a team seem erroneous or out of the ordinary, we will contact the submitter for clarification.

Question: Is there a limit on how many submissions a single film can make per category?

Answer: There is no limit. For example, you could enter separate submissions for several character animators who worked different characters or sequences in a single film.

Question: But if we are submitting a team for one of the categories, can we submit only that one team in a category?

Answer: On any given project, you can separately submit more than one team in a category, if each team was responsible for different work on the project. What you cannot do is submit a team, and then separately submit an individual for the same work.

Question: If our team wins an Annie, will each member get a trophy?

Answer: No, only one trophy will be awarded per category. It will be inscribed with the name of the project and the category in which it won. The team members will get certificates and, later, can order individual trophies if desired. Individual trophies will add the person’s name and screen credit to the inscription.

Question: How about acceptance speeches? Will each team member make a speech?

Answer: No. While the entire team will be announced and the members will be invited to come to the stage, we will ask that, ahead of time, all of the nominated teams appoint a single member to speak at the Annie Award ceremony, should their team win and Award.

If you’ve additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at submissionshelp@annieawards.org or gretchen@annieawards.org 

To download a PDF version of page click here: 40thAnniesTeamsFAQ