Appendix E: Report of the Best Dramatic Presentation Award Study Committee
Report of the Best Dramatic Presentation Award Study Committee
Since the committee was appointed last year, discussion has been taking place to determine if it's possible to develop a consensus opinion of what, if any, change should be made. During the fall, there was a lively discussion on the eGroups mailing list that Richard Russell set up. After a few months of brainstorming there, the committee started to narrow down the options.
The first vote was to determine the method that would be used to separate the existing Hugo into two categories. (A consensus was quickly reached that no more than one additional Hugo would be suggested by this group.)
The vote was between dividing the categories' entrants by: time (length of the presentation); whether the presentation appeared as a standalone production or part of a series; or whether the production first appeared in a theater or was broadcast; or no change,
On the second ballot (using preferential ballots), the Committee voted 10-3-0-3 to divide the productions by length of the presentation.
The next vote was to determine the break point in time used to divide the entries. The choices were 100 minutes, 90 minutes, 60 minutes and "other".
The Committee voted 9-3 to use 100 minutes as the dividing point.
The final vote was whether to recommend that the current Dramatic Presentation should be split into two new categories: longer than 100 minutes and shorter than 100 minutes; or to recommend that the current award be left unchanged.
The vote was 11-3 to recommend splitting the award.
The committee moves the adoption of the following motion:
1.5.1 The Long and Short of It
Moved, To amend portions of Article III of the WSFS Constitution to have the effect of splitting the existing Best Dramatic Presentation category into two categories, Long Form and Short Form, to regulate the administration of such categories, and for other purposes, as follows.
1. Strike out existing Section 3.3.6, "Best Dramatic Presentation."
3.3.6: Best Dramatic Presentation. Any production in any medium of dramatized science fiction, fantasy or related subjects which has been publicly presented for the first time in its present dramatic form during the previous calendar year.
2. Insert the following section after existing Section 3.3.5:
3.3.x: Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. Any production in any medium of dramatized science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects that has been publicly presented for the first time in its present dramatic form during the previous calendar year, with a complete running time of more than 100 minutes.
3. Insert the following section before existing Section 3.3.7
3.3.x: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. Any production in any medium of dramatized science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects that has been publicly presented for the first time in its present dramatic form during the previous calendar year, with a complete running time of 100 minutes or less.
4. Insert the following section after existing Section 3.2.5:
3.2.x: The Worldcon Committee shall not consider previews, promotional trailers, commercials, public service announcements, or other extraneous material when determining the length of a work.
5. Insert the following section after existing Section 3.2.6:
3.2.x: The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the work is within the lesser of twenty (20) minutes or twenty percent (20%) of the new category limits.
Committee List
Chris Barkley, Johnny Carruthers, Brenda Daverin, Vince Docherty, Paul Haggerty, Tim Illingworth, John Lorentz, Michael Mason, Craig Miller, Cheryl Morgan, Mary Morman, Skip Morris, Richard Russell, Sharon Sbarsky, Tom Schaad, Chris Shuldiner, Kevin Standlee, Gayle Surrette, Geoffrey Surrette, Lew Wolkoff
(signed)
John Lorentz
Chairman, Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo Award Study Committee