RULES FOR THE AMPS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SOUND FOR A TELEVISION DRAMA

1. ELIGIBILITY:

Any Television* Drama or Drama Series released and broadcast in the UK between 1st January and 31st December in a given year will be eligible for the year’s AMPS Television Drama Awards.

A TV Drama** shall be defined as based on a single theme or story line, which is resolved within the piece. It can consist of one or more parts. ~

A TV Drama Series shall be defined as multiple episodes with an ongoing theme, storyline and characters presented under the same title with continuity of production supervision.

*Television is hereafter abbreviated to TV.

**All references hereafter to TV Drama will include TV Drama Series.

The Award shall be in the form of five identical trophies for the same TV Drama, with appropriate inscriptions on the base.

2. ELIGIBLE LIST:

a) Throughout a given year, all fully paid up Members are entitled and encouraged to submit titles for entry into the eligible list. These may include titles they have worked on as well as dramas they have viewed and consider worthy of submission for the TV Drama Sound Award.

b) The closing date for submissions will be as per the Awards Schedule Timetable.

c) Any submissions received after the closing date will not be eligible.

d) The Awards Group will compile and verify the Eligible List from the submitted titles. This list will be passed to the Adjudication Panel in accordance with the Scheduled Timetable.

3. PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR AWARDS:

a) One Head of Department from each discipline.

• • Production Sound Mixer
• • Supervising Dialogue/ADR Editor
• • Supervising Sound Editor or Sound Designer 
• • Lead Re-Recording Mixer or Dubbing Mixer

b) The Production Sound Mixer may nominate a Key 1st Assistant Sound, who will also receive an Award.

On-screen credits are used to determine eligibility. In the event of a dispute about eligibility, The Adjudication Panel may consult the TV Drama’s Producer or Director or other source for clarification. 

In the event of a TV Series being Nominated, the credited crew on the majority of episodes will be used to determine the eligible crew HODs.

4. AWARDS BALLOTS AND TIMETABLE:

a) AMPS Council will annually agree a Secret Electronic Ballot System for all Awards voting.

b) AMPS Council will annually agree an Awards Schedule Timetable to fit in with other Awards ceremonies and AMPS events.

c) AMPS Council will annually appoint the AMPS TV Awards Group to organise the awards for the given year.

5. ADJUDICATION PANEL:

a) AMPS Council will annually co-opt an Adjudication Panel consisting of no fewer than three AMPS Full members, on the conditions that:

• i. They are not eligible for an AMPS TV Sound Award in the current year. 
• ii. They have made no artistic or creative contribution to the soundtracks of any of the eligible TV Dramas in the current year.
• iii. They are not associated in any way with any individual or company that has made an artistic or creative contribution to any of the TV Dramas on the eligible list for the current year.

b) This panel will conduct the ballots and associated business in strict confidence using the chosen Electronic Ballot System. In accordance with the Awards rules and Scheduled Timetable, and will also be responsible for:

• i. As soon as Nominations ballot is closed – verification of the four HOD’s and Key 1st Assistant Sound for each of the Nominated titles.
• ii. As soon as the Final Ballot is closed – verification of crew members eligible for Certificates of Merit.
• iii. Release of the results and announcements in accordance with the agreed Awards Schedule Timetable.

NOTES ON VERIFYING PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR AWARD:

On-screen credits are used to determine eligibility. In the event of a dispute about eligibility, the Adjudication Panel may consult the Film’s Producer or Director or other source, in confidence, for clarification.

In the event the Supervising Dialogue/ADR Editor is not identified in the credits, the advice of the Lead Re-recording Mixer or Dubbing Mixer may be sought.

The Supervising Sound Editor or Sound Designer, shall be deemed the key person responsible for supervising the preparation of the Sound Fx. 

The Lead Re-recording Mixer or Dubbing Mixer shall be deemed the person responsible for the dialogue in the final mix.

The Key 1st Assistant Sound may be found to be credited as Boom Operator.

The Adjudication Panel may call upon assistance from the Television Awards Group and Council in the verification processes.

The Adjudication Panel’s decision is final.

6. NOMINATION BALLOT:

a) The Adjudication Panel will conduct a ballot among the AMPS voting membership to determine the Nominated titles from the Eligible List.

b) The five TV Drama titles that achieve the most votes under the ballot rules will be declared Nominated.

c) The Adjudication Panel will verify the eligibility of the Nominees for the TV Dramas in strict confidence.

d) The Nominated TV Dramas will be announced in accordance with the Awards Schedule Timetable.

e) The Nominees will each receive a Nomination Certificate.

7. BALLOT FOR AWARD:

a) On the date specified in the Awards Schedule Timetable, a secret electronic ballot will open among all those AMPS Members entitled to vote according to the general Constitution Rules current at that time, to choose the winner from the five Nominated TV Dramas.

b) Voting members will have one vote each. The TV Drama with the most votes will be declared the winner.  The ballot shall close on the date predetermined in the Awards Timetable.

c) In the event of a tie, the Drama that received the most votes in Nomination Ballot will be declared the winner.

d) The winning TV Drama will be announced on the date specified in the Awards Schedule Timetable.

8. CERTIFICATES OF MERIT:

Certificates of Merit may be presented to crew members of the winning film who have creatively contributed to the winning soundtrack. The HODs will be asked to suggest such crew members with a brief submission outlining their contributions. HODs will also be asked to provide relevant contact details. The suggested list of crew members will be verified by the Adjudication Panel. These may be in a form such as:-

Certificate of Merit in recognition of your contribution to the AMPS TV Drama Award 20?? winning soundtrack  – title’….     

9. PRESENTATIONS:

The nominees and winners will be presented with their Certificates and Awards at an AMPS event to be determined.

10. GENERAL:

a) Awards rule may be changed annually by agreement of the AMPS Awards Group and Council.

b) The AMPS Fellow Members may be consulted for advice in the event of any disputes.

c) In exceptional circumstances, where more than one candidate for a particular category can be established and verified as having equal creative input, additional crew members may be honoured.

DOWNLOAD TV DRAMA RULES

Amended March 2021