Before An Oscar, A Bennett: Young Filmmakers Receive Custom Bennett Awards at The Student Academy Awards
Bennett Awards was excited to recently get to team up and create an award with the organization that bestows one of the most famous and quintessential awards in history: The Oscars. That’s right, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences came to us with a design for their Student Academy Awards (SAA), and we were honored to be able to bring their vision to life to honor up-and-coming filmmakers.
Actualizing their dream design for their custom award was actually not the most straightforward or simple task, but luckily our designers and consultants were up for the task, resourced with the experience, creativity, and communication skills to make this dream possible. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was excited to find out we had the insight and expertise to actualize their vision, and indeed, we knew right away that we would have to modify their initial design, but only slightly. They had initially wanted the awards to be 2 inches thick, but we knew from experience that a thinner depth of acrylic would be best so that the cutout shape they wanted in the middle of the award wouldn’t be visually warped. It was important for this cutout figure to be clear, too, because it is in fact an outline of the famous Oscars’ statuette that these students certainly aspire to receive in three-dimensional form one day. The final design ultimately only required taking off a ¼ inch, and still fully captured the desired effect on behalf of the initial designers.
In addition to the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences holds many other awards ceremonies throughout the year honoring many specific components of film. Among them are the Student Academy Awards (SAA) and the Scientific & Technical Awards (Sci-Tech). For the Student Academy Awards in particular, the organization wanted to make the awards and the ceremony feel more elevated and exciting. They knew that a great way to enhance an awards experience is with a truly impressive and unique award.
One way they envisioned these custom awards feeling more premium was through the recipients’ names being displayed subtly, so as not to distract from the centerpiece itself. We found a sleek solution by engraving the aluminum bases before powder-coating them in gold, silver, and bronze, respectively. Despite looking luxurious, these aluminum bases are actually significantly lighter than traditional marble bases, which also saves on the cost of shipping to London, where the awards ceremony was being held.
The Student Academy Awards is an annual film competition for students from colleges and universities around the world, now entering its 52nd year. The winners receive awards and cash grants after submitting films in Animation, Documentary, Live Action Narrative, and Alternative/Experimental. Sixty-seven past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive Oscar nominations and fifteen have won or shared awards, including Pete Doctor, Robert Zemeckis, Patricia Riggen, Patricia Cardozo, and Spike Lee.
Bennett Awards is honored to be a part of the recognition and motivation for young filmmakers who are making cinematic history. We hope the recipients see the same artistry and excellence in their films reflected in the elegant custom awards they are bestowed.