Competing in a Video Competition

John and Tammy Montgomery, Home Video Studio, Newark, Ohio

This is the time of year that our Home Video Studio Owners once again begin to gather up all of the videos they have produced during the last year or so and enter into our annual competition: the Hanley Awards; in fact, this will be the 18th Annual Hanley Awards. Hard to believe… time flies.co

So when you first hear about Home Video Studio and you begin to put together what we are about and what we do for HVS owners, customers, and the general public... well it’s a lot to chew on. I always say that new owners only see the tip of the iceberg before they sign on. There is just so much good stuff about Home Video Studio. That’s why I sometimes refer to everything HVS as "The Home Video Studio Universe." 

Since 2001, we have produced the Hanley Awards. This is an international competition for Home Video Studio Network Owners – similar to the Oscars. Seriously! Each Hanley Award is 24k Gold and is made by the same company that makes the Oscars. We shell out $226.00 for each award and produce an elaborate ceremony with all the trimmings. 

Find a way to compete. Join the club. Enter the fray. Jump in the pool. Get wet. You won’t sink.

I am not sure if you have ever competed in an awards competition. Let me tell you something… when you do… if you do… if you enter and compete in any competition, you will get better at what you do just by virtue of entering and competing. Competition is a wonderful forge. It makes you stronger. 

I mean we all have goals… right? Your goal may be to get into the video business. It might be to become a filmmaker or to make a movie. If you want to get better at your craft, find a way to compete. 

So eighteen years ago, we began with the first annual Hanley Awards held at the Hard Rock Hotel - Universal Studios, Florida. We did not call them the Hanleys that night. I don’t have that kind of ego. They were referred to as the first Annual Home Video Studio Awards Competition. Seven Owners attended and I even gave awards to my family that night. 

Several years later Studio Owner Andy Conte coined the moniker: “Hanley Awards” and it stuck. We made it a Black Tie event and the rest is history. 

This year we have eighteen categories:

1. Best Photo Video Keepsake
2. Best Sports Video
3. Best Documentary
4. Cut and Paste Award for Editing
5. Best TV/Web Video
6. Best Video Production
7. Best Event Video
8. Best Short Video 
9. Best Long Form Video
10. Best Memorial Video 
11. Best Company Promo 
12. Best Studio Promo/Trailer/Tag
13. Best Rookie Video
14. Best Use of Post Production
15. “Dr. Strangelove” Award
16. Best DVA Authoring
17. Best Backlot Video
18. President's Award - "Best of Show" (Selected from above)

This summer on the evening of Saturday, July 28, HVS owners will once again convene, this time at the Hilton El Conquistador Golf and Tennis Resort in Tucson, Arizona. We will see who wins but to win you have to enter! (to enter you have to become an owner…). Get the drift?

What's good for the goose...

Several years ago yours truly decided to enter the Sundance Film Festival. It took a huge effort. I spent about 200 hours editing together an eleven-minute film from about nine hundred hours of video. Yep, you heard that right… nine hundred hours of video. I did not win. I was not nominated. But I got better at my craft. I found out what worked and what would not work. Plus, by virtue of entering I found myself with a professional listing on IMBD. That was cool. 

My point with this email/blog is this. Find a way to compete. Join the club. Enter the fray. Jump in the pool. Get wet. You won’t sink.

Don't let fear hold you back. 

You will be better for the process. 

May the Force be with You.

Robert Hanley

Producer/Director/Editor

President & Founder Home Video Studio

317-358-5932