Video Award - Important information

Bird Photographer of the Year will now celebrate both photography and videography, with the addition of a brand new Video Award.

Read below for some important information about how this award will work.

Who is eligible to enter this award?

This award was created with the aim of supporting and celebrating upcoming cinematographers. With that in mind, there are some restrictions on who is eligible to enter.

The Video Award is open to those ages 18 years old or more, and who have 3 or fewer major broadcast credits. We are classifying this as a production credit with a national or international broadcaster or streaming service where you are credited as either a first or second camera operator. Camera assistant roles that do not have a large shooting component will not count towards this quota.

Entry specifications

The Video Award costs 1 entry credit to enter. There are some important specifications to ensure you adhere to for your submission:

  • Your entry must be no more than 3 minutes long;

  • All clips used in your video must be your own, and you must own the copyright to this footage. If your submission contains footage that is owned by a third-party, your entry will be disqualified;

  • You may use any of the following tracks for use in your competition entry only. These are not to be used outside of the BPOTY competition.

  • You may purchase and use royalty-free music of your own choice for your submission. Rights-managed licenses are not permitted. We will require you to submit a copy of your license if you are successful.

A successful submission will:

  • Form a strong sequence, rather than be a collection of unrelated clips;

  • Focus on cinematography and video skills (having a story is a bonus, and should be in addition to good camera skills). Featuring as an on-screen presenter is acceptable, but the focus should be on video skills.

Some guidelines for producing your video, but not essential for success, are:

  • Shoot in at least 1080p resolution;

  • Shoot with a base rate of 23.98, 25, or 29.98 fps.