In this ever changing world, one thing is constant. Awards season. We've seen celebrities and Hollywood stars walk on the red carpet at the Golden globes as well as local TV favourites celebrating at the NTAs ( National television awards). What celebrities have been awarded with, talked about and worn has been documented at great length. And a lot of it has gone viral! These events have spurred excitement and controversy throughout the generations. The two most famous of which are both taking place this February – the Oscars (Academy Awards) and the Brit Awards.
These awards shows are loved by so many but a lot of us have no idea how the best films and songs are chosen and who calls the shots.
In the Academy awards, there are 6000 members who are eligible to nominate people and films in various categories. In order to be a member one has to have "achieved distinction in the motion picture arts and sciences". If you are a member you can nominate standard awards such as best film and awards relating to the field you have worked in (e.g. you can vote for best actor if you are an actor or best director if you are a director). Voting members are allowed to choose up to five nominees, the most popular of which become official nominees. The same thing happens when choosing the winner of each category but this time all 6000 members can vote once in all categories.
The method for choosing the Brit awards is a similar process. The official charts company sends all eligible records to the 'voting academy' which is made up of over a 1000 people who all work in the music industry. They vote individually to select their top 5 and again for the winner. However, it's not just the academy that chooses winners for all the awards. 'The Best British single award' is decided by commercial radio airplay and sales. Also, the 'critic's choice award" is voted on by a panel of music critics. The British public can also nominate artists for the 'Best British Breakthrough award'.
Happy Awards season
