The ILDA Awards
-- Overview
One of ILDA's most important programs and member benefits is the
annual ILDA Awards. These give members the opportunity to gain
recognition for their hard work and high-quality shows. The awards can be touted
in ads and other marketing materials. ILDA Awards help prove a company's ability
to do world-class laser shows.
Since 1988, ILDA has held an awards program for members. There are three main judging categories:
- Artistic awards, for various types of laser shows and displays
- Technical awards, for products to help laserists present better shows
- The Career Achievement Award, honoring individuals who have had a distinguished career in the laser show industry
ABOUT THE WINNERS
The Awards began in 1988. The most recent Awards year as of this writing is 2007 (entered in late 2007, judged and announced in March 2008, presented in a ceremony at the ILDA Conference on the Carnival Imagination in Sept. 2008).
Over the past 20 Awards years, there have been a total of 730 Artistic and Technical award winners. This is an average of 36 winners each year.
Eighty-two different ILDA Member companies and individuals have won Awards. Those who have won 20 or more ILDA Awards from 1988 through 2007 (e.g., as of March 2008), are:
| LOBO electronic | 104 |
| Audio Visual Imagineering | 85 |
| LFI/Laser Fantasy International | 68 |
| Laser Images Inc. ("Laserium") | 43 |
| Laser Media | 35 |
| Lightspeed Design | 35 |
| tarm (all tarm companies) | 27 |
| LaserAnimation Sollinger | 22 |
| Laser Entertainment srl | 21 |
You can get a full listing of all ILDA Award winners. The data is available as two HTML tables (alphabetical and numeric ranking), and as a downloadable Excel spreadsheet.
You can also get a list of winners by years. Use the menu on the left side of this page to select "The ILDA Awards / Past winners", then choose your desired year.
HOW JUDGING IS DONE
The Awards process begins, usually in the summer of each year, with members submitting entries. For Artistic awards, documentation is in the form of the actual laser show (on ADAT or computer file), or as a videotape of the show. For Technical entries, written documentation is crucial, along with an optional videotape showing how the product works.
The Artistic awards are cataloged and prepared for the three-judge Artistic award panel. Historically, judges have been selected both from outside the laser industry (giving an outsider, audience opinion) and from inside (giving a knowledgeable insider's perspective). It is a day-long process for judges to watch the shows in each category. The discussion is often lively. Judges generally award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, plus sometimes Honorable Mention. However, judges do not need to give a placement if they feel no entries are deserving.
The Fenning Awards for Technical Achievement go through a similar process, with a different three-judge panel. (Beginning in 2004, an additional technical category was added. This consists of products presented at the annual Advanced Technology Workshop meeting. ILDA members who attend the workshop vote for the Hardware, Software and Laser products of the year.)
The Career Achievement Award has a different
entry and judging process. The process has changed over the years. In some
years, the Awards Committee and Board of Directors come up with nominees. In
other years, nominees come from ILDA Members. Once nominated, the
nominees or their sponsors provide a biography. Then, a three-judge panel reviews the nominees and
chooses a winner. For various reasons, the CAA was not given between the years
1994 and 2003.
HOW AWARDS ARE PRESENTED (THE AWARDS BANQUET)
The
awards are presented each year at the Awards Banquet, held during the annual
ILDA Conference. Selected winners are shown -- usually the first place entries,
and laser entries. All winners come up to receive their awards and briefly
speak.
First place winners receive a trophy in the shape of the ILDA logo. Winners of 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention receive smaller trophies or plaques.
In many years, a videotape or DVD is prepared of the winning entries. This helps those who cannot attend the Awards Banquet to see the best in the industry.
