Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1335892
90 I M PS E . O R G event. For us, that's a sit-down lunch with the presentations happening throughout the afternoon. We began investigating what it might mean to hold an online event, and in June, made the decision to go with a live-streamed format, along the lines of a panel TV show. I imagine there was an amazing team behind the creation of that. What was involved? Well, once we made that decision to go online, our hardworking Awards Subcommittee looked into what would be required to hold such an event. They worked with a specialist provider of live-stream events, Zenn Stream, to work out the details of the show. And one of our long-term sponsors, Lemac, was able to provide with us with cameras and other equipment for use on the night. For the venue, we used a room at Trackdown, next door to their scoring stage. Moving in some couches and pot plants made it look more like a living room, helping to make it the somewhat relaxed event we intended. If we couldn't all be together in one venue sharing food, drink, and company, we felt it important that the show retain a sense of fun and spontaneity. To add a sense of connection on the night, we wanted to ensure our members could celebrate along with us. We supported a number of viewing parties around the country, and then did live crosses to those events during the show. Each state in Australia has had a lot of success in suppressing COVID-19—but the timelines have been different, and as a result the restrictions on events and gatherings varied across the country at that point. Those differences were very evident during the live crosses! But it wasn't only about what the show should look like. We still had to do all the judging and a lot of the other work we would do in any year. Fortunately, we had moved most of our judging online in previous years, with the help of our sponsor Silver Trak Digital, using their Media Room platform for viewing. And in 2019, another sponsor, Cutting Edge, had helped us improve our presentation of clips for the use during the ceremony. This year, they packaged all of the video inserts for the night, which now included the various presenters of each award, the winner speeches, and a number of inserts from some great Australian filmmakers passing on their general Western Australia had closed its borders, but dogs were more than welcome to the stream in Perth