Announcing the Shotgun Pipeline Awards!

We believe that pipeline tools are a huge part of the future of our industry -- innovations that help productions succeed, artists do their work better/faster/funner, and studios move to new successful models. We see so much incredible tool development by our clients that isn't publicly recognized like the rest of the work they put on the screen. So this summer we're hosting the first ever Shotgun Pipeline Awards to shine a light on those tools and the people who build them. People we fondly call our "Pipeline Heroes".

We’re launching the Awards to recognize excellence in pipeline tool development, integration, engineering and usage (whether or not they involve or use Shotgun). Tools that save loads of time and mix creative genius with a clear grasp of how to make a laborious process better and faster for humans. Such as a tool that lets storyboard artists use Unity to set a camera then push out the image to a storyboard panel. Or a mobile app that lets artists know when it’s time to head to the screening room. Or a super-visual animation pose library right inside Maya that the animators loved. And on and on.

We’re looking into every corner of our user community for cool tools, integrations and usage in these areas:

· Review tool/pipeline
· Artist-facing tool
· Business-side/ROI tool
· Tool/implementation for games
· On-set/motion capture tool
· Open-source virtual production
· Most creative use of a game engine
· Mobile app
· Coolest hack

We’ll also bestow an Outstanding Pipeline Achievement award for the flat-out best implementation of Shotgun, and a Pipeline Hero award for someone who regularly shares best practices on the dev list or forums, and/or a customer-developed tool that has been adopted widely across the Shotgun user base.

Now we’re putting out the call: If you know about tools, integration projects or people that should be considered for a Pipeline Award– either yourself, someone in your studio, or anyone/any tool you’ve come across that impressed you – let us know. Email your ‘nominations’ to pipelineawards@shotgunsoftware.com by July 10.

We’ll present the Awards at SIGGRAPH, during our Shotgun User Group (Tuesday, Aug. 12, details to come), and then toast them at our annual Siggraph party. We’ll also announce them here on our blog, so you don’t have to be in Vancouver to check them out.

Cheers!
The Shotgunners