Chicon 2000 Onsite: The Not So Long and Short of It Amendment

The Not So Long and Short of It Amendment

4.3.4 The Not So Long and Short of It

Moved, to substitute for the entire text of the motion titled "The Long and Short of It," the following:

Moved, To amend portions of Article III of the WSFS Constitution to have the effect of splitting the existing Best Dramatic Presentation category into two categories, Non-Episodic and Episodic, to regulate the administration of such categories, and for other purposes, as follows.

1. Strike out existing Section 3.3.6, "Best Dramatic Presentation."

3.3.6: Best Dramatic Presentation. Any production in any medium of dramatized science fiction, fantasy or related subjects which has been publicly presented for the first time in its present dramatic form during the previous calendar year.

2. Insert the following section after existing Section 3.3.5:

3.3.x Best Dramatic Presentation, Episodic. Any production in any medium of dramatized Science Fiction, Fantasy, or related subjects, which formed a single episode from a regularly scheduled ongoing production.

3. Insert the following section before existing Section 3.3.7:

3.3.x: Best Dramatic Presentation, Non-Episodic. Any feature film, short subject, television mini-series, live theater production, or any other production in any medium of dramatized Science Fiction, Fantasy, or related subjects, not eligible for the Episodic Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo Award.

4. Insert the following sentence at the end of Section 3.2.4:

3.2.4: Works appearing in a series are eligible as individual works, but the series as a whole is not eligible. However, a work appearing in a number of parts shall be eligible for the year of the final part. A multi-part episodic or non-episodic dramatic production shall be eligible for the year in which the final part is first publicly performed.

5. Insert the following sentence at the end of Section 3.2.6:

3.2.6: The Worldcon Committee may relocate a story into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the story is within the lesser of five thousand (5,000) words or twenty percent (20%) of the new category limits. The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary.

Moved by: Skip Morris

Discussion (SM): As an individual who as run numerous convention film and video programs over several decades I feel qualified to comment on the main motion and my amendment. While I feel it is a worthwhile goal to expand the Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo, splitting the award by length does not best represent the differences in movies vs. television episodes. There are many films I've shown at SF cons whose length is close to an hour. (The shortest one I remember is "La Jette", the basis for the film "12 Monkeys" which ran about 30 minutes, or Hugo winner "The Capture" which was a slide show running about 20 minutes.) Many TV show episodes likewise are multi-parters running 2 or 3 hours. (Several Star Trek and Babylon 5 episodes come to mind.)

The biggest difference in the mediums are that TV episodes are produced under a deadline, typically have a smaller budget, a story has to be developed to fit a setting and cast of characters, and there is typically a "writers bible" which limits what a story creator is allowed to do.

Films, TV Mini Series, and other such productions are different. The story, setting & characters can be developed together. There is more freedom for the writer to make changes to the universe being developed. Deadlines are not as important; a movie production can easily slip a few weeks or months. TV episode schedules are much less flexible. I can draw a comparison to the effect of deadlines on creativity with the American Pulitzer Award, which has different awards for stories published both "under a deadline" and "not under a deadline". This to me reflects the most crucial difference in the medium.

Notes: Section three spells out things like "television mini-series" to make it clear that productions like "From the Earth to the Moon" and "I, Claudius" belong in the non-episodic category. Also, section two originally had the words "of no less then 8 episodes in a single production season" at the very end. In talking to people I've been convinced that it is better to leave such decisions as to what constitutes an "ongoing series" to the judgement Hugo Administrators.

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