The weekend of the 9th and 10th September 2017 saw the best-of-the-best in TV gather at the Microsoft Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles for the 69th Creative Emmy Awards. Among the attendees was friend of Resurface, the amazing Kate Hopkins.
Kate, along with fellow sound editor Tim Owens, was nominated for her incredible work on Planet Earth II. Kate and Tim’s nomination in the category of Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction Program was complimented fittingly by Graham Wild’s nomination in Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program – and indeed by Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe’s nominations for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. Overall, Planet Earth II picked up a total of 10 Emmy Nominations across a variety of categories.
Having been kind enough to tell us more about their work on Planet Earth II when it first aired in November, we asked Kate to give us a unique inside perspective on her trip, to tell the story of her Emmys weekend
An Eye on the Competition
Finding out that a show you worked on has been nominated for an Emmy award is always a wonderful feeling. As it was back in July when the nominations were announced. Planet Earth II was a great project to have been a part of. Genuinely a team effort, with crew of all types scattered all over the world doing what they do best over the course of years. For it to be acknowledged in this way, across so many creative categories, was heartwarming and satisfying.
Once you’ve heard the news of a nomination, it’s only natural to go and look at what you’re up against!
It’s fair to say that we faced some formidable competition. It’s often said that the shift in how we all consume media; The advent of Netflix, of box sets, binge watching and A-list film talent crossing over to TV – has brought about a ‘golden age of drama’. One look at the fellow nominees in our nonfiction categories, makes it crystal clear that we’re all living in a golden age of documentaries too.
To highlight just some of the work put forward in the sound editing and mixing categories: We had The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years. Directed by none other than Ron Howard, it took the music documentary to a new level using rare archive and found footage, unseen clips of Beatles concerts and interviews from the early 60s.
Also nominated was 13th – a stark and hard-hitting look at race, the American prison system and its intersection with slavery (abolished by the 13th Amendment) in modern-day America. Directed by Ava DuVernay (Selma), 13th was Oscar nominated this year for Best Documentary, pipped to the Academy Award in that category by….
OJ: Made In America. Which, as if the competition wasn’t tough enough already, was also nominated in the Sound Mixing category at the Emmys!
Truly a golden age.
Oh Bugger :-).
Here’s what happened:
Pre-production
BBC America were kind enough to invite us to Los Angeles for the ceremony, to celebrate and share in the success of the show. Here’s my itinerary! An action-packed Saturday of breakfast, followed by hair and makeup in my room, then it’s a 1:45 lobby call and we roll out!
Of course first, we have to get there from Bristol. My trip preparation began with sparkly nails and a fistful of dollars. Tim Owens and I met at the airport, found a decent bar, then settled in for the 11 hour flight.
Checking In
Flight finally coming to an end as we approach LAX. We are checked in to the Viceroy L’Ermitage to find a whole host of treats. Gorgeous room, complete with champagne on ice.
Best of all, Graham Wild already in the hotel bar with a tab open. How’s that for five-star service!
Showtime
The day is upon us. Saturday morning breakfast; BBC America treating us like royalty and our tickets for the awards show ready and waiting. Tim and I are suited and booted on the red carpet before we make our way to our seats in the Microsoft Theatre.
And the Emmy goes to…
Well, not us this time. Best sound editing and best sound mixing in our nonfiction categories both went to the excellent Beatles : Eight Days a Week. Congratulations to that sound team! Planet Earth II did pick up the Emmys for Best Nonfiction Series and Best Nonfiction Cinematography, so there’s still a well-deserved Planet Earth party, and everyone’s happy. I can at least say I got my hands on an Emmy for working on this truly remarkable show!
Sunday morning at L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, and after a rollercoaster weekend, time to relax!
We’ve had a great time. BBC America were so kind, couldn’t have been better or more generous hosts (first time I’ve had a mini-bar I’ve been allowed to open!). Most importantly, though, was that this occasion was a one-off opportunity for so many of those who contributed to the show to actually meet.
When you consider the time spanned by a production like this, and the geography involved, there will always be people whose work you’ve marvelled at, with whom you share an experience and are connected to on a creative level – but you will certainly never meet. To put that right, put names to faces, have a drink and a chat with some of this awe-inspiring group of people was a highlight of the experience.
Sunday night was the second part of the Creative Emmys, in which the guys from Bleeding Fingers were nominated in the music category for their work on Planet Earth II. Our hope was to catch up with them all before we flew home. Sadly schedules didn’t allow, they’re hard at work with music for another groundbreaking BBC nature documentary series, on which we’re also working once again.
Which reminds me: better get to the airport. Taking a couple of days out means I’ve got to get back to that ASAP, going to be a busy week playing catch-up.
