Being a judge for the CEDIA Awards 2017 - Q&A with director Nick Pidgeon

We sit down with director Nick Pidgeon to learn more about his experience as a judge for the CEDIA Awards, held on Friday 29th September 2017 at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, Watford.

1. What did the opportunity to be a CEDIA judge for the 2017 awards mean to you? Being asked to judge the awards really was an honour for me. I have been teaching the CEDIA rack building & wiring fundamentals course for two years now so to be able to get involved with such a prestigious event & examine the high calibre of work submitted for the awards process with fellow industry peers was a fantastic opportunity.
2. Was the judging done independently or in a group setting? We were initially each given a selection of categories to review the various information and documentation submitted against the criteria requested. From here we were able to score each of the criteria met and shortlist our personal favourites with a little detail on decisions made. The judging team were then locked in a room at CEDIA for the day to review the shortlist and decide on the best in class. The “Best Dressed Rack” was then chosen from all entries submitted. The work Henri had put into the racks in their entry was impeccable and at the top of my list from the beginning.
3. How was conflict of interest deal with during the judging process? All judges were given clear instruction to defer any entries they felt were a conflict of interest either due to direct relationships to the clients or projects. Final decisions were made from a majority vote in each category.
4. What was the evening like attending the ceremony at Warner Brothers Studios for the first time and as a judge? CEDIA know how to put on an awards. The venue and flow of the evening was great and I couldn’t have enjoyed the evening more.
5. If you could offer any advice for those planning to enter the awards in 2018, what would it be? To ensure you have carefully read the criteria and submitted every item required on the check list including photographic and documentation evidence. Planning really is key & missing documentation only hinders the judging process.

For the full list of winners, check out the CEDIA website here.