What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 7th May 2013

Welcome to another of those lovely short weeks!

Last week was a blur of entries for the PRCA DARE Awards and judging for the Midlands Media Awards which means only one thing at Cloud 9 Towers, it's script time!

Whilst we are no strangers to writing scripts for awards ceremonies, it has to be said that it is not one of our favourite tasks as the wrong script can put an audience to sleep, but the right one can lift a room and ensure you have the makings of a great night.

But just how do you get it right and what happens if it all goes horribly wrong?

The awards ceremony is a time for celebration. A real chance to recognise the exceptional. Whether it is in a special setting, where you celebrate the success of a specific group of people or a single individual, the larger the set, the more impact you need to make.

Did you know that you are doing the script and the tone of voice so that it reads just as you would actually say it aloud?  Write scripts to encourage and to sound positive even if the subject manner is dull, and above all deliver a speech that everyone can understand.

The speech can be anything you want it to and if accompanied by a presentation, remember that most of the attention will be on screen and not on the script. If you can get real participation from the audience, you could also write the script so that it tells a story. 

The story may start with the winner or the nominees history, and then recognise the contribution or achievement before you make any announcements. If you are recognising a company or organisation then always remember to include the names of the individuals involved so that people feel included the awards have more value. In addition, tell a story that people want to continue to listen to, so that they can hear the climax of the story and end. The end of the story is the actual awards presentation.

Of course there can be long faces and sour grapes: when awards ceremonies don't go by the script.

The Award for Best Face at the 2013 Golden Globes went to Tommy Lee Jones.

As Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig performed an hilarious double-act of misunderstanding the plot of several nominated films, the sour puss that Jones displayed, amid all the perma-beaming, shining-eyed beauties at the first night of the movie industry's awards season, could have curdled milk. Perhaps he'd been told he was going to be pipped to the Best Supporting Actor gong (in Lincoln) by Christoph Waltz playing, in Django Unchained, almost exactly the same role he played in Inglourious Basterds. But might his thunder-over-Mount-Rushmore face have been a sign of the Academy's disapproval of the Globes?

The Golden Globes were not the only awards to get it wrong this year and more recently

 The Professional Footballers' Association has also made a big error in judgement.

 

Now embroiled in a fresh racism row after its chairman, Clarke Carlisle, admitted it was a "huge mistake" to hire the comedian Reginald D Hunter for the unions annula awards bash.

Hunter, a black American comedian renowned for racial humour, used the word "nigger" during his set at the Grosvenor House hotel in London, following two years in which high-profile incidents including the John Terry-Anton Ferdinand case and Luis Suárez's abuse of Patrice Evra have blighted the game.

The anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out also condemned the PFA's choice of entertainment and Carlisle, who has been chairman since 2010, admitted he was "embarrassed" while watching Hunter perform. "I thought we made a huge mistake," said the Northampton Town defender. "I thought with everything that we have gone through over the last few years, using a comedian of his type was a bad error in judgement. I was embarrassed sat up there throughout and I want to apologise unreservedly to the footballing community that was present.

"What galls me is that it was a momentous occasion. It was our 40th award, Kim Little won the first women's award, a place in history. It was the first time that the men's and women's game had unified and instead we are talking about someone who we paid to come in as entertainment and be facetious about something we stand vehemently against so I apologise for that. I was embarrassed.

"I'm not lambasting Reginald D Hunter. That's his act, it's what he does. When you go to a comedy store you know you might have to leave your moral compass at the door, but the PFA awards dinner, the showpiece of our season, is not the time to have an act like that."

A Kick It Out statement read: "It is a matter for the PFA … Kick It Out condemns racial slurs, the use of the n-word irrespective of context, and will act on any complaints made to the organisation on it."  However, the PFA chief executive, Gordon Taylor, defended the choice of comedian. Asked if it was a mistake to hire Hunter, he said: "No, no, don't be silly. Are you serious? I think there were a few raised eyebrows over the comedian but that is the sort of thing you can't control. It was unfortunate. He is a professional comedian. It's a difficult subject in football and with him not being fully aware of how emotive it has been in football, that was probably a difficulty for him."

Even really high profile ceremonies and those televised can fall foul of the awards scripting nightmare....

In 2007, Sir Terry Wogan announced the wrong winner of the public vote to find the UK's song for Eurovision.The veteran broadcaster had to be corrected by co-host Fearne Cotton after he said singer Cyndi had beaten Scooch. The mistake led to the BBC issuing a statement, insisting that Sir Terry had been given the right information in his ear-piece and "no technical problem" had occurred. The corporation admitted the studio was noisy and emphasised Sir Terry was not being blamed for the mix-up.

US pop star Katy Perry was wrongly handed one of the main prizes at a music award ceremony in France in 2009. She collected the trophy for best international song at the NRJ Awards in Cannes, but it was intended for Rihanna for her track Disturbia.Host Nikos Aliagas admitted the error at the end of the show. She did not leave empty-handed after giving the prize back, as she legitimately won the best international album prize.

Ant and Dec were presented with the people's choice trophy at the British Comedy Awards in 2005. An independent report revealed that pop star Robbie Williams had been given assurances that he could present the duo with the prize if he agreed to appear at the ceremony. But BBC comedy The Catherine Tate Show collected more votes and should therefore have been declared the winner. Ant and Dec later agreed to give back the award.

Finally, when actress Marisa Tomei won the Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1993 for My Cousin Vinny, many were surprised she was picked over veteran actresses Joan Plowright and Vanessa Redgrave. After Tomei won the award, rumours circulated that presenter Jack Palance had been unable to read the winner's name or was drunk and had simply read out her name by mistake. However, the claims were never proven and Oscars organisers insisted two certified accountants were at either end of the awards stage to prevent such a mistake from ever happening.

So bearing that in mind we will try not to make any mistakes in our script writing for any of our awards this year, let's just hope our presenters do us proud!

See you next week folks, enjoy!