Academy Award, Scientific or Technical
Encyclopedia
Since 1931, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
has given the Scientific and Technical Award, an Academy Award
for scientific or technical achievements, which are presented at "a dinner ceremony separate from the annual telecast
."
Unlike the Special Achievement Award
instituted in 1972
, those on whom the Academy confers its Honorary Award do not have to meet "the Academy's eligibility year and deadline requirements."
These awards recognize significant milestones in the development of technology for motion pictures and are conferred by vote of the Academy Board of Governors. Potential nominations for awards are investigated by a special committee within the Academy, "The Scientific and Technical Awards Committee", which presents a written report and recommendation to the Board of Governors.
Additionally, the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation, given for "outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy", and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award
, both also considered Honorary Awards, are usually also chosen by the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee and conferred at this annual presentation dinner ceremony.
Among the milestones that have been recognized are:
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
has given the Scientific and Technical Award, an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for scientific or technical achievements, which are presented at "a dinner ceremony separate from the annual telecast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
."
Unlike the Special Achievement Award
Academy Special Achievement Award
The Special Achievement Award is an Academy Award given for an achievement that makes an exceptional contribution to the motion picture for which it was created, but for which there is no annual award category...
instituted in 1972
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
, those on whom the Academy confers its Honorary Award do not have to meet "the Academy's eligibility year and deadline requirements."
These awards recognize significant milestones in the development of technology for motion pictures and are conferred by vote of the Academy Board of Governors. Potential nominations for awards are investigated by a special committee within the Academy, "The Scientific and Technical Awards Committee", which presents a written report and recommendation to the Board of Governors.
Additionally, the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation, given for "outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy", and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award
Gordon E. Sawyer Award
The Gordon E. Sawyer Award is an accolade given each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to "an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry." The award is named in honour of Gordon E...
, both also considered Honorary Awards, are usually also chosen by the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee and conferred at this annual presentation dinner ceremony.
Three kinds of Scientific and Technical Awards
Innovations in motion pictures technology are recognized with the following awards:- Award of Merit - an Academy statuette (an Oscar);
- Scientific and Engineering Award - an Academy plaque; and
- Technical Achievement AwardAcademy Award for Technical AchievementThe Technical Achievement Award is a kind of Scientific and Technical Award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to those whose particular technical accomplishments have contributed to the progress of the motion picture industry and who are given a certificate, which describes...
- an Academy certificate.
Award of Merit
So far, 44 achievements have been recognized by the Award of Merit.Among the milestones that have been recognized are:
- Eastman KodakEastman KodakEastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
for safety film, color negative and print film, color reversal intermediate film, and T-grain films; - VistavisionVistaVisionVistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
; - Matte Composite CinematographyMatte (filmmaking)Mattes are used in photography and special effects filmmaking to combine two or more image elements into a single, final image. Usually, mattes are used to combine a foreground image with a background image . In this case, the matte is the background painting...
; - MoviolaMoviolaA Moviola is a device that allows a film editor to view film while editing. It was the first machine for motion picture editing when it was invented by Iwan Serrurier in 1924.-History:...
; - NagraNagraNagra is the trademark referring to any of the series of mostly battery-operated portable professional audio recorders produced by Kudelski SA, based in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland....
sound recorder; - Xenon arc lampXenon arc lampA xenon arc lamp is a specialized type of gas discharge lamp, an electric light that produces light by passing electricity through ionized xenon gas at high pressure to produce a bright white light that closely mimics natural sunlight...
; - Dolby sound;
- Ultimatte's first software product, developed by Petro and Paul VlahosPetro VlahosPetro Vlahos is a Hollywood special effects pioneer who developed the color-difference bluescreen process for the Motion Picture Research Council and, with his son Paul Vlahos, founded the Ultimatte Corporation in Chatsworth, California, in 1976....
; - ImaxIMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
; - Maya animation softwareMaya (software)Autodesk Maya , commonly shortened to Maya, is 3D computer graphics software that runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Linux, originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation and currently owned and developed by Autodesk, Inc. It is used to create interactive 3D applications, including video...
; - Renderman rendering softwarePhotoRealistic RenderManPhotoRealistic RenderMan, or PRMan for short, is a proprietary photorealistic RenderMan-compliant renderer.It primarily uses the Reyes algorithm but is also fully capable of doing ray tracing and global illumination....
; - AvidAvid TechnologyAvid Technology, Inc. is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear editing systems, management and distribution services. It was created in 1987 and became a publicly traded company in 1993...
technology; - DigidesignDigidesignAvid Audio is an American digital audio technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign...
audio post production; - Kuper Motion Controls, developed by founder of Kuper Controls, Bill Tondreau, and others; and
- PanavisionPanavisionPanavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...
and ARRIArri-History:Arri was founded in Munich, Germany as Arnold & Richter Cine Technik in 1917, named after founders August Arnold and Robert Richter. They produce professional motion picture equipment, digital and film cameras and cinematic lighting equipment...
film cameras; - CAPS digital animation technology jointly developed by Walt Disney Feature AnimationWalt Disney Feature AnimationWalt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is the oldest subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
and Pixar Animation Studios; - Henson Performance Control System animatronic puppetry technology developed by The Jim Henson CompanyThe Jim Henson CompanyThe Jim Henson Company, an American entertainment organization, traces its origins to the founding of Muppets, Inc. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The Muppets helped the company gain worldwide acclaim in family entertainment for more than four decades...
.
See also
- Academy Award (Oscar)
- Academy Honorary AwardAcademy Honorary AwardThe Academy Honorary Award, instituted in 1948 for the 21st Academy Awards , is given by the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards, although prior winners of...
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
(AMPAS)
External links
- "Academy Award of Merit"
- Official Academy Award Database – Searchable.
- "Scientific and Engineering Award" – Description and photograph of this Academy Award on the official WebWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
site of the Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
(oscars.org). Lefthand menu links to these other related Honorary Awards; top menu includes links to home page and searchable Official Academy Award Database, with information about the winners of these awards and their official Academy Award citations. - "Scientific and Technical Awards" – Index for these Awards on the official WebWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
site of the Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
(oscars.org). Provides a Menu of lists by year and related links, including a link to the searchable Official Academy Award Database, with information about the winners of these awards and their official Academy Award citations. - "Technical Achievement Award" – Description and photograph of this Academy Award on the official WebWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
site of the Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
(oscars.org). Lefthand menu links to these other related Honorary Awards; top menu includes links to home page and searchable Official Academy Award Database, with information about the winners of these awards and their official Academy Award citations.