Academy SciTech Awards Announces Winners

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 15 scientific and technical achievements, represented by 27 individual recipients, will be honored at its annual Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony April 28 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Developers behind advancements ranging from safer practical effects and layered shading systems to dialogue restoration and high dynamic range lighting will receive Technical Achievement Awards. Innovators behind three major breakthroughs will accept Scientific and Engineering Awards.

“Their innovation, dedication and technical excellence continue to shape the art and craft of filmmaking,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Lynette Howell Taylor.

Technical Achievement Awards will be presented to Brent Bell, Josef Köhler and Ian Medwell for developing lead-free pyrotechnic devices used in practical bullet effects, a safer and more environmentally conscious alternative for on-set stunts. Andrea Weidlich and Luca Fascione are being recognized for their work on layered material systems in Wētā FX’s Manuka renderer, which has improved the realism and flexibility of visual effects workflows. Vincent Dedun, Emmanuel Turquin and Jonathan Moulin will be honored for “Lama,” Industrial Light & Magic’s layered shading system that enables artists to create complex, physically plausible appearances without writing shader code.

Additional honorees include Josh Bainbridge and Nathan Walster for Framestore’s layered shading system. Bret St. Clair, Marc-Andre Davignon, Pav Grochola and Edmond Boulet-Gilly will be honored for animation linework and brushing tools at Sony Pictures Imageworks, expanding creative possibilities for large-scale animated productions. Baptiste Van Opstal, Jeff Budsberg, Michael Losure, John Lanz and Eszter Offertaler are being recognized for DreamWorks Animation’s stylized animation toolset, a suite of tools that allows for painterly effects and diverse art styles.

Other Technical Achievement Award recipients include Benjamin Graf for the dxRevive Pro dialogue restoration system, which preserves the emotional fidelity of on-set performances; John Ellwood and Jeff Bloom for Titan auto-assembly software that streamlines digital audio alignment; Marc Joel Specter for the Kraken Dialogue Editors Toolkit, which facilitates precise audio assembly; and Justin Webster for Matchbox, a system for rapid audio-video reconform. Paul Debevec also is being recognized for pioneering high dynamic range, image-based lighting techniques that have transformed computer-generated imagery in feature films.

Jamie Caliri and Dyami Caliri will receive a Scientific and Engineering Award for the design, engineering and ongoing development of “Dragonframe” software, which has transformed stop-motion animation workflows.

“Whether through enhancing the safety of practical effects with lead-free bullet hits or pushing the limits of stop-motion animation and sound restoration, these technologies are now fundamental to the craft. We are honored to recognize the brilliant minds behind these tools, which continue to elevate the moviegoing experience,” said Darin Grant and Rachel Rose, co-chairs of the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards Committee.

The final Oscar voting for this year’s 98th nominations will take place from Feb. 26 to March 5. The Oscars will be held March 15 and will air on ABC, hosted by Conan O’Brien.