The Scientific and Technical Awards Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 21 scientific and technical achievements, 16 distinct investigations, have been selected for further awards consideration.
The list is made public to allow individuals and companies with similar devices or claims of prior art the opportunity to submit achievements for review.
The deadline to submit additional entries is Tuesday, August 26, at 11:59 p.m. PT.
The committee has selected the following technologies for further consideration:
Portable, remote-controlled telescoping camera columns
Prompted by MAT-TOWERCAM TWIN PEEK (MAT – Mad About Technology)
Drivable, high-speed vehicle platforms
Prompted by THE BISCUIT JR. (Allan Padelford Camera Cars)
Neutral density filters that remove infrared contamination
Prompted by INFRARED NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTER TECHNOLOGY (Tiffen Company)
Lightweight, prime lens sets for high-resolution cameras
Prompted by LEICA SUMMILUX-C PRIME LENS SERIES (CW Sonderoptic)
Optical audio transfer processes
Prompted by CHACE OPTICAL SOUND PROCESSOR (Deluxe)
Enabling technology of digital cinema projectors
Prompted by TEXAS INSTRUMENTS DLP CINEMA TECHNOLOGY (Texas Instruments)
Interactive blend shape modeling and manufacturing
Prompted by LAIKA RAPID PROTOTYPING AND FACIAL ANIMATION TECHNOLOGY (LAIKA, Inc.) and ILM SHAPE SCULPTING SYSTEM (ILM)
Measurement toolsets for quality control of cinematic experience
Prompted by LSS-100P (Ultra-Stereo Labs)
Displays providing suitable visual reference for feature film review
Prompted by SONY TRIMASTER EL ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODE PICTURE MONITORS (Sony Pictures Imageworks)
Collaborative, enhanceable image playback and review systems
Prompted by RV MEDIA PLAYER (Tweak Software)
High-resolution motion capture techniques for deforming objects
Prompted by MOVA (MOVA) and GEOMETRY TRACKER (ILM)
Systems for interactive grooming and direct-manipulation of digital hair
Prompted by BARBERSHOP (Weta Digital)
Systems for placing, grooming and resolving collisions of digital feathers
Prompted by DREAMWORKS FEATHER SYSTEM (DreamWorks Animation)
Systems for modeling, animation and rendering of digital vegetation
Prompted by SPEEDTREE (IDV)
Digital technologies for high-density physical destruction simulation
Prompted by DROP DESTRUCTION TOOLKIT (Digital Domain) and FINITE ELEMENT DESTRUCTION MODELING (UC Berkeley) and ODIN – UNIFIED HPC MULTI-PHYSICS SIMULATION PLATFORM (Weta Digital)
Efficient volumetric data formats
Prompted by FIELD 3D (Sony Pictures Imageworks) and VDB: HIGH-RESOLUTION SPARSE VOLUMES WITH DYNAMIC TOPOLOGY (DreamWorks Animation)
After thorough investigations are conducted in each of the technology categories, the committee will meet in early December to vote on recommendations to the Academy’s Board of Governors, which will make the final awards decisions.
The 2014 Scientific and Technical Awards will be presented on Saturday, February 7, 2015.
Claims of prior art or similar technology must be submitted on the Academy’s website at www.oscars.org/awards/scitech/apply.html.
The Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscars presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More