The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is prepared to launch 10 new scientific and technical investigations in the current year. These investigations are to be finished up by an Academy committee ahead of the Scientific and Technical Awards on 23rd February 2023.
The popularly known Sci-Tech Oscars are not handed out by naming the winners directly, the Academy creates a list of areas where they believe that great breakouts have been made in the industry and this allows anyone who believes their innovation to be great enough to apply for these categories.
The investigations that are occurring now cover multiple areas like:
onboard remote driving apparatus, volumetric surface reconstruction, pattern-based 3D clothing creation software, layerable hierarchical 3D scene description frameworks, reusable cable-cutting devices for motion picture squibs, motor-stabilized motion picture camera support systems for hand/body-supported operation, interactive renderers that provide a representative approximation of final offline renders during post-production, post-process depth of field software, mathematically lossless encoding of motion picture camera raw files, digital image processing film restoration software utilized for theatrical re-release and archival preservation.
Any claims of innovation made by individuals or companies of devices that fall under any of these categories are invited to submit their achievement to the Academy which will be methodically reviewed. The deadline to submit the additional entries is 28th of July 2023 at 5 PM PT. In fall, the Academy committee will reconvene to vote on what to recommend to the board of governors, who will later make the final decisions.
But unlike the Oscars, the Scientific and Technical awards are not bound to a specific year hence the achievements do not have to be created in 2023 itself. The awards are given in three different forms depending on the amount of achievement:
- Academy Award of Merit (the winner receives an Oscar statuette for this)
- Scientific and Engineer Award (the winner receives a plaque)
- Technical Achievement Award (the winner receives a certificate)
The Scientific and Technical Awards Committee chair Barbara Ford Grant said that the Academy has assembled a global committee of leading industry experts to “evaluate the ongoing evolution of motion picture tools that empower the creators and storytellers of our industry.”
The 96th Oscars are to be held on March 10 2024, Sunday. The preliminary voting for the shortlisting will begin on December 18th and the results will be announced on December 21st. The deadline for submission ends on November 18th.
The Scientific and Technical Awards were created to recognize the critical role played by the technological aspects in the moviemaking process and the academy wished to honor such progress in the fields of scientific world related to the industry. The awards have been presented since the 4th Academy awards in November 1831. There has been a separate ceremony for the same since the 50th Awards in 1977 where it became a full fledged dinner.
Last year the Gordon E. Sawyer Award (Oscar Statuette) was awarded to lain Neil for his lens designs which were substantial and innovative and has created a lasting impact in the motion picture cinematography.