Growing up in Southern California and having a family member in “the biz” makes an annual tradition out of watching the Oscars. From the nominees, awardees, and fashion it is always a marvel to watch and participate in. Did you know that the Oscars has a second ceremony dedicated to those crew members involved in science and tech called “The Oscars Science and Technical Awards”? Now you do.
A few weeks prior to the traditional Oscars ceremony is the Science and Technical Awards hosted by a celebrity this year, Natasha Lyonne. This year there was a diverse set of awardees who demonstrated keen knowledge of engineering and scientific feats.
Seven awardees were celebrated for their mastery of laser systems and laser diodes for use in theatrical laser display systems. The use and evolution of these technologies have expanded the utilization and versatility of laser systems in matching the needs and requirements of the constantly evolving cinematography market.
As a means of expanding the use of stunt driving, three awardees were celebrated in their design of the “Roof Pod.” The Roof Pod assists stunt drivers in delivering safe stunts while allowing for high speeds and range to be executed within each stunt.
Another three awardees were congratulated for their discovery in the OpenVDB software which is an open-source C++ library “comprising a hierarchical data structure and a suite of tools for the efficient manipulation of sparse, time-varying, volumetric data discretized on three-dimensional grids.” Originally developed by DreamWorks in the 2010s and has been used by a wide variety of special effects studios including Industrial Light and Magic (a la Star Wars). OpenVDB was the first open-source software brought to the Academy Software Foundation for use across the entire motion picture industry.
Lastly, but not the last award was the founder of Marvelous Designer clothing creation system. Marvelous Designer is a software which allows for digital costume construction and tailoring. A major game changer in the industry for assisting all those persons in costumer to make digital reproductions and tailored garments rather than in-person and real garments. The time, energy, and resources saved is amazing.
If you would like to read about these awardees and look at the others, please visit here. Don’t forget that much of the movie industry doesn’t rest solely on actors and actresses' shoulders, but rather the crews and the science and technology enablers across the industry.
If you would like to learn more about STEM From and what we offer, check out our website!
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