American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 22

Academy Lauds Sci-Tech Luminaries By Jay Holben

TECHNICAL SPECS
1.78:1 Super 16mm, 35mm, Digital Capture Arri 16SR-2, Aaton LTR, N eilson-Hordell, Sony HDW-750 Canon, Arri, Angenieux, Zeiss, Olympus Kodak Double-X 7222, Plus-X 7231; EXR 50D 7245, 200T 7274; Vision 250D 7246, 320T 7277, 500T 7279 Digital Intermediate

At this year’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scientific and Technical Awards, held on Feb. 12 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, actress Marissa Tomei played hostess, handling the evening’s esoteric jargon with ease and humor. Award recipient Alex MacDonald of Cablecam told her, “What you have to say here is harder than what we do!” Thirteen Technical Achievement certificates and nine Scientific and Engineering plaques were awarded, and ASC associate member Denny Clairmont was honored with the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation. Technical Achievement Awards are presented for accomplishments that contribute to the progress of the industry. This year individuals from four companies were honored for their contributions to the evolution of computer-render queuemanagement systems: Greg Ercolano,for the design and engineering of a series of software systems culminating in the Rush render-queue management system. The Rush system has hadan influential effect throughout the industry, enabling scalable render farms at
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numerous studios. David M. Laur,for the development of the Alfred render-queue management system. Alfred was the first robust, scalable, widely adopted commercial solution for queue management in the industry. Its user interface and support for multi-machine assignment influenced the design of modern-day queue-management tools. Chris Allen, Gautham Krishnamurti, Mark A. Brown and Lance Kimes, for the development of Queue, a robust, scalable approach to render-queue management. Queue was one of the first systems that allowed for statistical analysis and process introspection, providing a framework for the efficient use of render farms. Florian Kainz ,for the design and development of the robust, highly scalable distributed architecture of the ObaQ renderqueue management system. ObaQ has scaled from managing a few hundred processors in 1997 to many thousands today, with minimal changes to the original design. Individuals from two companies were honored for their contributions to the world of computer-generated effects: Eric Tabellionand Arnauld Lamorlette, for the creation of a computer-graphics bounce-lighting methodology that is

May 2011

Academy Sci-Tech Awards photos by Richard Harbaugh and Todd Wawrychuk, courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

cated one that I’d worked out with the cinematographer and usually involved putting the camera farther back. I was able to do that with Scorsese and many of the others I spoke to for this film.” The most visually creative elements of the project were shot at Pinewood Studios, where McCall worked with art director Miles Glyn and cinematographer Ricardo Coll to re-create some of the lighting and matte effects from Black Narcissus as a backdrop to several interviews. At Pinewood, they also shot footage of Cardiff’s amazing memorabilia collection and of the great cinematographer demonstrating a Technicolor camera, his fingers still nimble at the controls and a sparkle in his eyes as he describes the beam-splitting prism that is the camera’s soul. Between the completion of filming and the documentary’s celebrated bow at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival came a final chapter both long and fraught with funding uncertainty. Ultimately, it was Cardiff’s death, in 2009, that prompted renewed interest in Cameraman and the last bit of funding from the U.K. Film Council. “Even at the first screening, at the National Film Theatre, I was fretful that the DCP projection wouldn’t work,” says McCall. “It was only when I heard the audience clap at the final credits that I realized nothing else could go wrong. A few days later, the movie was shown in Cannes, and that opened it up to the whole world.” Cameraman has been screened at a dozen U.S. film festivals to date and will be theatrically released in N ew York City on May 13, with additional cities to follow.

Front row, left to right: Academy President Tom Sherak, actress Marisa Tomei and Sci-Tech Committee chair Richard Edlund, ASC. 2nd row: David M. Laur, Arnauld Lamorlette, James Rodnunsky, Denny Clairmont, Neil Wilson and Dr. Mark Sagar. 3rd row: Mark Noel, Eric Tabellion, Florian Kainz, Alex MacDonald, Chris Allen, Mark Chapman and Rory McGregor. Last row: John Frazier, Greg Ercolano, Mark A. Brown, Gautham Krishnamurti, Lance Kimes and Alan Rogers.

American Cinematographer - May 2011

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