Oscars Academy Awards (2010-2014) ------------------------------------ The Academy Awards, commonly known as The Oscars, is an annual American awards ceremony honoring achievements in the film industry. The awards, first presented in 1927, are overseen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The awards ceremony was first televised in 1953 and is now seen live in more than 200 countries. ------------------------------------ 2010 (83rd) ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Colin Firth -- The King's Speech {"King George VI"} ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Christian Bale -- The Fighter {"Dicky Eklund"} ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Natalie Portman -- Black Swan {"Nina Sayers/The Swan Queen"} ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Melissa Leo -- The Fighter {"Alice Ward"} ANIMATED FEATURE FILM Toy Story 3 -- Lee Unkrich ART DIRECTION Alice in Wonderland -- Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara CINEMATOGRAPHY Inception -- Wally Pfister COSTUME DESIGN Alice in Wonderland -- Colleen Atwood DIRECTING The King's Speech -- Tom Hooper DOCUMENTARY (Feature) Inside Job -- Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs DOCUMENTARY (Short Subject) Strangers No More -- Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon FILM EDITING The Social Network -- Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM In a Better World -- Denmark MAKEUP The Wolfman -- Rick Baker and Dave Elsey MUSIC (Original Score) The Social Network -- Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross MUSIC (Original Song) "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3 -- Music and Lyric by Randy Newman BEST PICTURE The King's Speech -- Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers SHORT FILM (Animated) The Lost Thing -- Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann SHORT FILM (Live Action) God of Love -- Luke Matheny SOUND EDITING Inception -- Richard King SOUND MIXING Inception -- Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick VISUAL EFFECTS Inception -- Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb WRITING (Adapted Screenplay) The Social Network -- Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin WRITING (Original Screenplay) The King's Speech -- Screenplay by David Seidler HONORARY AWARD To Kevin Brownlow for the wise and devoted chronicling of the cinematic parade. To Jean-Luc Godard for passion. For confrontation. For a new kind of cinema. To Eli Wallach for a lifetime's worth of indelible screen characters. IRVING G. THALBERG MEMORIAL AWARD Francis Ford Coppola SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Scientific and Engineering Award) To DR. MARK SAGAR for his early and continuing development of influential facial motion retargeting solutions. Dr. Sagar's work led to a method for transforming facial motion capture data into an expression-based, editable character animation system that has been used in motion pictures with a high volume of digital characters. [Digital Imaging Technology] To MARK NOEL for the design, engineering, and development, and to JOHN FRAZIER for his contributions to the design and safety features, of the NAC Servo Winch System. The NAC System allows full-size cars, aircraft and other heavy props to be flown on wires with unprecedented freedom of motion and a high degree of safety, on-set and in real time. The intuitive control system responds to the motion of the operator's hand, permitting the recording and playback of all axes of motion simultaneously, which may be edited and refined for playback in subsequent takes. [Stage Operations] To JAMES RODNUNSKY, ALEX MacDONALD and MARK CHAPMAN for the development of the Cablecam 3-D volumetric suspended cable camera technologies. The evolution of the Cablecam technology has made it possible to move a camera safely and accurately anywhere through a three-dimensional space. [Camera Cranes] To TIM DRNEC, BEN BRITTEN SMITH and MATT DAVIS for the development of the Spydercam 3-D volumetric suspended cable camera technologies. The evolution of the Spydercam technology has made it possible to move a camera safely and accurately anywhere through a three-dimensional space. [Camera Cranes] SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Technical Achievement Award) To GREG ERCOLANO for the design and engineering of a series of software systems culminating in the Rush render queue management system. Mr. Ercolano's work has been influential across the industry, and has enabled scalable render farms at numerous studios. [Digital Imaging Technology] To DAVID M. LAUR for the development of the Alfred render queue management system. This system was the first robust, scalable, widely adopted commercial solution for queue management in the motion picture industry. Its user interface and support for multi-machine assignment influenced the design of modern day queue management tools. [Digital Imaging Technology] To 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. [Digital Imaging Technology] To FLORIAN KAINZ for the design and development of the robust, highly scalable distributed architecture of the ObaQ render queue management system. ObaQ has scaled from managing a few hundred processors in 1997 to many thousands today, with minimal changes to the original design. [Digital Imaging Technology] To ERIC TABELLION and ARNAULD LAMORLETTE for the creation of a computer graphics bounce lighting methodology that is practical at feature film scale. This important step in the evolution of global illumination techniques, first used on the motion picture "Shrek 2," was shared with the industry in their technical paper "An Approximate Global Illumination System for Computer Generated Films." [Digital Imaging Technology] To TONY CLARK, ALAN ROGERS, NEIL WILSON and RORY McGREGOR for the software design and continued development of cineSync, a tool for remote collaboration and review of visual effects. Easy to use, cineSync has become a widely accepted solution for remote production collaboration. [Systems] JOHN A. BONNER MEDAL OF COMMENDATION To Denny Clairmont in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2011 (84th) ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Jean Dujardin -- The Artist {"George Valentin"} ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Christopher Plummer -- Beginners {"Hal"} ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Meryl Streep -- The Iron Lady {"Margaret Thatcher"} ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Octavia Spencer -- The Help {"Minny Jackson"} ANIMATED FEATURE FILM Rango -- Gore Verbinski ART DIRECTION Hugo -- Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo CINEMATOGRAPHY Hugo -- Robert Richardson COSTUME DESIGN The Artist -- Mark Bridges DIRECTING The Artist -- Michel Hazanavicius DOCUMENTARY (Feature) Undefeated -- TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas DOCUMENTARY (Short Subject) Saving Face -- Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy FILM EDITING The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM A Separation -- Iran MAKEUP The Iron Lady -- Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland MUSIC (Original Score) The Artist -- Ludovic Bource MUSIC (Original Song) "Man Or Muppet" from The Muppets -- Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie BEST PICTURE The Artist -- Thomas Langmann, Producer SHORT FILM (Animated) The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore -- William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg SHORT FILM (Live Action) The Shore -- Terry George and Oorlagh George SOUND EDITING Hugo -- Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty SOUND MIXING Hugo -- Tom Fleischman and John Midgley VISUAL EFFECTS Hugo -- Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning WRITING (Adapted Screenplay) The Descendants -- Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash WRITING (Original Screenplay) Midnight in Paris -- Written by Woody Allen JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD Oprah Winfrey HONORARY AWARD To James Earl Jones for his legacy of consistent excellence and uncommon versatility. To Dick Smith for his unparalleled mastery of texture, shade, form and illusion. GORDON E. SAWYER AWARD Douglas Trumbull SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Academy Award of Merit) To FRANZ KRAUS, JOHANNES STEURER and WOLFGANG RIEDEL for the design and development of the ARRILASER Film Recorder. The ARRILASER film recorder demonstrates a high level of engineering resulting in a compact, user-friendly, low-maintenance device, while at the same time maintaining outstanding speed, exposure ratings and image quality. [Special Photographic] SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Scientific and Engineering Award) To RADU CORLAN, ANDY JANTZEN, PETRU POP and RICHARD F. TOFTNESS for the design and engineering of the Phantom family of high-speed cameras for motion picture production. The Phantom family of high-speed digital cameras, including the Phantom Flex and HD Gold, provide imagery at speeds and efficacy surpassing photochemical technology, while seamlessly intercutting with conventional film production. [Camera] To DR. JÜRGEN NOFFKE for the optical design and UWE WEBER for the mechanical design of the ARRI Zeiss Master Prime Lenses for motion picture photography. The Master Primes have achieved a full stop advance in speed over existing lenses, while maintaining state-of-the-art optical quality. This lens family was also the first to eliminate the magnification change that accompanied extreme focus shifts. [Lenses and Filters] To MICHAEL LEWIS, GREG MARSDEN, RAIGO ALAS and MICHAEL VELLEKOOP for the concept, design and implementation of the Pictorvision Eclipse, an electronically stabilized aerial camera platform. The Pictorvision Eclipse system allows cinematographers to capture aerial footage at faster flying speeds with aggressive platform maneuvering. [Camera Cranes] To E.F. "BOB" NETTMANN for the concept and system architecture, MICHAEL SAYOVITZ for the electronic packaging and integration, BRAD FRITZEL for the electronic engineering, and FRED MILLER for the mechanical engineering of the Stab-C Classic, Super-G and Stab-C Compact stabilizing heads. This versatile family of 5-axis camera and lens stabilizers allows any standard motion picture camera to be fitted into the open architecture of the structure. The system can be quickly balanced and made ready for shooting platforms such as helicopters, boats, camera cars or cranes. [Camera Cranes] To JOHN D. LOWRY, IAN CAVÉN, IAN GODIN, KIMBALL THURSTON and TIM CONNOLLY for the development of a unique and efficient system for the reduction of noise and other artifacts, thereby providing high-quality images required by the filmmaking process. The "Lowry Process" uses advanced GPU-accelerated, motion estimation-based image processing tools to enhance image quality. [Laboratory] To FUJIFILM CORPORATION, HIDEYUKI SHIRAI, DR. KATSUHISA OOZEKI and HIROSHI HIRANO for the design and development of the FUJIFILM black and white recording film ETERNA-RDS 4791 for use in the archival preservation of film and digital images. Specifically designed for laser film recording and widely used in the industry today, the high-resolution FUJIFILM ETERNA-RDS 4791 film stock is an important step in protecting the heritage of the motion picture industry. [Film] SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Technical Achievement Award) To ANDREW CLINTON and MARK ELENDT for the invention and integration of micro-voxels in the Mantra software. This work allowed, for the first time, unified and efficient rendering of volumetric effects such as smoke and clouds, together with other computer graphics objects, in a micro-polygon imaging pipeline. [Digital Imaging Technology] JOHN A. BONNER MEDAL OF COMMENDATION To Jonathan Erland in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2012 (85th) ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Daniel Day-Lewis -- Lincoln {"Abraham Lincoln"} ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Christoph Waltz -- Django Unchained {"Dr. King Schultz"} ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Jennifer Lawrence -- Silver Linings Playbook {"Tiffany"} ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Anne Hathaway -- Les Misérables {"Fantine"} ANIMATED FEATURE FILM Brave -- Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman CINEMATOGRAPHY Life of Pi -- Claudio Miranda COSTUME DESIGN Anna Karenina -- Jacqueline Durran DIRECTING Life of Pi -- Ang Lee DOCUMENTARY (Feature) Searching for Sugar Man -- Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn DOCUMENTARY (Short Subject) Inocente -- Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine FILM EDITING Argo -- William Goldenberg FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Amour -- Austria MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING Les Misérables -- Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell MUSIC (Original Score) Life of Pi -- Mychael Danna MUSIC (Original Song) "Skyfall" from Skyfall -- Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth BEST PICTURE Argo -- Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers PRODUCTION DESIGN Lincoln -- Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson SHORT FILM (Animated) Paperman -- John Kahrs SHORT FILM (Live Action) Curfew -- Shawn Christensen SOUND EDITING Skyfall -- Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers [NOTE: A tie. The other winning film in this category was Zero Dark Thirty.] Zero Dark Thirty -- Paul N.J. Ottosson [NOTE: A tie. The other winning film in this category was Skyfall.] SOUND MIXING Les Misérables -- Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes VISUAL EFFECTS Life of Pi -- Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott WRITING (Adapted Screenplay) Argo -- Screenplay by Chris Terrio WRITING (Original Screenplay) Django Unchained -- Written by Quentin Tarantino JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD Jeffrey Katzenberg HONORARY AWARD To Hal Needham, an innovator, mentor, and master technician who elevated his craft to an art and made the impossible look easy. To D.A. Pennebaker, who redefined the language of film and taught a generation of filmmakers to look to reality for inspiration. To George Stevens, Jr., a tireless champion of the arts in America and especially that most American of arts: the Hollywood film. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Academy Award of Merit) To COOKE OPTICS LIMITED for their continuing innovation in the design, development and manufacture of advanced camera lenses that have helped define the look of motion pictures over the last century. Since their first series of motion picture lenses, Cooke Optics has continued to create optical innovations decade after decade. Producing what is commonly referred to as the "Cooke Look," these lenses have often been the lens of choice for creative cinematographers worldwide. [Lenses and Filters] SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Scientific and Engineering Award) To SIMON CLUTTERBUCK, JAMES JACOBS and DR. RICHARD DORLING for the development of the Tissue Physically-Based Character Simulation Framework. This framework faithfully and robustly simulates the effects of anatomical structures underlying a character's skin. The resulting dynamic and secondary motions provide a new level of realism to computer-generated creatures. [Digital Imaging Technology] To DR. PHILIP McLAUCHLAN, ALLAN JAENICKE, JOHN-PAUL SMITH and ROSS SHAIN for the creation of the Mocha planar tracking and rotoscoping software at Imagineer Systems Ltd. Mocha provides robust planar-tracking even when there are no clearly defined points in the image. Its effectiveness, ease of use, and ability to exchange rotoscoping data with other image processing tools have resulted in widespread adoption of the software in the visual effects industry. [Digital Imaging Technology] To JOE MURTHA, WILLIAM FREDERICK and JIM MARKLAND of Anton/Bauer, Inc. for the design and creation of the CINE VCLX Portable Power System. The CINE VCLX provides extended run-times and flexibility, allowing users to power cameras and other supplementary equipment required for production. This high-capacity battery system is also matched to the high-demand, always-on digital cinema cameras. [Systems] SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Technical Achievement Award) To J.P. LEWIS, MATT CORDNER and NICKSON FONG for the invention and publication of the Pose Space Deformation technique. Pose Space Deformation (PSD) introduced the use of novel sparse data interpolation techniques to the task of shape interpolation. The controllability and ease of achieving artistic intent have led to PSD being a foundational technique in the creation of computer-generated characters. [Digital Imaging Technology] To LAWRENCE KESTELOOT, DREW OLBRICH and DANIEL WEXLER for the creation of the Light system for computer graphics lighting at PDI/DreamWorks. Virtually unchanged from its original incarnation over 15 years ago, Light is still in continuous use due to its emphasis on interactive responsiveness, final-quality interactive render preview, scalable architecture and powerful user-configurable spreadsheet interface. [Digital Imaging Technology] To STEVE LaVIETES, BRIAN HALL and JEREMY SELAN for the creation of the Katana computer graphics scene management and lighting software at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Katana's unique design, featuring a deferred evaluation procedural node-graph, provides a highly efficient lighting and rendering workflow. It allows artists to non-destructively edit scenes too complex to fit into computer memory, at scales ranging from a single object up to an entire detailed city. [Digital Imaging Technology] To THEODORE KIM, NILS THUEREY, DR. MARKUS GROSS and DOUG JAMES for the invention, publication and dissemination of Wavelet Turbulence software. This technique allowed for fast, art-directable creation of highly detailed gas simulation, making it easier for the artist to control the appearance of these effects in the final image. [Digital Imaging Technology] To RICHARD MALL for the design and development of the Matthews Max Menace Arm. Highly sophisticated and well-engineered, the Max Menace Arm is a safe and adjustable device that allows rapid, precise positioning of lighting fixtures, cameras or accessories. On-set or on location, this compact and highly portable structure is often used where access is limited due to restrictions on attaching equipment to existing surfaces. [Stage Operations] JOHN A. BONNER MEDAL OF COMMENDATION To Bill Taylor in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2013 (86th) ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Matthew McConaughey -- Dallas Buyers Club {"Ron Woodroof"} ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Jared Leto -- Dallas Buyers Club {"Rayon"} ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Cate Blanchett -- Blue Jasmine {"Jasmine"} ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Lupita Nyong'o -- 12 Years a Slave {"Patsey"} ANIMATED FEATURE FILM Frozen -- Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho CINEMATOGRAPHY Gravity -- Emmanuel Lubezki COSTUME DESIGN The Great Gatsby -- Catherine Martin DIRECTING Gravity -- Alfonso Cuarón DOCUMENTARY (Feature) 20 Feet from Stardom -- Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen and Caitrin Rogers DOCUMENTARY (Short Subject) The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life -- Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed FILM EDITING Gravity -- Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM The Great Beauty -- Italy MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING Dallas Buyers Club -- Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews MUSIC (Original Score) Gravity -- Steven Price MUSIC (Original Song) "Let It Go" from Frozen -- Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez BEST PICTURE 12 Years a Slave -- Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers PRODUCTION DESIGN The Great Gatsby -- Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn SHORT FILM (Animated) Mr. Hublot -- Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares SHORT FILM (Live Action) Helium -- Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson SOUND EDITING Gravity -- Glenn Freemantle SOUND MIXING Gravity -- Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro VISUAL EFFECTS Gravity -- Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk and Neil Corbould WRITING (Adapted Screenplay) 12 Years a Slave -- Screenplay by John Ridley WRITING (Original Screenplay) Her -- Written by Spike Jonze JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD Angelina Jolie HONORARY AWARD To Angela Lansbury, an entertainment icon who has created some of cinema's most memorable characters, inspiring generations of actors. To Steve Martin in recognition of his extraordinary talents and the unique inspiration he has brought to the art of motion pictures. To Piero Tosi, a visionary whose incomparable costume designs shaped timeless, living art in motion pictures. GORDON E. SAWYER AWARD Peter W. Anderson SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Academy Award of Merit) To all those who built and operated film laboratories, for over a century of service to the motion picture industry. Lab employees have contributed extraordinary efforts to achieve filmmakers' artistic expectations for special film processing and the production of billions of feet of release prints per year. This work has allowed an expanded motion picture audience and unequaled worldwide cinema experience. [Special Photographic] SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Scientific and Engineering Award) To OFER ALON for the design and implementation of the ZBrush software tool for multi-resolution sculpting of digital models. ZBrush pioneered multi-resolution digital sculpting, transforming how artists conceive and realize their final designs. ZBrush has enabled artists to create models far more quickly and with much greater detail than previous approaches. [Digital Imaging Technology] To ERIC VEACH for his foundational research on efficient Monte Carlo path tracing for image synthesis. Physically based rendering has transformed computer graphics lighting by more accurately simulating materials and lights, allowing digital artists to focus on cinematography rather than the intricacies of rendering. In his 1997 Ph.D. thesis and related publications, Veach formalized the principles of Monte Carlo path tracing and introduced essential optimization techniques, such as multiple importance sampling, which make physically based rendering computationally feasible. [Digital Imaging Technology] To ANDRE GAUTHIER, BENOIT SEVIGNY, YVES BOUDREAULT and ROBERT LANCIAULT for the design and implementation of the FiLMBOX software application. FiLMBOX, the foundation of MotionBuilder, enables the real-time processing and control of devices and animation. For over two decades, its innovative architecture has been a basis for the development and evolution of new techniques in filmmaking, such as virtual production. [Digital Imaging Technology] To EMMANUEL PRÉVINAIRE, JAN SPERLING, ETIENNE BRANDT and TONY POSTIAU for their development of the Flying-Cam SARAH 3.0 system. This battery-powered, radio-controlled, miniature helicopter camera system employs computer-assisted piloting and tele-operation in an airframe that utilizes GPS-assisted flight controls for aerial filming of unparalleled sophistication. Flying-Cam SARAH achieves shots impossible for full-size helicopters, cable systems or other traditional camera support devices. [Photography] SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Technical Achievement Award) To OLIVIER MAURY, IAN SACHS and DAN PIPONI for the creation of the ILM Plume system that simulates and renders fire, smoke and explosions for motion picture visual effects. The unique construction of this system combines fluid solving and final image rendering on the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) hardware without needing an intermediate step involving the CPU. This innovation reduces turnaround time, resulting in significant efficiency gains for the ILM effects department. [Digital Imaging Technology] To RONALD D. HENDERSON for the development of the FLUX gas simulation system. The use of the Fast Fourier Transform for solving partial differential equations allows FLUX a greater level of algorithmic efficiency when multi-threading on modern hardware. This innovation enables the creation of very high-resolution fluid effects while maintaining fast turnaround times. [Digital Imaging Technology] To ANDREW CAMENISCH, DAVID CARDWELL and TIBOR MADJAR for the concept and design, and to CSABA KOHEGYI and IMRE MAJOR for the implementation of the Mudbox software. Mudbox provides artists powerful new design capabilities that significantly advance the state of the art in multi-resolution digital sculpting for film production. [Digital Imaging Technology] To MARTIN HILL, JON ALLITT and NICK McKENZIE for the creation of the spherical harmonics-based efficient lighting system at Weta Digital. The spherical harmonics lighting pipeline precomputes and reuses a smooth approximation of time-consuming visibility calculations. This enables artists to quickly see the results of changing lights, materials and set layouts in scenes with extremely complex geometry. [Digital Imaging Technology] To FLORIAN KAINZ, JEFFERY YOST, PHILIP HUBBARD and JIM HOURIHAN for the architecture and development of the Zeno application framework. For more than a decade, Zeno's flexible and robust design has allowed the creation of a broad range of Academy Award-winning visual effects toolsets at ILM. [Digital Imaging Technology] To PETER HUANG and CHRIS PERRY for their architectural contributions to, and to HANS RIJPKEMA and JOE MANCEWICZ for the core engineering of, the Voodoo application framework. For more than a decade, Voodoo's unique design concepts have enabled a broad range of character animation toolsets to be developed at Rhythm & Hues. [Digital Imaging Technology] To MATT PHARR, GREG HUMPHREYS and PAT HANRAHAN for their formalization and reference implementation of the concepts behind physically based rendering, as shared in their book "Physically Based Rendering." Physically based rendering has transformed computer graphics lighting by more accurately simulating materials and lights, allowing digital artists to focus on cinematography rather than the intricacies of rendering. First published in 2004, "Physically Based Rendering" is both a textbook and a complete source-code implementation that has provided a widely adopted practical roadmap for most physically based shading and lighting systems used in film production. [Digital Imaging Technology] To DR. PETER HILLMAN for the long-term development and continued advancement of innovative, robust and complete toolsets for deep compositing. Dr. Hillman's ongoing contributions to standardized techniques and a common deep image file format have enabled advanced compositing workflows across the digital filmmaking industry. [Digital Imaging Technology] To COLIN DONCASTER, JOHANNES SAAM, AREITO ECHEVARRIA, JANNE KONTKANEN and CHRIS COOPER for the development, prototyping and promotion of technologies and workflows for deep compositing. Their contributions include early advancements in key deep compositing features such as layer and holdout-order independence, spatial and intra-element color correction, post-render depth of field, and precise blending of complex layer edges. [Digital Imaging Technology] To THOMAS LOKOVIC and ERIC VEACH for their influential research and publication of the fundamental concepts of deep shadowing technology. Providing a functional and efficient model for the storage of deep opacity information, this technology was widely adopted as the foundation of early deep compositing pipelines. [Digital Imaging Technology] To GIFFORD HOOPER and PHILIP GEORGE of HoverCam for the continuing development of the Helicam miniature helicopter camera system. The current Helicam system is a high-speed, extremely maneuverable, turbine-engine, radio-controlled miniature helicopter that supports professional film and digital cinema cameras. Helicam provides a wide range of stabilized, remotely operated pan, tilt and roll capabilities, achieving shots impossible for full-size helicopters. [Photography] To JOHN FRAZIER, CHUCK GASPAR and CLAY PINNEY for the design and development of the Pneumatic Car Flipper. This self-contained high-pressure pneumatic device safely launches a stationary full-sized car on a predetermined trajectory. The precision of operation enhances the safety of performers, and the physical design allows a rapid setup and strike. [Stage Operations] To JOSHUA PINES, DAVID REISNER, LOU LEVINSON, CURTIS CLARK, ASC, and DAVID REGISTER for the development of the American Society of Cinematographers Color Decision List technology. The ASC CDL unifies color correction principles for use on- and off-set, providing for the faithful reproduction of color values across a variety of color correction devices. This technology provides basic image-processing mathematics that translate the lift, gamma and gain settings to a set of common color values to help preserve the cinematographer's intent throughout production. [Systems] To JEREMY SELAN for the development of the OpenColorIO color management framework. OpenColorIO, developed at Sony Pictures Imageworks, is an open source framework that enables consistent color visualization of motion picture imagery across multiple facilities and numerous software applications. [Digital Imaging Technology] JOHN A. BONNER MEDAL OF COMMENDATION To Charles "Tad" Marburg in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2014 (87th) ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Eddie Redmayne -- The Theory of Everything {"Stephen Hawking"} ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE J.K. Simmons -- Whiplash {"Fletcher"} ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Julianne Moore -- Still Alice {"Alice Howland"} ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Patricia Arquette -- Boyhood {"Mom"} ANIMATED FEATURE FILM Big Hero 6 -- Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli CINEMATOGRAPHY Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) -- Emmanuel Lubezki COSTUME DESIGN The Grand Budapest Hotel -- Milena Canonero DIRECTING Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) -- Alejandro G. Iñárritu DOCUMENTARY (Feature) CitizenFour -- Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky DOCUMENTARY (Short Subject) Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 -- Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry FILM EDITING Whiplash -- Tom Cross FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Ida -- Poland MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING The Grand Budapest Hotel -- Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier MUSIC (Original Score) The Grand Budapest Hotel -- Alexandre Desplat MUSIC (Original Song) "Glory" from Selma -- Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn BEST PICTURE Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) -- Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers PRODUCTION DESIGN The Grand Budapest Hotel -- Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock SHORT FILM (Animated) Feast -- Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed SHORT FILM (Live Action) The Phone Call -- Mat Kirkby and James Lucas SOUND EDITING American Sniper -- Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman SOUND MIXING Whiplash -- Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley VISUAL EFFECTS Interstellar -- Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher WRITING (Adapted Screenplay) The Imitation Game -- Written by Graham Moore WRITING (Original Screenplay) Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) -- Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD Harry Belafonte HONORARY AWARD To Jean-Claude Carrière, whose elegantly crafted screenplays elevate the art of screenwriting to the level of literature. To Hayao Miyazaki, a master storyteller whose animated artistry has inspired filmmakers and audiences around the world. To Maureen O'Hara, one of Hollywood's brightest stars, whose inspiring performances glowed with passion, warmth and strength. GORDON E. SAWYER AWARD David Winchester Gray SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Academy Award of Merit) To DR. LARRY HORNBECK for the invention of digital micromirror technology as used in DLP Cinema projection. The Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) is the core technology that has enabled Texas Instruments' DLP Cinema projection to become the standard of the motion picture industry. [Digital Apparatuses Technology] SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Scientific and Engineering Award) To IAIN NEIL for the optical design, and to ANDRÉ DE WINTER for the mechanical design, of the Leica Summilux-C series of lenses. Incorporating novel telecentric multi-element aspherical optics, these camera lenses have delivered unprecedented optical and mechanical performance. [Lenses and Filters] To BRAD WALKER, D. SCOTT DEWALD, BILL WERNER, GREG PETTITT and FRANK PORADISH for their contributions furthering the design and refinement of the Texas Instruments DLP Cinema projection technology, whose high level of performance enabled color-accurate digital intermediate preview and motion picture theatrical presentation. Working in conjunction with the film industry, Texas Instruments created a high-resolution, high-quality digital projection system that has replaced most film-based projection systems in the theatrical environment. [Digital Apparatuses Technology] To ICHIRO TSUTSUI, MASAHIRO TAKE, MITSUYASU TAMURA and MITSURU ASANO for the development of the Sony BVM-E Series Professional OLED Master Monitor. These precise, wide-gamut monitors allow creative image decisions to be made on set with confidence that the desired images can be accurately reproduced in post-production. [Digital Apparatuses Technology] To JOHN FREDERICK, BOB MYERS, KARL RASCHE and TOM LIANZA for the development of the HP DreamColor LP2480zx Professional Display. This cost-effective display offered a stable, wide color gamut, allowing facility-wide adoption in feature animation and visual effects studios. [Digital Apparatuses Technology] SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD (Technical Achievement Award) To PETER BRAUN for the concept and development of the MAT-Towercam Twin Peek, a portable, remote-controlled, telescoping column that smoothly positions a camera up to 24 feet vertically. This small cross-section system from Mad About Technology can operate from above or below the camera, achieving nearly impossible shots with repeatable movements through openings no larger than the camera itself. [Camera Cranes] To ROBERT NAGLE and ALLAN PADELFORD for The Biscuit Jr. self-propelled, high-performance, drivable camera and vehicle platform. The Biscuit Jr.'s unique chassis and portable driver pod enables traveling photography from a greater range of camera positions than previously possible, while keeping actors safe and the rig out of frame. [Camera Cranes] To HAROLD MILLIGAN, STEVEN KRYCHO and REINER DOETZKIES for the implementation engineering in the development of the Texas Instruments DLP Cinema digital projection technology. Texas Instruments' color-accurate, high-resolution, high-quality digital projection system has replaced most film-based projection systems in the theatrical environment. [Digital Apparatuses Technology] To CARY PHILLIPS, NICOLAS POPRAVKA, PHILIP PETERSON and COLETTE MULLENHOFF for the architecture, development and creation of the artist-driven interface of the ILM Shape Sculpting System. This comprehensive system allows artists to quickly enhance and modify character animation and simulation performances. It has become a crucial part of ILM's production workflow over the past decade. [Digital Imaging Technology] To TIM COTTER, ROGER VAN DER LAAN, KEN PEARCE and GREG LaSALLE for the innovative design and development of the MOVA Facial Performance Capture system. The MOVA system provides a robust way to capture highly detailed, topologically consistent, animated meshes of a deforming object. This technology is fundamental to the facial pipeline at many visual effects companies. It allows artists to create character animation of extremely high quality. [Digital Imaging Technology] To DAN PIPONI, KIM LIBRERI and GEORGE BORSHUKOV for their pioneering work in the development of Universal Capture at ESC Entertainment. The Universal Capture system broke new ground in the creation of realistic human facial animation. This technology produced an animated, high-resolution, textured mesh driven by an actor's performance. [Digital Imaging Technology] To MARCO REVELANT for the original concepts and artistic vision, and to ALASDAIR COULL and SHANE COOPER for the original architectural and engineering design, of the Barbershop hair grooming system at Weta Digital. Barbershop's unique architecture allows direct manipulation of full-density hair using an intuitive, interactive and procedural toolset, resulting in greatly enhanced productivity with finer-grained artistic control than is possible with other existing systems. [Digital Imaging Technology] To MICHAEL SECHREST for the modeling design and implementation, CHRIS KING for the real-time interactive engineering, and GREG CROFT for the user interface design and implementation of SpeedTree Cinema. This software substantially improves an artist's ability to create specifically designed trees and vegetation by combining a procedural building process with the flexibility of intuitive, direct manipulation of every detail. [Digital Imaging Technology] To SCOTT PETERSON, JEFF BUDSBERG and JONATHAN GIBBS for the design and implementation of the DreamWorks Animation Foliage System. This toolset has a hierarchical spline system, a core data format and an artist-driven modeling tool, which have been instrumental in creating art-directed vegetation in animated films for nearly two decades. [Digital Imaging Technology] To ERWIN COUMANS for the development of the Bullet physics library, and to NAFEES BIN ZAFAR and STEPHEN MARSHALL for the separate development of two large-scale destruction simulation systems based on Bullet. These pioneering systems demonstrated that large numbers of constrained rigid bodies could be used to animate visually complex, believable destruction effects with minimal simulation time. [Digital Imaging Technology] To BRICE CRISWELL and RON FEDKIW for the development of the ILM PhysBAM Destruction System. This system incorporates innovative research on many algorithms that provide accurate methods for resolving contact, collision and stacking into a mature, robust and extensible production toolset. The PhysBAM Destruction System was one of the earliest toolsets capable of depicting large-scale destruction with a high degree of design control. [Digital Imaging Technology] To BEN COLE for the design of the Kali Destruction System, to ERIC PARKER for the development of the Digital Molecular Matter toolkit, and to JAMES O'BRIEN for his influential research on the finite element methods that served as a foundation for these tools. The combined innovations in Kali and DMM provide artists with an intuitive, art-directable system for the creation of scalable and realistic fracture and deformation simulations. These tools established finite element methods as a new reference point for believable on-screen destruction. [Digital Imaging Technology] To MAGNUS WRENNINGE for leading the design and development of Field3D. Field3D provides a flexible and open framework for storing and accessing voxel data efficiently. This allows interchange between previously incompatible modeling, simulation and rendering software. [Digital Imaging Technology] To ROBERT BRIDSON for early conceptualization of sparse-tiled voxel data structures and their application to modeling and simulation. Robert Bridson's pioneering work on voxel data structures and its subsequent validation in fluid simulation tools have had a significant impact on the design of volumetric tools throughout the visual effects industry. [Digital Imaging Technology] To KEN MUSETH, PETER CUCKA and MIHAI ALDÉN for the creation of OpenVDB. OpenVDB is a widely adopted, sparse hierarchical data structure that provides a fast and efficient mechanism for storing and manipulating voxels. [Digital Imaging Technology] AWARD OF COMMENDATION To Steven Tiffen, Jeff Cohen and Michael Fecik for their pioneering work in developing dye-based filters that reduce IR contamination when neutral density filters are used with digital cameras. The Tiffen Company identified the problem and rapidly engineered a series of absorptive filters that ameliorated infrared artifacts with lenses of all focal lengths. These widely adopted filters allow cinematographers to work as they have done with film-based technology.