The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that 12 distinct scientific and technical investigations have been launched for the 2016 Oscars. The avenues of inquiry are made public to allow individuals and companies with devices or claims of innovation within these areas an opportunity to submit their achievements for review.
The deadline to submit additional entries is Tuesday, August 30 at 5 p.m. PT. Claims of prior art or similar technology can be submitted at oscars.org/awards/scitech/apply.html. Under investigation are:
+ High-resolution digital motion picture cameras with sensors sized Super 35 or larger
+ Recent advancements in motion control software
+ Recent advancements in wireless microphone technology
+ Computer-printed, seamless scenic backdrops
+ Camera flange depth measurement devices
+ Shading programming languages for production rendering
+ Ray-tracing production renderers supporting physically-based shading and light transport
+ Real-time, vector-based drawing tools for sketching and markup in film production
+ Fast-reset bullet hit kits for live-action production
+ On-set, real-time, principal camera tracking technology
+ Electrodeless plasma arc lamps for motion picture lighting
+ Reconfigurable, rideable, life-size animatronic horses
The committee also will continue its investigation of rig-based solvers for tracking and animating deforming objects from image sequences, which it tabled in 2015.
The 2016 Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation will take place Saturday, February 11, 2017. The 89th Oscars will be held February 26.
