The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The award celebrates motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards, although prior winners of competitive Academy Awards are not excluded from receiving the Honorary Award.
John Charles Dykstra, A.S.C. is an American special effects artist, pioneer in the development of the use of computers in filmmaking and recipient of three Academy Awards, among many other awards and prizes. He was one of the original founders of Industrial Light & Magic, the special effects and computer graphics division of Lucasfilm. He is well known as the special effects lead on the original Star Wars, helping bring the original visuals for lightsabers, space battles between X-wings and TIE fighters, and Force powers to the screen. He also led special effects on many other movies, including Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, Stuart Little, X-Men: First Class, Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2.
The Arri Group is a global supplier of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and postproduction equipment. Hermann Simon mentioned this company in his book Hidden Champions of the 21st Century as an example of a Hidden Champion. The Arri Alexa camera system was used to film Academy Award winners for Best Cinematography including Hugo, Life of Pi, Gravity, Birdman and The Revenant.
The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. It was the first Academy Awards ceremony to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. For the first time since the 11th Academy Awards, there was no host.
The 26th Academy Awards ceremony was held on March 25, 1954. It took place at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, and the NBC Century Theatre in New York City.
Linwood G. Dunn, A.S.C. was a pioneer of visual special effects in motion pictures and inventor of related technology. Dunn worked on many films and TV series, including the original 1933 King Kong (1933), Citizen Kane (1941), and Star Trek (1966–69).
The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of prize-winning writers and movie columnists, for achievements in the Philippine cinema for a calendar year. Members of the academy including avid movie viewers, fans or enthusiasts will cast their votes on who should win the statuettes on different categories they were nominated. Established since 1952, it the oldest existing film industry award-giving body in the Philippines and one of the oldest in Asia. The FAMAS Awards, from 1952 to 1982, was the highest Filipino film award a filmmaker or artisan could receive in the local movie industry.
The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British Columbia in 1999. A film festival, added in 2005, was cancelled in 2010. Awards categories are numerous, and include but are not exclusive to live action, animated, adult dramatic, children's, documentary film, documentary television, feature films, short films.
The 21st Academy Awards features numerous firsts. It was the first time a non-Hollywood production won Best Picture, Hamlet and the first time an individual directed himself in an Oscar-winning performance.
Perry Kivolowitz is an American computer scientist and business person. In 1985, he co-founded Advanced Systems Design Group which built hardware for the Commodore Amiga. This company was renamed Elastic Reality, Inc. and became well known as a digital imaging software provider. In 1987, Kivolowitz invented the recoverable ram drive In 1995 this company sold to Avid Technology, Inc.
Theatrical smoke and fog, also known as special effect smoke, fog or haze, is a category of atmospheric effects used in the entertainment industry. The use of fogs can be found throughout motion picture and television productions, live theatre, concerts, at nightclubs and raves, amusement and theme parks and even in video arcades and similar venues. These atmospheric effects are used for creating special effects, to make lighting and lighting effects visible, and to create a specific sense of mood or atmosphere. If an individual is at an entertainment venue and beams of light are visible cutting across the room, that most likely means smoke or fog is being used. Theatrical smoke and fog are indispensable in creating visible mid-air laser effects to entertain audiences. Recently smaller, cheaper fog machines have become available to the general public, and fog effects are becoming more common in residential applications, from small house parties to Halloween and Christmas.
Scott Leva is an award-winning stuntman and stunt coordinator who began his career as a gymnast and entered stuntwork in the 1970s.
Tommy G. Warren is an American Screenwriter, Award Winning Director and Producer. Warren began working in film and video in the 1970s. Tommy has worked on film / videos / TV with MGM and officed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. In 2004 Tommy G. Warren founder of Spiderwood Productions[SpiderwoodStudios] & [Spiderwood Magic] - began creating feature Films / Videos / TV, Music and Media. Then in 2009 Warren opened Spiderwood Studios a full service Motion Picture & TV Studios and Back- Lot along the Lower Colorado River just outside Austin, Texas. Warren also is the founder and owner of T.Warren Investment,inc. [Twarreninvestments.com] / Other businesses includes: Director at Bold Ventures (High-Tech) / Projekt 202 Dallas, Austin & Seattle.
Janek Sirrs is visual effects artist who is known for his work in films such as The Matrix, Batman Begins, The Avengers and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
Clay Pinney is an American special effects artist who has won an Academy Award for visual effects as well as an Academy Award for Technical Achievement.
