Takuo Miyagishima

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Takuo Miyagishima
Born(1928-03-15)March 15, 1928
Gardena, California, U.S.
Died August 4, 2011(2011-08-04) (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death Pneumonia
Other names Tak Miyagishima
Occupation Design engineer
Years active 1954–2009

Takuo "Tak" Miyagishima (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2011) was a Japanese-American design engineer who worked for Panavision. He was responsible for many of the company's innovations in motion picture photography and projection. [1]

Japanese Americans ethnic group

Japanese Americans are Americans who are fully or partially of Japanese descent, especially those who identify with that ancestry, along with their cultural characteristics. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asian American group at around 1.4 million, including those of partial ancestry. According to the 2010 census, the largest Japanese American communities were found in California with 272,528, Hawaii with 185,502, New York with 37,780, Washington with 35,008, Illinois with 17,542, and Ohio with 16,995. Southern California has the largest Japanese American population in North America and the city of Torrance holds the densest Japanese American population in the 48 contiguous states.

Panavision American motion picture equipment company

Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product lines to meet the demands of modern filmmakers. The company introduced its first products in 1954. Originally a provider of CinemaScope accessories, the company's line of anamorphic widescreen lenses soon became the industry leader. In 1972, Panavision helped revolutionize filmmaking with the lightweight Panaflex 35 mm movie camera. The company has introduced other groundbreaking cameras such as the Millennium XL (1999) and the digital video Genesis (2004).

Film sequence of images that give the impression of movement

A film, also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, or photoplay, is a series of still images that, when shown on a screen, create the illusion of moving images.

Contents

At the 77th Academy Awards, Miyagishima was awarded the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for his achievements and successful career.

77th Academy Awards

The 77th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories honoring films released in 2004. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and was directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Chris Rock hosted the show for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at The Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, California held on February 12, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Scarlett Johansson.

The Gordon E. Sawyer Award is an Honorary Award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to "an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry." The award is named in honour of Gordon E. Sawyer, the former Sound Director at Samuel Goldwyn Studio and three-time Academy Award winner who claimed that a listing of past Academy Awards, arranged both chronologically and by category, represents a history of the development of motion pictures. It was first presented at the 54th Academy Awards, in April 1982. The Gordon E. Sawyer Award is voted upon and given by the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee of the Academy.

Early years

Miyagishima was born in Gardena, California in 1928. He had one brother and two sisters. His parents had immigrated from Shizuoka in Japan. [2]

Gardena, California City in California

Gardena is a city located in the South Bay (southwestern) region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census. Until 2014, the US census cited the City of Gardena as the place with the highest percentage of Japanese Americans in California. Gardena has a large Japanese population, helping make the South Bay region of Los Angeles home to the largest concentration of Japanese companies within the mainland United States.

Miyagishima grew up in Long Beach and Terminal Island. He was attending junior high school in 1941 when World War II began, and was able to avoid the Japanese American internment by moving to Utah to live with relatives. He graduated from Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah. [2]

Long Beach, California City in California, United States

Long Beach is a city on the Pacific Coast of the United States, within the Los Angeles metropolitan area of Southern California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257. It is the 39th most populous city in the United States and the 7th most populous in California. Long Beach is the second-largest city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the third largest in Southern California behind Los Angeles and San Diego. Long Beach is a charter city.

Terminal Island Place in California, United States

Terminal Island is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhood of San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Long Beach. Terminal Island is roughly split between the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Land use on the island is entirely industrial and port-related, as well as the Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Career

He worked for Panavision from 1954 until his retirement in 2009, by which time he was Senior Vice-President of Engineering. [1]

His first project was the Super Panatar projection lens in 1955. [3] He helped develop Panavision's Primo Series of lenses, used for films including Empire of the Sun ; these lenses received Academy and Emmy awards. [1] [4] He received the Fuji Gold Medal in 1991 for his single autofocusing anamorphic camera lens. [4] He also worked on Panavision's Panaflex Motion Picture Camera System and Auto Panatar anamorphic photographic lens. [4] With Albert Saiki, he developed an award-winning Eyepiece Leveler. [4]

Camera lens optical lens or assembly of lenses used with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects

A camera lens is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically.

<i>Empire of the Sun</i> (film) 1987 American coming of age war film by Steven Spielberg

Empire of the Sun is a 1987 American epic coming-of-age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson and Nigel Havers. The film tells the story of Jamie "Jim" Graham, a young boy who goes from living in a wealthy British family in Shanghai, to becoming a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp, during World War II.

Autofocus optical system

An autofocus optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system has to be done manually until indication. Autofocus methods are distinguished by their type as being either active, passive or hybrid variants.

Miyagishima died in 2011, aged 83. Panavision's T-series line of anamorphic lenses, introduced in 2016, are named in his honor. [5]

Awards

He received the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation from AMPAS in 1999, and the Academy's Gordon E. Sawyer Award presented at the Scientific and Technical Awards Dinner on February 12, 2005. [2] In 1999 he also received the American Society of Cinematographers' President's Award, shared with Albert Mayer. [4] He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Giardina, Carolyn (August 5, 2011). "Takuo "Tak" Miyagishima Dies at 83". The Hollywood Reporter .
  2. 1 2 3 Wakamoto, Carl. "Takuo Miyagishima: An Oscar Recipient's Legacy". UCLA International Institute. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Panavision Mourns the Loss of Takuo Miyagishima, One of its First Employees". TV Technology. August 10, 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Baisley, Sarah (December 29, 2004). "Takuo Miyagishima to Receive First Oscar in 2005". Animation World Network. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Fauer, Jon. "Dan Sasaki: Panavision VP of Optical Engineering". Film & Digital Times. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
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