LogInShotgun, ftrack Studio, the ILM HairCraft Dynamics System, and Walt Disney Animation Studios Hair Simulation System, and other achievements will be honored at the upcoming February 13 virtual ceremony.
Pixar's Soul
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed that 17 scientific and technical achievements represented by 55 individual award recipients, plus two companies, will be honored in a virtual Scientific and Technical Awards presentation on Saturday, February 13, 2021. The ceremony will be hosted by filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), and it will be available on the Oscars website starting at 1 p.m. PT.
The team also promises a special segment hosted by Kathleen Kennedy, Oscar-nominated producer and recipient of the Academy’s Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, who will highlight the groundbreaking achievements of women working in the science and technology of filmmaking.
"In a year of upheaval, some things remain constant: around the world, extremely clever people are striving to push the technology of film to new heights, and the Academy is privileged to be able to recognize and celebrate their accomplishments," said Doug Roble, chair of the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee. "After a lengthy investigation period, the committee, made up of a diverse group of industry experts, identified 17 different technical achievements that absolutely deserve to be honored. We congratulate all the inventors for their contributions to our art form."
One of the awards will go to Fredrik Limsäter, Björn Rydahl, and Mattias Lagergren for the design, architecture, and engineering of ftrack Studio. The team developed a post-production tracking software system, ftrack Studio, that lets small and large studios efficiently schedule and manage complex digital motion picture animation and visual effects.
Another one goes to Stephen Bowline for the ILM HairCraft Dynamics System, a physically robust hair-dynamics model that simulates hair by embedding curves in tetrahedral mesh volumes. Hayley Iben, Mark Meyer, John Anderson, and Andrew Witkin will also get an award for the Taz Hair Simulation System. They developed a robust, predictable and efficient mass-spring hair simulation system that was used by Pixar artists to bring to life animated digital characters with a wide variety of stylized hair.
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