At the Television Academy’s Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, a team of ILM R&D engineers and artists won the award for Excellence in Production Technology – Application for their work on the “Oscar” tool in StageCraft for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
The Oscar application puts the power of ILM’s StageCraft virtual production platform in filmmakers’ hands in a user-centric, intuitive, and extremely powerful interface. The winners include Mike Jutan, David Hirschfield, Payton Gilbertson, Rey Reynolds, Mary Huang, Scott Richards, Ahmed Turki, and Alan Bucior.
Lead Engineer Mike Jutan notes, “Designing an exceptional user experience comes from a deeply-held sense of empathy, to be an engineer but to imagine yourself walking a mile in the shoes of a virtual production artist, under extreme pressure to bring a filmmaker’s creative vision to life, in real-time. The collaborative bond between ILM’s engineers and artists has long been our secret to success.”
“Television has always been shaped by those who dare to imagine what’s possible and then create the technology to make it a reality,” said Cris Abrego, chair of the Television Academy. “The recipients of our Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Awards represent the extraordinary ingenuity and innovation that continues to propel our industry forward, and we are proud to recognize them.”
“We congratulate and celebrate these great minds and great organizations who continue to advance our ever-evolving medium,” said Terry O’Reilly, chair of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. “The most meaningful technological innovations don’t simply improve television, they redefine what it can be.”
The Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Awards are presented to an individual, company, or organization for developments in engineering that are either so extensive an improvement on existing methods or so innovative in nature that they materially affect the production, recording, transmission or reception of television, and thereby have elevated the storytelling process.
Congratulations to ILM on the award. Stream Star Wars: Skeleton Crew on Disney+.
