Report from the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

George Joblove, Co-Chair, Science and Technology Council, is a digital media technology executive and consultant who throughout his career has played key and pioneering roles in the development and application of digital technology to the entertainment industry. He served for three years as executive vice president of Advanced Technology at Sony Pictures Entertainment, where his focuses included facilitating the application of digital asset management, 4K, and 3D across production, post-production, and distribution. Previously he was at Sony Pictures' visual-effects and animation unit, Imageworks, for ten years, where he served as chief technology officer. Prior affiliations include Industrial Light & Magic (where he co-founded and led the team that pioneered the use of computers to create visual effects for feature films, including such milestones as The Abyss, Terminator 2, and Jurassic Park) and the visual-effects unit of Warner Bros. — Joblove received a Scientific and Engineering Academy Award in 1994 and is a member of SMPTE, the Visual Effects Society, and an associate member of the American Society of Cinematographers. He holds a B.S. in computer science, and an M.S. in computer graphics, both from Cornell University.

Peter Anderson, Chair, Technology History Subcommittee, was the director of photography and visual effects supervisor on U2 3D, the first live-action feature film recorded in digital 3D. After a career in advertising, he joined Douglas Trumbull's Future General visual effects company during the making of Close Encounters of The Third Kind 1977. Anderson went on to create Universal Studios' Hartland visual effects facility, which was used for Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979 as well as numerous other Universal productions. In 1981 he joined Disney Studios to film and supervise the visual effects for features such as Tron 1982 and Something Wicked This Way Comes 1983. It was for Disney's Epcot that Anderson developed the modern 3D systems and technologies for filming Magic Journeys 1982, Captain EO 1986 and Muppet*Vision 1991. Since leaving Disney, Anderson has continued to film and supervise many three-dimensional productions including the 3D IMAX releases of Cirque Du Soleil: Journey of Man 1999, Ultimate G's: Zac's Flying Dream 2000 and Wild Oceans 2008. Anderson also serves on the Academy's Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee and the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee.

Lisa Zeno Churgin, Chair, Public Programs and Education Subcommittee, graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in english before moving to New York to pursue a career in film editing. She has since served as editor on dozens of films including Reality Bites 1994, Dead Man Walking 1995, Unstrung Heroes 1995, Gattaca 1997, The Wedding Planner 2001, Moonlight Mile 2002, House of Sand and Fog 2003, In Her Shoes 2005, The Last Kiss 2006, The Ugly Truth 2009, Priest 2011 and Pitch Perfect 2012. Churgin received an Oscar nomination for The Cider House Rules 1999, and along with her many feature credits, she has edited such television productions as Tim Robbins' “Embedded” and episodes of Tom Hanks' HBO miniseries “From the Earth to the Moon.”

Ray Feeney has worked to provide leading-edge scientific and engineering solutions to the film industry since the mid 1970s. The new technologies offered by Feeney and RFX, Inc., the company he founded in 1978, have served as the catalysts to produce ground-breaking visual effects for both feature films and television. — In conjunction with leading filmmakers and software engineers, Feeney also founded Silicon Grail, a company that develops digital compositing software to more efficiently create visual effects for feature films. — No stranger to Academy recognition, Feeney has won four Scientific and Engineering Awards from the Academy during his illustrious career: in 1988, for developing one of the first motion control camera systems; in 1991, for his work on the Solitaire Film Recorder; and in 1994, honoring his development of film input scanners and the Cinefusion bluescreen extraction technology. In 2001, Feeney was awarded the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation 2001 for his pioneering efforts to improve visual effects in the motion picture industry, and the Gordon E. Sawyer Oscar in 2007. Feeney also served as chair for the Science and Technology Council from its inception in 2003 until 2011.

Andy Maltz, Director, Science and Technology Council. The Academy reconstituted its Science and Technology Council in 2003, and as its first director, Maltz is responsible for developing and implementing its operational plan, administering the Council's day-to-day operations and individual contributions to selected Council initiatives. Previous to the Academy, Maltz was CEO of Avica Technology Corp., where he led the first worldwide commercial deployment of digital cinema servers, drove the development of key technologies for digital cinema, and was heavily involved with the digital releases of many major motion pictures in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Previous to Avica, Maltz served as a consultant to companies such as Sharp Electronics and Microsoft, where he spearheaded the development of the Advanced Authoring Format. Prior to these assignments, he was executive vice president of operations and engineering for nonlinear editing pioneer Ediflex Digital Systems. — Maltz serves on the U.S. National Archives Public Advisory Committee for Electronic Records Archives, is an associate member of the American Society of Cinematographers, and is a fellow of SMPTE where he serves on several engineering committees and the SMPTE Journal Board of Editors. Maltz received a BSEE from the State University of New York at Buffalo.