Kodak To Receive Ninth Oscar® From Academy
Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences;
Company Once Again Recognized For Technical Excellence
ROCHESTER, January 11, 2008 – Eastman Kodak Company’s commitment to innovation
will once again be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences. The company will receive an Oscar® statuette for the development of
photographic emulsion technologies incorporated into the Kodak VISION2 family
of color negative films. Kodak Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Antonio
Perez will accept the award on behalf of Kodak scientists at the Scientific
and Technical Academy Awards on February 9 in Los Angeles, a portion of which
will be broadcast during the Annual Academy Awards® telecast on February 24.
This is the ninth Oscar that Kodak has earned for scientific and technical
excellence, and service to the motion picture industry. Kodak’s relationship
with the Academy Awards goes back to the first Oscar presentations in 1929 For
the past 79 years all the Best Picture winners have been produced on Kodak
motion picture film.
This year’s award recognizes the company’s VISION2 film platform, first
introduced in 2002 for its “proven record of contributing significant value
to the process of making motion pictures.” The VISION2 platform consists of
seven camera origination films, which incorporate novel technologies – and 12
U.S. patents to date – enhancing the capability of silver-halide-based image
capture. The advancements contribute to the speed and image structure
improvements found in these films, resulting in smoother, cleaner images
across a wide range of lighting conditions.
“We are proud of our long-standing relationship with the artists in our
industry,” said Mary Jane Hellyar, president of Kodak’s Film, Photofinishing
and Entertainment Group. “This tremendous recognition from the Academy is a
testament to our people, their capability, drive and vision, and is also a
great example of Kodak’s continuing commitment to the film business and our
customers.”
According to Gary Einhaus, chief technical officer and vice president,
Entertainment Imaging, “The motion picture industry is transitioning to a
hybrid workflow – with an increasing number of motion pictures going through a
digital postproduction process. As with traditional motion picture workflows,
great results from a digital postproduction workflow starts with great
original images. The VISION2 film platform and our recently-launched VISION3,
which built upon many of the VISION2 innovations, are the benchmarks in the
motion picture industry for image capture efficiency. The improvements in the
image quality of the high-speed VISION2 500T product were so dramatic that it
is now the predominant choice of cinematographers. It became Kodak’s largest
volume color negative motion picture product within 12 months of
introduction.”
Numerous Academy Award-nominated films for Best Cinematography have also used
Kodak VISION2 film including: PAN’S LABYRINTH; THE BLACK DAHLIA; CHILDREN OF
MEN; THE PRESTIGE; MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA; BATMAN BEGINS; BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN;
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK; HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS; THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA;
and A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT.
“Kodak’s technical expertise has always been an important element of our
business success,” said Einhaus. “We are fortunate to claim many of the
world's experts in image and material science who continue to help us serve
our customers with the highest quality and most efficient solutions across the
different workflows.”
“I am very proud of these extraordinary professionals for their hard work,
inventiveness and dedication. Their careers at Kodak continue to be
distinguished with many industry recognitions and awards. It is an honor to be
associated with such a talented and respected team of people.”
(“Academy Awards” and “Oscar” are registered trademarks and service marks
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.)
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