Arthur Widmer
Arthur Widmer (July 25, 1914 in
Career
Arthur Widmer began his career at
Post World War II, and having spent so much time at Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1947 he sought warmer climes than Rochester and moved to Kodak's Hollywood office with the introduction of Kodak's color film processing. Widmer helped introduce the new Eastman Color Negative and Positive Film, a multilayered color motion picture film that changed the dynamics of power in the movie industry.
He left Kodak in 1951 and joined
In 1960 Arthur joined the Marquardt Corporation Van Nuys Plant as the lead research group investigating photographic methods of data storage and retrieval.
In 1964, Widmer joined
On February 12, 2005,
Arthur Widmer died of cancer in Hollywood, aged 91.[3] His sister Babara Dinwoodie was a local artist in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Quotations
- "Compositing technology became key to creating magical illusions in movies because you could now shoot shots that couldn't be shot or wouldn't be shot because they were too expensive," Arthur Widmer, 2001 interview from his home in Hollywood
- "Art's pioneering work has had a profound impact on the film industry. Many of the films we hold dear would not have been possible without his contributions to image compositing technology." Richard Edlund of the Academy's Scientific and Technical Awards Committee when the Special Award Oscar award was announced in 2005
- "In my day, being digitally adept meant you could play the piccolo. Your award to me seems a little out of place because, with it, you have honoured analogue achievements made in an era devoid of acronyms." Arthur Widmer, in his acceptance speech of his Academy Special Award.[4]
References
- ^ (in Chinese) Entertainment CRIENGLISH Archived March 15, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The 77th Scientific & Technical Awards 2004 | 2005". 5 October 2014.
- ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Effects pioneer Widmer dies at 92
- ^ Mo-Cap Night at Sci Tech Awards | Animation Magazine