AMPAS honors ASC associate member Don Iwerks and others for their contributions to cinema technology.
The Gordon E. Sawyer Oscar statuette is awarded to an individual whose lifetime of technological contributions have served to advance the art of motion picture production. During an elegant ceremony held on February 28, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences bestowed this honor upon cinematographic pioneer Don Iwerks. The 12 previous recipients of this award include Joseph B. Walker, ASC; John O. Aalberg, Dr. John G. Frayne, Linwood G. Dunn, ASC; ASC associate member Fred Hynes, Gordon Henry Cook, Pierre Angenieux, Stefan Kudelski, Ray Harryhausen, Erich Kaestner, Petro Vlahos, and ASC associate Donald C. Rogers.
Don Iwerks began his career in 1946, working as an apprentice machinist at the Richardson Camera Company in Hollywood while on summer vacation from high school. He returned to the company after graduation and worked as an optical printer operator before being hired by Walt Disney Productions. While there, Iwerks ran developers, optical printers and dye-transfer printers in their process lab. His career at Disney was interrupted in 1951, however, when he was called into service by the U.S. Army. He served for 18 months as a still photographer in the 7796 Signal Photo Corps in Frankfurt, Germany, where fate would change the course of his life.
During his tenure in the service, Iwerks developed Metol poisoning, a dermatological reaction to the chemical methylated p-aminophenol (known commercially as Metol or Kodak Elon Developing Agent) found in many photographic developers. Upon his discharge in 1953, Iwerks attempted to return to the processing lab at Disney, but his condition was a constant hindrance; he could only cure his ailment by removing himself completely from any contact with the chemical.
This led to Iwerks' transfer to the Disney machine shop and camera maintenance department. Here, among other projects, he was involved with the development of the underwater housing for the Mitchell cameras used on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In 1955, Iwerks worked with his father, Ub Iwerks, ASC and Roger Broggie on the 16mm Circarama camera system, which consisted of 11 Eastman CineSpecial cameras mounted on a circular base plate and arranged horizontally to photograph a 360-degree view.
Three years later, Iwerks was given what he deems one of his most enjoyable tasks: the management of the 16mm camera department which supplied equipment to the Disney True Life Adventures naturalist cameramen. "There were always new things that the naturalist cameramen wanted to do," comments Iwerks, "whether it was shooting through a microscope, underwater, or experimenting with extreme telephoto lenses. These things are pretty commonplace today, but in the late 1950s we were doing a lot of invention along the way to help them do their work."
In 1960, the Circarama system was completely redesigned for use on a Fiat Motor Company film which was photographed throughout Italy. In place of the CineSpecials, the system incorporated nine Arriflex cameras (with larger-capacity magazines), which were mounted vertically and pointed into an array of front-surfaced mirrors mounted at a 45-degree angle. This assemblage was a considerably more compact unit than its predecessor. Iwerks accompanied the Circarama system throughout Italy and to the Kariba Dam on the Zambize River in what was then Northern Rhodesia to complete the Fiat film.
Iwerks went on to collaborate with his father and chief engineer Bob Otto on the development of a new production camera for the Sodium Traveling Matte Process. Considered one of Walt Disney's closest collaborators, the senior Iwerks lent his talents to Steamboat Willie, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp and many other classic films during his long tenure at Disney. "Ub was always interested in improving things," reminisces Don Iwerks of his late father. "He was always looking for a better way."
The Sodium Process is a single camera multi-film method for creating simultaneous traveling matte and foreground elements. A yellow backing, lit by sodium-vapor lamps which emit an almost pure wavelength of 589 nanometers, is placed behind the foreground action. Through the employment of a beam splitter in the camera incorporated with a sharp-cutting interference filter, the foreground action is recorded onto one piece of film while only the sodium light is recorded onto a second strip. Until the Iwerks creation of a bi-strip production camera suitable for soundstage work, the only cameras capable of using this system were Technicolor's three-strip units. The process was utilized extensively on Disney's hugely successful Mary Poppins (1964).
Throughout the next decade and a half, Don Iwerks and Bob Otto teamed on a collection of inventions, including a 48-perf pulldown 35mm stop-frame camera for the Disney theme parks' "Hall of Presidents" attraction; the production and installation of many specialized automated motion picture and special effects projectors throughout the parks; and the assembly of a team to develop the ACES computer-controlled camera system employed during production of Disney's 1979 sci-fi epic The Black Hole. In 1980, Iwerks began work on the Epcot Center attraction, which incorporated considerable use of 35mm and 70mm film. In all, 125 projection systems were designed, built and installed within Epcot. "In my opinion, that was the pinnacle of my career at Disney," comments Iwerks. "We, as a team, were able to compile a considerable amount of equipment in a self-maintaining atmosphere very successfully."
Iwerks and his team then designed a 70mm 30 fps projection system for the Star Tours motion-simulator attraction in Tomorrow-land. Just prior to its premiere, he left Disney in favor of new adventures, teaming with former Disney executive Stan Kinsey to form Iwerks Entertainment. The company would specialize in large-venue formats and equipment including 870 (8-perf vertical 70mm), 1570 (15-perf horizontal 70mm), 3-D and 360-degree systems for museums, theme parks, family entertainment centers, and world fairs. In 1994, Iwerks and Kinsey received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Entertainment.
After a roller-coaster of corporate hits and misses, Iwerks was awarded a patent for the Quatro, a 5-perf 70mm reversing projector. In this presentation format, two 35mm frames are printed side-by-side onto 70mm film. The projector's lens and lamp house are fixed to a common baseplate, but between these two, the projector head is mounted onto an air-cylinder-controlled axis which can slide sideways to allow the head to shift automatically from one 35mm frame to the other. The Quatro projects half of the 70mm aperture at 30 fps for the first showing; as it reaches the last frame, the projector head shifts over to the first frame of the adjacent show, which is printed in reverse order, and subsequently runs backward at 30 fps to project the second presentation. With this system, the projector is always at immediate readiness for the next show without ever requiring rewinding.
As Don Iwerks stepped on stage to accept his honor from the Academy on February 28, he humbly produced a golden towel from his pocket, gently grasping the Oscar statuette so as not to smudge its gleaming surface with fingerprints. The audience laughed and then applauded this genuine act of respect for the industry's most prestigious honor. Iwerks maintains his typical modesty when speaking of his achievements, commenting, "I don't know whether I'd call them accomplishments it seems more like a lifetime of doing things that I've enjoyed doing, with people who have been fun to work with. It's really tough for anyone to take individual credit, because the kind of things we do aren't solo acts."
Although officially retired, Iwerks can't resist the opportunity to continue designing and building prototypes in the Iwerks Entertain-ment labs. He offers, "I am very fortunate to be able to have worked all my life doing what I love to do, and I plan to continue doing so for a long time."
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