San Francisco—Jan 25, 2007
Dolby Employees to Receive Academy Award in Scientific and Technical Category for Environmental Film Initiative
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) announced
today that three employees, Ioan Allen, Senior Vice President; Ted Costas,
Director, Distributor Services; and Martin Richards, Principal Staff Engineer,
will receive an Academy Award® in the Scientific and Technical category to
recognize their leadership in the cyan movement, an industry-wide environmental
effort to convert silver-based 35 mm film to cyan dye analog soundtracks. The
Scientific and Technical Academy Awards will be presented on Saturday, February
10, 2007.
"Dolby is extremely honored the Academy has recognized the company's commitment
to both the environment and the industry as a whole," said Tim Partridge, Senior
Vice President and General Manager, Professional Division, Dolby Laboratories.
"Ioan, Ted, and Marty's leadership in the cyan dye movement demonstrates Dolby's
dedication to scientific innovation beyond enhancing sound and video technology
for the industry."
The cyan dye movement was conceptualized through technology described in a Dolby
patent, which was donated to the film industry. In 1998 the Dye Track Committee,
led by Dolby staff and including representatives from film stock companies, film
laboratories, film distributors, and exhibitors, was formed to lead the
conversion movement. Until recently, analog soundtracks were placed on film by a
silver application procedure that used millions of gallons of water a year and
tons of chemicals, some caustic and hazardous. For nearly a decade the Dye Track
Committee worked to coordinate a change from the silver addition process to pure
dye cyan soundtracks and with theatre exhibitors to equip theatres with the
required red light readers to play back the cyan dye soundtracks on projectors.
"The huge success of the cyan movement is due to the dedication and
collaboration of many individuals in the film industry, and we are proud to be
among a group of distinguished colleagues that are receiving this special award
this year," said Ioan Allen, Senior Vice President, Dolby Laboratories. "It has
been a pleasure being part of this industry change."
Dolby Laboratories has won ten Academy Awards for various achievements in the
film industry. In addition to the Academy Award in the Scientific and Technical
category, the company is proud to announce that all movies nominated this year
for Achievement in Sound Editing and Mixing utilized Dolby® Digital sound
technology. This marks the 29th consecutive year that films released with Dolby
audio technologies have earned Academy Award nominations for outstanding sound
quality.
Nominees for Achievement in Sound Editing include:
Apocalypto (Buena Vista)
Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
Dolby Digital
Blood Diamond (Warner Bros.)
Lon Bender
Dolby Digital
Flags of Our Fathers (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., distributed by Paramount)
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
Dolby Digital
Letters from Iwo Jima (Warner Bros.)
Alan Robert Murray
Dolby Digital
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Buena Vista)
Christopher Boyes and George Watters II
Dolby Digital
Nominees for Achievement in Sound Mixing include:
Apocalypto (Buena Vista)
Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, and Fernando Camara
Dolby Digital
Blood Diamond (Warner Bros.)
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, and Ivan Sharrock
Dolby Digital
Dreamgirls (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, and Willie Burton
Dolby Digital
Flags of Our Fathers (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., distributed by Paramount)
John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff, and Walt Martin
Dolby Digital
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Buena Vista)
Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes, and Lee Orloff
Dolby Digital
The Scientific and Technical Academy Awards will be presented at the Beverly
Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, February 10, 2007.
The 79th Annual Academy Awards will be televised live from Hollywood's Kodak
Theatre in high definition and Dolby Digital 5.1 by the ABC Television Network
on Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET.