Because of this years (2021) Oscar Technical Achievement Award, the whole history of motion capture for the movie industry was analysed by the visual effects magazine “fxguide“. The researchers could not omit my ground breaking innovation of the optical FaceTracker. In their article about the history of face tracking devices a section reports about my FaceTracker as the innovation which started it all.
Here is a full report in visual effects magazine “fxguide”
At this years (2021) Oscar Technical Achievement Award, which was held digitally due to the corona pandemic, my ground braking idea and development of a facial motion tracking device: the FaceTracker was honored. Too bad they did not award this disruptive development, which was the foundation of the whole process of head mounted optical facetracking, but the Academy gave the price to the company Standard Deviation which took my idea and developed it further. The price wace given to the company which served the most facetracking devices actually used in movie production. Under these conditions, of course US based companies in the Hollywood circumfence were preferred.
Standard Deviation founders worked in the same studio as I did at that time, at a company called Mr. Film, run by Chris Walker. Chris was a technology driven producer, but always short in money. So, instead of buying one of my FaceTrackers, he asked his technicians to copy it. Of course they improved it further. I never received any royalties. Anyway, I sold about 100 of my units to other mayor movie and 3D anmiation companies such as Disney Imagineering, Sony Picture Imageworks and Warner Brothers.
Standard Deviations grew with their Facetracker sales and still are in business. Their founder was so fair to mention my name in his list of thanks during the award presentation.
Thanky you Babak, anyway.
Just published (2019), the interview for my light quantum installation “Quantom” at State Studio Berlin.
Remark 2023: it seems the magazine went offline and no printed issues are published anymore. For your information – and for history -, here are screenshots of the publication:
kunstlebenberlin posed 10 questions to me in Juli 2019. They offer a short, iconic insight to my thinking and work.
Here is a link to the interview (german language)
The magazin Manifesto.XXI reports about Symboter in March 2019.
Triggered by the release of my early music works of the 80s by french label Alter-K, the magazine Manifesto.XXI reported in a long story (french language) about my music work with many photos included. It is worth having a look at: “Anthologie d’un pionnier de la musique électronique“. The report can be viewed here