SRI's Academy Award®

SRI's Academy Award

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the 1959 Scientific and Engineering Award jointly to SRI and Technicolor for the design and development of the Technicolor electronic printing timer. This outstanding achievement was made possible by the contributions of William Evans and S.E. Howse from SRI, and Wadsworth E. Pohl, Werner Hopf, and Thomas P. Dixon from Technicolor.

In the early days of color motion pictures, it was difficult to make an adequate master film from which to produce multiple release prints for theaters. The variability of cameras and scenes composing a motion picture meant that it was very costly and time-consuming for highly skilled technicians to try to create a master film of consistent and high color quality.

Technicolor contracted with Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) in 1952 to develop a near-instantaneous electro-optical alternative to the existing manual process. SRI developed an accurate transfer system that specified the color processing parameters for the new film prints. SRI's project leader, Bill Evans, used a high-quality, closed-circuit color television system that operated with color cathode ray tubes, which were manufactured in SRI's Vacuum Tube Laboratory.

In December 1952, a prototype system was delivered and immediately put into production. SRI's system was so accurate that it gave the correct processing parameters for the very first time. By saving costly film and enabling release prints to generate revenue more quickly, the Technicolor electronic printing timer greatly benefited the motion picture industry.