John A. Bonner Medals of Commendation

	Edmund M. Di Giulio

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted John A. Bonner Medals of Commendation to Edmund M. Di Giulio, founder and president of Cinema Products Corporation, and to Panavision design engineer Takuo Miyagishima. The medals were presented during the Scientific and Technical Awards presentation dinner on Saturday, March 4, 2000.

Named in honor of the late director of special projects at Warner Hollywood Studios, the Bonner Medal is awarded for "outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy."

"Perhaps best known for the work of his company, Cinema Products, and for the engineering of the Steadicam, Ed [Di Giulio] chaired the Sci-Tech Committee for five years," said Richard Edlund, current chair of the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee. "This year, the Committee voted unanimously to give the John A. Bonner Medal to Ed to commemorate his years of service to the industry and to the Academy."

So far in his career, Di Giulio has received three Sci-Tech Awards, which he shares with several other people. In 1968, he received the Scientific and Engineering Award for the design and application of a conversion that makes available the reflex viewing system for motion picture cameras. In 1992, he received another Scientific and Engineering Award for the camera system design of the CP-65 Showscan Camera System for 65mm motion picture cinematography. In 1998, Di Giulio received a Technical Achievement Award for the design of the KeyKode Sync Reader.

Takuo Miyagishima

Di Giulio, who joined the Academy in 1966, has written several scientific papers. He is a well-known lecturer and has appeared at many technical conferences and symposiums both in the United States and around the world. A fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), he holds more than a dozen patents in computer and cinema technology.

Miyagishima began his award-winning career with Panavision in 1955. Under his leadership, Panavision received two Oscars, in 1978 for the Panavision Panaflex motion picture camera system and again in 1993 for the Panavision photographic lens for the Auto Panatar anamorphic system. In 1991, Miyagishima received the Fuji Gold Medal, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the advancement of cinematography worldwide. In 1998, he was honored with two awards from the Academy: a Scientific and Engineering Award for the mechanical design of the Primo series of lenses for 35mm cinematography and a Technical Achievement Award for the design and development of the Eyepiece Leveler.

That same year, the American Society of Cinematographers gave Miyagishima its President's Award for his contributions to the industry.

"Tak has been with Panavision since its beginning and came up with many of the ideas that have made the name 'Panavision' stand out - especially in regard to the Panaflex camera and the anamorphic format," Edlund said. "He's conscientiously served on the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee for many years, and the bestowal of the Bonner Medal to Tak was a unanimous choice of the Committee."

The invitation-only Scientific and Technical Awards dinner was held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.