1990 ILDA Awards
Presented at the 1990 ILDA
meeting in Bradenton, Florida
Hosted by the Bishop Planetarium
From The Laserist magazine, Summer
1991 issue
Laser displays are
getting better and brighter every year. ILDA's latest crop of
award-winning productions spans a range of technological and creative
achievements that would never have been dreamed of when the laser was
invented over 30 years ago. From ballroom dancing to Chinese mythology,
the "maturing" laser industry is continuing to produce fresh and
imaginative works.
Judges selected the 32 winning entries in ILDA's third annual Awards competition based on three criteria: the professionalism of the production, the creativity of the application and the uniqueness of the application to the entry category. The three-person judging team reviewed more than 100 entries submitted under 12 different categories before handing out awards at a special ceremony held during the 1990 annual meeting in Bradenton, Fla.
The judging team was chosen to provide a broad sweep of opinions from inside and outside the laser field.
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Bob Barber, from Williams/Gerard, is known for his extensive experience as a producer and director in the multimedia business theatre field. His credits include productions for MCI, Disney, Boeing and IBM.
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Perspective from the laser field was provided by David Sliney, a committee chairman from the Laser Institute of America.
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Kymberly Taylor rounded out the judging crew, bringing to it her artistic background as editor of a monthly visual arts magazine.
A special videotape available from ILDA features each 1990 award winning entry. Highlights include: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers cutting a rug in laser light, courtesy of Audio Visual Imagineering, Inc.; Chinese dragons and maidens floating across a 15-screen video matrix, performed by Laser Media, Inc.; astral images of clouds and valleys, by Laser Images, Inc.; and an electrifying indoor beamwork display choreographed by Germany's EPOC.
The awards are a testament to the engineers and artists who have put lasers to work. Once best known for their dazzling brightness, laser displays are now a medium for telling stories that range from rock and roll ballads to the myths of ancient cultures.
Another highlight of the awards ceremony was the presentation of ILDA's second annual Career Achievement Award. Last year's winner, Ivan Dryer, from Laser Images, presented the 1990 award to Seiji Inatsugu, co- founder of the cross-town rival company, Laser Media. In an emotion-filled speech, Dryer recalled when his coworkers talked about Inatsugu in "hushed and fearful, but reverent tones." Inatsugu, in turn, thanked Dryer for his Laserium productions, which, he said, "showed us what could be done with lasers."
1990 ARTISTIC AWARDS
Graphic Design: Static
1st: "Bowie Full Body", Audio Visual Imagineering
2nd: "Untitled #5", Laser Images
3rd: "Untitled #3", Laser Images
Honorable Mention: "Untitled #6", Laser Images
Honorable Mention: "Untitled #9", Laser Images
Honorable Mention: "Crane", Laser Media
Graphic Design: Animation
1st (tie): "Weaver Girl's Tears", Laser Media
1st (tie): "Fred and Ginger", Audio Visual Imagineering
2nd: "Eyes/Faces", Laser Images
3rd: "Dragon", Laser Media
Honorable Mention: "The Twist", Audio Visual Imagineering
Honorable Mention: "Putting Out Fire/Flame Lady", Audio Visual Imagineering
Honorable Mention: "Kitchen God", Laser Media
Honorable Mention: "Emperor Ming", Laser Media
Honorable Mention: "3D Galaxy", Laser Images
Graphic Design: Showpiece
1st: "Love Cats", Laser Images
2nd (tie): "Terme di Venus", Laser Media
2nd (tie): "Birth of Ra", Laser Media
3rd: "In the Mood", Laser Artistry
Abstract Design
1st: "Valley of the Clouds", Laser Images
2nd: "Fame", Audio Visual Imagineering
3rd (tie): "Jelly Fish", Laser Images
3rd (tie): "St. Elmo's Fire", Audio Visual Imagineering
Honorable Mention: "Here Comes the Rain Again", Laser Fantasy
Honorable Mention: "Continental Drift", Laser Fantasy
Honorable Mention: "Cubal Grids", Laser Images
Mixed Graphic and Abstract
1st: "New Year's Eve 1990", Image Engineering
2nd: "Ashes to Ashes", Audio Visual Imagineering
3rd: "Mercury Blues", Laser Images
Honorable Mention: "Straight Up", Audio Visual Imagineering
Honorable Mention: "I Will Take You Home", Laser Fantasy
Beam/Atmospheric: Indoor
1st: "Tall Cool One", Laser Fantasy
2nd: "Prince Denmark Special", EPOC
3rd: "Rhythm of Love", Laser Fantasy
Honorable Mention: "Cave of Time", Laser Media
Beam/Atmospheric: Outdoors
"Bumbershoot Beam Photo", Laser Fantasy [no placement indicated]
Entertainment: Laser Only
1st: "Talk to the Animals", Laser Fantasy
2nd: "Big Time", Image Engineering
3rd: "King Kong", EPOC
Entertainment: Lasers and Media
1st: "Spirits of the Orient", Laser Media
Honorable Mention: "Shogun", Image Engineering
Honorable Mention: "Casey's Emergence", Image Engineering
Advertisement/Corporate Theatre
1st: "LifeSongs", Audio Visual Imagineering
2nd: " 'West' Special", EPOC
3rd: "Bell Atlantic", Audio Visual Imagineering
Honorable Mention: "Together We're Magic", Image Engineering
Honorable Mention: "LTX Vision", Image Engineering
1990 TECHNICAL AWARDS
New Technology
1st: "Wide Angle Scanning", Aron Bacs
Created to improve the poor response and scan angle of traditional laser light beam deflectors; resulting in 300% increase in scan angle and increased performance.
2nd: "Little Fish", Laser Fantasy
Use of splined paths; only a dozen frames defined
Special
1st: " 'Queen of Space' Costume", Laser Media
Seiji Inatsugu
Co-founder of Laser Media, who made fundamental breakthroughs for laser display technology
Seiji Inatsugu, one of the founders of Laser Media, Inc., is the recipient of ILDA's second annual Career Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to the industry. Inatsugu, who received the award at the 1990 General Meeting in Bradenton, Fla., was hailed for a long list of technical contributions to the laser industry, "a veritable encyclopedia of fundamental innovations," said Ivan Dryer, head of Laser Images and ILDA's current president.
Inatsugu, who holds a doctorate in physics, began his fascination with lasers in the late 1960s when he made his own lasers and blew the glass for the tubes. His technical accomplishments at Laser Media include the following: the development of galvo-based beam switching, now a fundamental laser show technique; the development of stable scanner amplifiers that paved the way for complex galvo-scanned images; and the conceptualization of Digital Graphic Image Generation, leading to the development of the IMAGEN computer and ZAP software.
In accepting the award, Inatsugu urged the industry to prepare for a nev era that focuses on small but steady improvements in quality. "The book of our industry is not finished. Perhaps Chapter One of the book has been written. It is about the formative years of the industry. We are going to write Chapter Two together. That will be about the growth and maturity of the industry."
Other noteworthy "Sayings of Seiji" include the following:
"To engineers and technicians: it is no longer possible to make leaps and bounds in technical progress as was done in my -- days. Do not let it discourage you because the industry still needs to solidify its technical basis.
"To those who are in management... although short term profit may be realizable by cutting costs in the areas of research and development, I envision that quality in products and services you provide will make your organization successful. Without technical innovation accompanied by creative vision, the prospects for such an organization will be dim.
"Technological progress depends on the technologies and components made available to us by suppliers, such as lasers and galvos. Without their improvement, there is a limit in this industry's technological progress."
