1992 ILDA Awards
Presented at the 1992 ILDA
meeting in New York City
Hosted by Science Faction Corporation
Excerpted from The Laserist magazine, Summer 1993 issue
Laser professionals from around the planet were honored for their artistic and technical achievements in ILDA's sixth annual competition for Outstanding Laser Displays.
The event was the most intense yet, with 168 applications for artistic awards submitted by 15 companies. The 23 awards covered a broad range of artistic and engineering applications, including the depiction of Thai folklore, atmospherics effects in Germany, a 3D laser and film show in England and laser projections on the facade of the Boston Public Library.
The awards, presented during a special banquet at ILDA's 1992 General Meeting in New York City, were evaluated for creativity, professionalism and uniqueness by a three-judge panel:
-
Ken Billington, an international lighting designer and five-time Tony award nominee, has received two Los Angeles Drama Critics' awards for television design.
-
Donald Butler is an Emmy award-winning art director for Post Perfect, a computer animation house.
-
Eric Staller is an artist who has worked with light, space and motion for 20 years as a photographer and sculptor.
1992 ARTISTIC AWARDS
Graphic Design: Static
1st: "Laserdisc", Laser Images
2nd: "Pii Grasau", Laser Media
3rd: "NCC 1701A", Laser Images
Graphic Design: Animation
Honorable Mention: "Flying Birds", Laser Fantasy
Graphic Design: Showpiece
1st: "Interface", Science Faction
2nd (tie): "Fire and Light", Laser Fantasy
2nd (tie): "Sixty-Five Thousand", Audio Visual Imagineering
Honorable Mention: "Rodeo", Aura Technologies
Abstract Design
1st: "Cut", Laser Images
2nd: "Silent Lucidity", Laser Images
3rd: "Send Me An Angel", Audio Visual Imagineering
Honorable Mention: "Composition in Red (A Kind of Magic)", Mueller Planetarium
Beam/Atmospheric Display
1st: "Marlboro Team '92 Beam Show", Advanced Laser Design
2nd: "Running", tarm SLL Technik
Honorable Mention: "Company", Laser Artistry
Advertisement/Corporate Theatre
1st: "Gauloises Blondes Spot", tarm Showlaser
2nd: "Boston Festival 1992", Science Faction
3rd: "San Jose Sharks", Laser Media
Mixed Application
Honorable Mention: "Festival Fountain", Laser Media
1992 TECHNICAL AWARDS
New Technology
1st: "Renumbering Laser Graphics", Pangolin Laser Software
Sophisticated algorithm to automatically renumber points in a laser graphic.
2nd: "Interceptor", Pangolin Laser Software
Virtual display of laser projection data on a computer monitor.
3rd: "Chromadepth 3-D", Audio Visual Imagineering
Allows laser imagery to float in space without limiting viewing angles or screen surfaces.
Unique Applications
1st: " 'Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", Laser Fantasy
Jennifer Morris
Co-founder of Image Engineering Corporation and pioneer of digital laser imageryLaser artist Jennifer Morris was honored with ILDA's fourth annual Career Achievement Award in recognition of over 15 years of ground-breaking work in the laser display field.
Morris, a founder and former president of Image Engineering Corp. (IEC), made laser history in 1977 when she pioneered the first use of representational laser graphics in "Lovelight" The show, which premiered at the Boston Museum of Science's Hayden Planetarium, also broke new ground with its use of a highly-automated control system.
Morris and Walter Gundy founded IEC in 1979, often working with industrial clients such as Cadillac and Wendy's. Morris is currently IEC's creative director, responsible for the design of such laser productions as:
- "Voyage of the Little Mermaid" laser animation at Walt Disney World;
- "The Laser Zone" series of shows for Kmgs Entertainment Parks;
- "A Haven for life" presentation at the St. Louis Science Center, and
- "IIlumagenesis," laser effects for six dancers, featured in "Enter the Night," a revue currently running at the Stardust Theatre in Las Vegas.
Morris has also directed the development of software tools at IEC and maintained decade-long relationships with such clients as IBM and the Meadowbrook Music Festival. When it comes to laser design, Morris says she prefers non-representational imagery. "I think it makes the best use of laser light A laser isn't film or video. A laser is its own kind of creature."
Before launching IEC, Morris directed laser programs for the Aspen Design Conference, Chrysler and General Motors. She was also involved in electronic music and video graphics. Her independent work has been shown in London, Copenhagen, Geneva, Montreal and Boston. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kirkland College, NY, where she concentrated in multimedia design.
