
The annual awards honour those contributions to media production and distribution by those whose work often goes unseen by the public
By Jenny Priestley
Published: August 23, 2023
The annual awards honour those contributions to media production and distribution by those whose work often goes unseen by the public
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
SMPTE will bestow 17 honours on 35 individuals and organisations at its annual Awards Gala in October.
One of the great joys of SMPTE is to honour the work of those who often go unseen by the public, explained SMPTE executive director David Grindle. Without whose contributions to media production and distribution, that same public would not enjoy the media they do.
The organisation's highest award, Honourary Membership, will be conferred on Philipp Lawo in recognition of his pioneering of audio and media networking technology, which has significantly advanced broadcast facilities and live production including the world's largest live sporting events , said SMPTE.
The Progress Medal recognises outstanding technical contributions to the progress of engineering phases of the motion-imaging industries. This year, the Society will recognise John Christopher Gaeta for his contributions to Virtual Cinema, Volumetric Capture, and Bullet Time' in the original Matrix film trilogy.
SMPTE's Natalie M. and Herbert T. Kalmus Medal recognises outstanding contributions that reflect a commitment to the highest standards of quality and innovation in motion picture post-production and distribution services. It will be presented to Douglas Walker for his contributions to the motion picture industry, including as chief architect of the OpenColorIOv2 open-source project, and his work on the implementation of the Common LUT Format (CLF), a cross-platform mechanism for communicating complex colour management transforms.
Rolv Gjestland will receive the Samuel L. Warner Memorial Medal, which is presented for outstanding contributions in the design and development of new and improved methods and/or apparatus for motion picture sound. Gjestland will be recognised for his contributions to cinema auditorium design in all presentation aspects, including sound and picture.
Michael A. Dolan will be honored with The David Sarnoff Medal for his significant contributions to the development and implementation of the ATSC 3.0 digital transmission standard's IMSC1 IP-based closed-captioning standard.
The Excellence in Education Medal will be presented to Dr Wolfgang Ruppel for his contributions to media technology education in Germany, particularly during more than 15 years leading the engineering department at RheinMain University.
OpenColorIO will receive the Workflow Systems Medal for its open standard colour management solution, designed for media production, emphasising visual effects and computer animation.
The Digital Processing Medal, which recognises significant technical achievements related to the development of digital processing of content for motion pictures, television, games, or other related media, will be presented to Karlheinz Brandenburg in recognition of his fundamental contributions to developing MPEG digital audio compression systems.
The Camera Origination and Imaging Medal will be presented to Rudolf P. Koppe for developing the technology that enabled the transmission of full bandwidth HD camera signals over existing triax cable, allowing a rapid transition to high-definition television production in the studio and at remote locations.
Richard D Wright will be honoured with the James A Lindner Archival Technology Medal for more than three decades of leadership in audiovisual preservation, which has contributed significantly to developing quality standards in large-scale archival digitization initiatives.
SMPTE's Excellence in Standards Award recognises those who have been actively involved in advancing the Society's standards, activities, and processes. This year's award will be presented to Florian Schleich for his work as SMPTE standards vice-president and chair of the 35PM technology committee.
The Presidential Proclamation recognises individuals of established and outstanding status and reputation in the motion picture and television industries worldwide. Wendy Aylsworth will be recognized for her decades of service to the production technology industry and her trailblazing work, which paved the way for women in such male-dominated fields as aerospace engineering, production engineering, and animation technology and operations, said SMPTE. Peter Wharton will be posthumously recognised for his numerous contributions to SMPTE and the broadcast technology industry, including his passion for mentoring and creating opportunities for underrepresented groups within the industry.
Fourteen new SMPTE Fellows will be recognised at this year's Gala for attaining an outstanding rank among engineers or executives in media and entertainment through their proficiency and contributions to the motion picture, television, or related industries. These individuals are Mark Aitken, John Ellerton, Martin P Feldman, Cristina Gomila, Frank Governale, James L Helman, Polly Hickling, Ievgen Kostiukevych, Madeleine Noland, Peter H Putman, Charles Q Robinson, Chris Arley Seeger, Simon Thompson, and Kelly T Williams.
The SMPTE Awards Gala will take place in the Ray Dolby Ballroom within the Ovation Hollywood, on Thursday, 19th October.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
30/09/2026
Drawn to the many moving pieces of a live broadcast, this Los Angeles native is building a path in production management and technical operations...
30/09/2026
TNT Sports goes big for its season opener in Philadelphia, and REMI workflows at Techwood will again anchor much of regular-season production...
30/09/2026
Qvest has appointed Katlyn Alexander as CEO of Qvest in North America, effective August 16, 2026. Alexander, who previously served as COO of Qvest US, succeeds ...
30/09/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has wrapped its 2026 season, with leaguewide attendance surpassing 1.4 million for the fifth consecutiv...
30/09/2026
Veritone has announced a multi-year content licensing agreement with ATP Media, the broadcast production and distribution arm of the ATP Tour, making ATP's ...
30/09/2026
Netflix has announced it will become the exclusive home for WWE programming in Japan beginning October 1, 2026. The lineup includes Raw, SmackDown, NXT, Premium...
30/09/2026
SES and Sky have announced a new multi-year agreement for direct-to-home satellite services across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, running into the ...
30/09/2026
Big Blue Marble has announced the addition of live multiview channels to its Clo...
30/09/2026
The NHRA has announced multi-year media rights agreements with FOX Sports, The C...
30/09/2026
FOX 5 Atlanta (WAGA-TV) will carry Nashville Predators games during the 2026-27 season as part of Scripps Sports' regional broadcast network for the team. G...
30/09/2026
AI was a big buzz on the IBC show floor but there weren't a ton of companies...
30/09/2026
The PGA TOUR has announced the appointment ofRyan Holcomb as Senior Vice President and Head of Original Content, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Holcomb wi...
30/09/2026
The sound will be more immersive, with improved design and more mikes on the ice and the players
The National Hockey League's season opener on Tuesday nigh...
30/09/2026
TNT Sports is dropping the puck on the 2026-27 NHL season in a big way in Philad...
30/09/2026
The International Swimming League ( ISL ) today announced the appointment of Gravity Media, global leader in live production and content and media services and ...
30/09/2026
By Ramona Flume
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festiva...
30/09/2026
Add an envelope generator to any plug-in
Sync Audio's latest creation is a handy utility plug-in that can be used to combine and modulate other effects ...
30/09/2026
All-analogue tape-style drive joins Series A
Strymon's reputation was built on their digital knowhow, so many were surprised (and intrigued) when they a...
30/09/2026
Two new expansion packs released
Sonuscore have just introduced two new expansion packs for The Pulse, its production engine instrument for modern cinematic...
30/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
The An Evening with Emerson, Lake and Palmer tour brings one of rock's most iconic bands back to the stage. These performances seamlessly blend live foota...
30/09/2026
Schibsted Media, one of Norways largest and most influential digital media publishers and content producers, has invested in mixers and digital signal processor...
30/09/2026
Big Blue Marble announces the addition of live multiview channels to Cloud Video Kit, its broadcast-grade video processing platform. The feature is powered by A...
30/09/2026
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced that Telekom Slovenije, Slovenia's largest provider of telecommunications and TV services, is open...
30/09/2026
PODCAST EXPO 2026 Recorded Using Blackmagic Design Workflow
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Conference featuring 24 sessions over two days ...
30/09/2026
IBC2026 Show Report
David Kirk September 29, 2026
0 Comments
The International Broadcasting Convention has long been Europe's equivalent of the US...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Mavis has launched Mavis Camera 8.2, the latest release of its professional camera app for the iPhone and iPad. This update brings support for iPhone 18 Pro and...
30/09/2026
New Solution Expands Harmonic's Network Intelligence Portfolio and Brings Comcast-Developed Fiber Monitoring Technology to Broadband Operators, Providing Re...
30/09/2026
Thank you to Film-TV Video for the original article - you can view it here
It was early 1983. I had just turned 21 when I joined Hitachi Denshi's European...
30/09/2026
How to Shop Well Now starts Monday at 9.35pm
on RT One and RT Player
On the...
30/09/2026
Building on nearly a decade of co-engineering, CoreWeave has built NVIDIA compute, networking and software into a cloud purpose-built for AI that's still re...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...