Academy’s Tech Council Adds 7 New Members

Nafees Bin Zafar, Maryann Brandon, Bill Corso, Andrea Kalas, Ai-Ling Lee, Leon Silverman and Steve Yedlin have accepted invitations to join the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, bringing the Council’s 2017–2018 membership roster to 25.

Nafees Bin Zafar, a technology development supervisor at Digital Domain, has worked in live-action visual effects and feature animation for the past 17 years.

Film editor Maryann Brandon earned an Oscar nomination for her work on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Bill Corso is an Oscar-winning makeup artist and designer, whose recent credits include “Deadpool,” “Kong: Skull Island,” “Bladerunner 2049” and the upcoming “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

Andrea Kalas, vice president of archives at Paramount Pictures, has restored or preserved more than 2,000 films and is a technical innovator in systems for digital preservation and archive-based analytics.

Born in Singapore, sound designer Ai-Ling Lee earned Oscar nominations for Sound Editing and Sound Mixing for “La La Land.”

As general manager, Digital Studio for the Walt Disney Studios, Leon Silverman oversees digital studio services, which provide post production on-lot infrastructure, mastering, digital distribution services and workflow expertise.

Steve Yedlin is a cinematographer best known for his collaboration with director Rian Johnson on his films “Brick,” “The Brothers Bloom,” “Looper” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

The returning Council co-chairs for 2017–2018 are two members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch: Academy governor Craig Barron, an Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor; and Paul Debevec, a senior staff engineer at Google VR.

The Council’s 16 other returning members are Wendy Aylsworth, Academy president John Bailey, Rob Bredow, Annie Chang, Douglas Greenfield, Rob Hummel, Academy governor John Knoll, Beverly Pasterczyk, Cary Phillips, Joshua Pines, Douglas Roble, David Stump, Steve Sullivan, Bill Taylor, Academy vice president Michael Tronick and Beverly Wood.

Established in 2003 by the Academy’s Board of Governors, the Science and Technology Council provides a forum for the exchange of information, promotes cooperation among diverse technological interests within the industry, sponsors publications, fosters educational activities, and preserves the history of the science and technology of motion pictures.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global community of more than 8,000 of the most accomplished artists, filmmakers and executives working in film.

In addition to celebrating and recognizing excellence in filmmaking through the Oscars, the Academy supports a wide range of initiatives to promote the art and science of the movies, including public programming, educational outreach and the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which is under construction in Los Angeles.

Photo courtesy: The Academy