The Academy Investigates Six Scientific and Technical Areas for 2026 Awards Consideration
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has opened investigations into six scientific and technical areas for the 2026 awards cycle, inviting individuals and companies to submit achievements by Tuesday, September 8 at 5 p.m. PT, ahead of the Scientific and Technical Awards on Tuesday, April 20, 2027.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. Aug. 20, 2026: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that six distinct scientific and technical investigations have been launched for 2026 in preparation for the Scientific and Technical Awards on Tuesday, April 20, 2027.
The investigations are made public to invite individuals and companies with devices or claims of innovation within these areas to submit achievements for review by the Academy's Scientific and Technical Awards Committee.
The Six Investigation Areas
SECTION 01Artist-friendly tools for the construction of large-scale water simulations.
Audio spectrum segmentation and editing software.
Color-accurate LED lighting suitable for on-set photography.
Digitally-controlled performer flying systems.
Rigging systems for direct manipulation of CG characters.
Solvers for markerless facial capture.
How to Submit
SECTION 02The deadline to submit additional entries is Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 5 p.m. PT. For more information on the Scientific and Technical Awards or to submit a similar technology, click here.
After thorough investigations in each technology category, the committee will meet to vote on recommendations to the Academy's Board of Governors, which will make the final awards decisions. The Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation will be held on Tuesday, April 20, 2027.
“We are excited to explore this year's six selected areas for consideration, which reflect the ingenuity of our filmmaking community across production, visual effects, animation and sound. From tools that give artists greater creative control to technologies that enhance on-set precision, safety and performance, our committee looks forward to investigating the innovation, impact and industry adoption of these achievements.”
— DARIN GRANT AND RACHEL ROSE, CO-CHAIRS, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARDS COMMITTEE
The Sci-Tech Awards are the Academy's engineering Oscars, a separate April ceremony from the big telecast, and the six areas read like a map of where craft is heading: volumetric water, markerless faces, color-accurate on-set lighting. Note the phrase additional entries: the committee has already seeded its list, so the open call is how a rival claim gets counted. LA shops have until September 8.
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