Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: John Pytlak Wins Oscar!

This is topic John Pytlak Wins Oscar! in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-10-2001, 12:27 PM:

I think this deserves a seperate thread of its own for sure! I just wanted to congradulate John on his achievement.
Mark @ GTS

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-10-2001, 02:00 PM:

Congrats John keep up the good film work

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 01-10-2001, 03:16 PM:

Wow, someone who actually gets down in the trenches and helps out theaters wins an award!

Congratulations!

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 01-10-2001, 03:39 PM:

Good Job John!
It's nice to know people who are on the industrial end of this buisness get recognized for keeping this medium alive.

My hat's off to you

Josh

Posted by Larry Davis (Member # 609) on 01-10-2001, 03:40 PM:

Congratulations, John!

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 01-10-2001, 04:25 PM:

Congrats John, keep up the good work.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-10-2001, 04:49 PM:

Very cool! Now if only they will show a clip of John receiving the award on the Oscar telecast.

(By the way, make sure to get a photo holding your Oscar so I can use it here on the forum beside your posts!)

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-10-2001, 05:55 PM:

Congratulations to John! It's great to have an Oscar winner in our midst.

So where's Brad's Oscar for Filmguard?

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 01-10-2001, 06:03 PM:

That's next year. (Only one Film-Techer per year...read the rules!

)

Congratulations John.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 01-10-2001, 08:37 PM:

Bravo, Mr. Pytlak. Bravo

Mark Lensenmayer

Posted by Rachel Kovacs (Member # 602) on 01-10-2001, 10:35 PM:

Congratulations, John!!

Posted by Pat Moore (Member # 380) on 01-10-2001, 10:40 PM:

NOW I'm impressed. Of course, we all were before as well

Congratulations, John, richly deserved!

Pat

Posted by John Eickhof (Member # 323) on 01-10-2001, 11:33 PM:

Congratulations John!!!! You should get the 'Nobel Peace Prize' too for the way you handle some of the topics posted here!!!!

Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 01-11-2001, 12:54 AM:

Congratulations, John!
It was always clear that you deserved to be recognised in this way. Well done!

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 01-11-2001, 01:09 AM:

Congratulations!

Posted by Christos Mitsakis (Member # 143) on 01-11-2001, 04:35 AM:

Congratulations John! from the other side of the atlantic.

Christos.

Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 01-11-2001, 05:31 AM:

John, congrats on your excellent achievement!

Posted by Frank Rapisardi (Member # 435) on 01-11-2001, 06:39 AM:

excellent John; This industry needs more people like you.After all this is Cinema,not Burger King!Keep up the good work

------------------

Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 01-11-2001, 07:11 AM:

Congratualtions John on your achievement. Maybe it will allow more people to *see* the true importance of skilled folks in our particular field.

------------------
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!

Posted by Mark DeLettera (Member # 125) on 01-11-2001, 08:08 AM:

Well, I wanted to "spread-the-word" on FILM-TECH Forums about John's award ASAP, however, I was waiting until John got back from the ITEA conference, so he would be able to respond to all of your kind congratulations. (That's why John has been "off the air" for a while).
YES, John Pytlak along with a Kodak technician, Alfred Fleischer (long since deceased) wrote the original LAD paper in November 1974! It went on to be SMPTE published in the Journel, October 1976, Volume 85. The Original paper and SMPTE paper are on my desk right now! (I have to make copies for some articles that are being written about the Award.)
Needless to say, John has been overly exited about this

, it has been a long time coming.
LAD is still being used in the labs as a standard today!

Well, I congratulate him too, as I have here at Kodak since he received the first letter of acknowledgement from the Academy. I have worked for John for 7 years, as of this April, and have expressed to upper management that this is the way I want it to stay. He is a fantastic Mentor...I have learned so much from him. We make a great team together but now with an Academy Award mounted in the office, it may go to his head and he might become UNBEARABLE to work with ! (I really don't believe it will be all that bad.)

I'm sure you'll all be hearing from him soon but in the meantime, as his current technician, I will pass on his "thanks" to all.

------------------
Mark DeLettera
Eastman Kodak Co.
Worldwide Technical Svs.
Rochester, NY
mark.delettera@kodak.com
716-588-4189

Posted by Harry Robinson (Member # 265) on 01-11-2001, 08:23 AM:

Congrats, John. Your advise to all of us is always invaluable. Your presence on this sight greatly enhances it's credibility.

Posted by Sean Goodrich (Member # 475) on 01-11-2001, 01:40 PM:

This is my first post, so I'm using it to congratulate John. Keep up the good work!

Sean

Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 01-11-2001, 07:33 PM:

We couldn't have "film done right" without John, and this Oscar proves that without a doubt.

Congratuations, John!

Posted by Pete Lawrence (Member # 130) on 01-11-2001, 10:10 PM:

First, let me convey to Mr. Pytlak my sincere congratulations on your being recognized for your contribution to the film industry. But having to wait some 24 years... shame on the academy. If they really recognized "film done right", video wouldn't have a chance!

Posted by Chris Erwin (Member # 176) on 01-12-2001, 06:42 AM:

Way to go John! The award is a great big exclaimation point at the end of:

FILM DONE RIGHT!

Thanks for all of your help. It really helps to have you here. No one could really give us an "inside scoop" like you do.

LONG LIVE FILM!!

--Chris

Posted by Peter Eaves (Member # 451) on 01-12-2001, 09:36 AM:

Congratulations, John!

As a lab rat, I've used LAD for many years and I can attest to the great contribution it has been to the film lab industry.

Way to go!

Peter Eaves

------------------
Peter Eaves
Director of Film Restoration
FotoKem Film and Video
2801 West Alameda Avenue
Burbank, CA 91505
Tel : 818-846-3102
Fax : 818-557-0385
E-mail : peaves@fotokem.com

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 01-12-2001, 10:11 AM:

With the extra statuettes they are pressing this year in case of another problem, they should award John one of the extra's.

Didn't they have extra from last year.

Congratulations John.

Paul.

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 01-12-2001, 11:01 AM:

Congratulations, John, for all you have done to keep FILM in the theatres, and for all the assistance you have provided us all in the theatrical exhibition industry. I, as the AMPAS has, salute you.

Aaron Sisemore
Chief Technician
Cinema West Theatres
http://www.cinema-west.com

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 01-12-2001, 11:29 AM:

Congratulations, John!!!

Posted by Dave Bird (Member # 490) on 01-12-2001, 12:37 PM:

Hey, congratulations John! Perhaps someone could explain LAD to all of us "amateurs" who John so unselfishly helps here on the forum. Obviously, an Oscar has to be about the highest achievement in the film biz, and so good to see one of the "nice guys" be honoured. Congratulations, and again, thank you from all of us!

------------------
Dave Bird

Posted by Ted Costas (Member # 473) on 01-12-2001, 06:19 PM:

I guess they just give those awards out to anybody these days... I'm kidding!!!!

John, it was nice to see you at ITEA. For those Film Techers reading this, John gave me quite a guilt trip for being "away from Film Tech" for the past few months. So I'm back. Big deal.

John, although I'm sure a pat on the back from the Academy is always welcome, if I know you, having all the film handlers around the country yelling "BRAVO JOHN P" is all the thanks a dedicated man like you could ask for. Mucho congrats from me and all the folks at TAP and THX.

You deserve this recognition, and have for some time now.

You the man!

Ted Costas
Manager, THX Theatre Alignment Program

Posted by Dwayne Caldwell (Member # 417) on 01-13-2001, 04:45 AM:

Congratulations on your award Mr. Kodak!

Or do we need to call you Mr. Oscar now .

------------------
The man with the magic hands.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 01-13-2001, 12:30 PM:

Congratulations John!!!!!

Ok Brad...time to bring out a new title...Oscar winning film handler!!!

Steve

------------------
"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"

Posted by Greg Pauley (Member # 503) on 01-13-2001, 01:08 PM:

Congratulation John!!

Good Job!

Posted by Rachel Carter (Member # 693) on 01-13-2001, 02:47 PM:

As Dwayne said above...

Congrats Mr. Oscar!!!

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-13-2001, 02:52 PM:

I think we need to change his picture now.
Let's make it BIGGER!

Too bad they don't give out statues. It could be with him holding it. Do they at least give plaques or something?

Congrats, Mr. P.!

Posted by Erik Schill (Member # 675) on 01-14-2001, 11:41 AM:

Congratulations john. nice to see a fellow rochesterian and film-techer getting credit for a job well done.

Posted by Andrew Walls (Member # 179) on 01-14-2001, 01:23 PM:

John,

Well Done.....

Posted by Dick Vaughan (Member # 540) on 01-15-2001, 02:39 AM:

From the home of The Kodak Gallery, congratulations John on your well deserved award.

Posted by Peter Eaves (Member # 451) on 01-16-2001, 04:42 PM:

LAD or Laboratory Aim Density is an exposure control system for film laboratories.

Check out the Kodak site : http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/motion/support/h61/index.shtml

Posted by Carl King (Member # 398) on 01-21-2001, 09:52 PM:

clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap
clap clap clap clap clap clap clap

much applause to you, John. Well done!!!

Posted by Rick Long (Member # 213) on 01-21-2001, 10:43 PM:

Very well done, John. We are all delighted, but not suprised.

Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 01-22-2001, 02:17 AM:

Congrats John!

Posted by Anthony Matarazzo (Member # 63) on 01-22-2001, 04:22 AM:

Fantastic John, Congratulations !

Brisbane, Australia

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 03-13-2001, 03:58 PM:

I sent Brad several photos from the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards presentation for posting on Film-Tech. The awards dinner was held on Saturday evening, March 3, at the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills. Actress Renee Zellweger presented the awards. My daughters Katie and Annie shared in this happy and memorable occasion.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Posted by Betsie Beadling (Member # 591) on 03-13-2001, 04:12 PM:

Im Soooo Happpy for you

that you Won an Oscar

------------------

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 03-13-2001, 04:22 PM:

To be correct, it was a "Technical Achievement Award". Brad will post a photo of the certificate I received.

Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 03-13-2001, 04:39 PM:

Congrats John on winning an Oscar. I have follwed most of your post here in Film-Tech and have always found your writings to be very informative. I do agree you should now have the Title Oscar Winner under your name in Film-Tech. As Budweiser commercials of late usually say:: YOU DA MAN!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-13-2001, 05:23 PM:

John. I know you said Technical Achievement Award. But I want to be ignorant and say Oscar. It sounds cooler! No? OK then.

Will the Academy get pissed off if we design a photo with your Technical Award on it, similar to the way we did with the Oscar pic that was quickly removed? The purpose of the picture, of course, would be to bestow fear and respect into anyone who wanders onto the site, and hopefully intimidate a few people! J/K

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-13-2001, 05:23 PM:

Yea Brad,
I'll second the Oscar winner idea under John's name. Can this be done?
Mark @ GTS

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-13-2001, 05:47 PM:

Given enough hacking, most anything can be done. Whether I have the time (or can figure out how to make it work) is another idea completely. Adding something to a picture is super easy, as Joe is "da man" in that category. I am not sure what the Academy rules are on such items, but I want to respect them whatever they are. John sent me a link at one point, but I haven't sat down and read through their rules yet.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 03-13-2001, 09:02 PM:

If I read the Academy guidelines correctly, a news item can display a reproduction of the actual award certificate, as long as the AMPAS copyright notice is printed. Again, I received a certificate, and not a statuette.

Frankly, I'm happy with my Film-Tech photo the way it is, as last year's Film-Tech get-together at ShoWest where the photo was taken is an enjoyable memory.

Posted by Ted Costas (Member # 473) on 03-14-2001, 01:26 PM:

John,

I heard about this fabulous poem that was read as your acceptance speech... any chance of sharing that with us?

Congrats again!

Yours,
Ted Costas
Manager, THX Theatre Alignment Program

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 03-14-2001, 01:42 PM:

Thanks, Ted.

When I first presented the Laboratory Aim Density Control (LAD) System at the SMPTE Technical Conference in Toronto on November 11, 1974, I opened the presentation with a poem:

________________________________________

Have your highlights lost their sparkle?
And the midtones lost their scale?
Are your shadows going smoky?
And the colors turning stale?

Have you lost a little business,
to labs whose pictures shine?
Because to do it right,
takes alot of time?

Well, here's a brand new system,
as simple as can be.
It's name is LAD, an acronymn,
for Laboratory Aim Density.
__________________________________________

In my acceptance speech at the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards March 3, I thought it fitting to use that silly little poem to open my speech.

The Kodak website has a brief article on LAD and how it is used by film and digital laboratories to set up electronic color analyzers and to better control color duplicating:
http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/motion/support/h61/index.shtml

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 03-14-2001, 01:54 PM:

When I presented the follow-up paper that introduced the "LAD-Girl" Control Film at the SMPTE Technical Conference in 1982, I opened with another poem:

____________________________________________

All the world's a gray, they say,
for any film, shot night or day.

LAD took the scale, from white to black,
and reduced it to a single fact.
By printing LAD at the center aims,
laboratories had much to gain.

But grays and numbers are rather dry,
and labs make pictures for the eye.
A film to measure, but also view,
was needed -- that we knew.

Take a LAD, reduce its size,
Add a picture to please the eyes.
Combining the two was the key,
to the concept you're about to see.
____________________________________________

Posted by Jaime Powell (Member # 571) on 03-14-2001, 05:04 PM:

Congratulations John! Perhaps a nice photo of you and your new friend Oscar would look nice in Cinema Notes? Sounds like an idea!

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 03-14-2001, 10:09 PM:

Hi Jamie! Thanks for the congrats!

Since this is your first posting on Film-Tech, I'd like to introduce you to the other participants. Jamie is the new Editor of Kodak's Cinema Notes, working in her role as the Marketing and Public Relations Manager of Kodak's Cinema Operations Team, based in Culver City, California. Her photo can be found on the inside of the front cover (page 2) of the Spring 2001 issue of Kodak Cinema Notes:
CLICK HERE

You can contact her with any ideas for Cinema Notes at: jamie.powell@kodak.com .

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 03-17-2001, 05:58 PM:

John, I completely missed this news as I was away from discussion groups for several months. So please accept my belated congratulations on your award, and here's to continued success!

BTW, who's the girl in the test frame? I remember seeing an article some time ago, about 'the girl who's in every movie, but you never see her'.

------------------
Better Projection Pays!

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-03-2001, 01:03 PM:

Brad: Thanks for posting the pictures of the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards in the "Pictures" section of Film-Tech ("John Pytlak's Academy Award"). It was an honor to receive the award, and a memorable event for me and my family (or my family and I

Tim Reed: I was on the set when the "LAD Girl" scene was photographed in 1982, and lost track of the pretty model in the picture. But with all the recent interest in LAD, I'm tracking down who she was, and where she is now. In my acceptance speech, I noted that she has probably been in more movies than any other actress in history, even if it is only in the film leader used to control the color at the lab for each picture.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-03-2001, 01:42 PM:

The proper phrasing would be "a memorable event for my family and I". Geesh. Win one Academy Award and you think you can obliterate the English language all you want! Just kidding. I obliterate it even more by coining such wonderful phrases like "Phiggidy Phat".

Those pictures were definitely cool! Great stuff to have on Film-Tech. Now send me a videotape so I can make a Quicktime download of the entire ceremony! Or at least you winning your award and everybody making the acceptance speech.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-03-2001, 01:48 PM:

Joe: The excitement of thinking about the award made me lose my ability to use the right words.

The Academy did send a 160 minute tape of the entire ceremony to each of the winners. I'll make a copy of my acceptance speech (including the original "LAD Poem") and mail it to you. Please e-mail me your address.

Posted by Jay L. Metcalf (Member # 838) on 05-04-2001, 01:35 AM:

Congratulations!!! With out a doubt, you deserve it! Thank you for all of your helpful technical advice and guidlines that you have provided over the years. You are definatly a valued asset for this industry.

------------------
Jay L. Metcalf
General Manager
Carmike 10
Colorado Spgs, CO
[URL=http://www.carmike.com]

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 05-04-2001, 09:37 AM:

John:

Wonderful news. You are the first Oscar winner I have had the pleasure to talk to personally over the phone!

Kudos, and keep the reels rolling.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-04-2001, 12:20 PM:

John H.: Thanks.

And I was even able to help you solve your projector shedding problem over the phone!

Posted by Heyward Garner (Member # 722) on 06-22-2001, 03:14 AM:

John, as if every one of us was not impressed before, and since I have not yet had the opportunity to say so, much congrats to you. Please, PLEASE keep up the good work long enough for me to learn everything you have stored in your brain. =)

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-22-2001, 03:28 AM:

Heyward:

Not only would that take until the end of time, your head would probably explode trying to cram all that knowledge into your cranium!

Posted by Tao Yue (Member # 836) on 06-22-2001, 08:21 AM:

Not to beat a side topic to death, but John had it correct originally: "for me and my family." "For" is a preposition, so the words following it should be in object form. Try saying "That was a memorable event for I" and you'll see why it should be "That was a memorable event for me." Even though John is using a compound object here, that rule still holds.

Another common grammatical mistake is to say "between you and I" even though "between" is a preposition and the correct phrasing is "between you and me."

I suppose the reason people overcompensate for grammatical errors to the point that they introduce new errors is that they've become used to correcting people when they start a sentence with object pronouns: "Me and my family went out to the park." That's wrong -- it should be "my family and I" -- but we've corrected phrases involving "me and someone else" so often that we're changing them even when they're right.

To get back on topic -- I'd like to add my congratulations to John. I've been lurking on this forum for two months, and posting for three weeks or so, and must've seen at least a hundred instances of John clearing up inquiries with his authoritative knowledge. A great help to Film-Tech!

Another on-topic matter: I haven't seen the test film with the LAD girl that you mention. Can anybody scan it in and post it?

--
Tao Yue
MIT '04: Course VI-2, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Projectionist, MIT Lecture Series Committee

Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 06-22-2001, 08:13 PM:

Congratualtions John

I think you've earned the titled 'Film God'

cheers Peter