quote: Carolyn Giardina

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One of the most esteemed design engineers in the motion picture industry, he made first mechanical drawing for Panavision in 1954.

Takuo "Tak" Miyagishima, one of the most esteemed design engineers in the motion picture industry, has died, Panavision said Friday. He was 83. No details of his death were immediately available.

Miyagishima made his first mechanical drawing for Panavision in 1954 and worked there continuously for more than 50 years, retiring in 2009 as senior vp engineering.

During his tenure, Panavision and its employees received more than 20 scientific and technical awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Miyagishima is credited with many of the ideas and inventions that made Panavision successful; he even designed the iconic Panavision logo itself.

In 1999, Miyagishima earned the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation for dedicated service to the Academy; in 2004, he joined a select group of sci-tech giants whose contributions to the industry have merited the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, and with it an Oscar statuette.

The Academy had scheduled an Aug. 16 screening of Steven Spielberg’s historical drama Empire of the Sun [1987] as part of a celebration of Miyagishima’s accomplishments. Empire was one of the first feature films to use Panavision’s Primo Series of spherical prime lenses. Miyagishima, Iain Neil and Panavision received a technical achievement award in 1990 for these lenses. There was no immediate word on whether the Academy would reschedule the event.

“Tak is amazing in that he always had time to help, guide, counsel, or teach anyone from the highest profile filmmaker to a student eager to learn,” said longtime colleague Rob Hummel. “Yet this is a man who had a hand in providing the means for cinematographers to create some our most iconic images in cinema. He was not on the marquis in the general public’s eye, but to generations of directors and cinematographers, Tak Miyagishima is their hero.”

Added American Society of Cinematographers president Michael Goi: “Tak’s important contributions to the tools we use in our craft are only exceeded by the love he inspired in every single member of the ASC. He was a gentleman and a friend, and we will miss him dearly.”

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quote: Bill Hogan

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It is with much sadness that I share the news that Takuo "Tak" Miyagishima of Panavision died Thursday, Aug 4, 2011.

Tak was known by this nick name to everyone. Most did not even know he had a longer name. Much less pronounce it.

For more than half a century starting in 1954 Tak was one of the most esteemed design engineers in the motion picture industry. He made his first mechanical drawing for Panavision in 1954. He worked there for over 50 years and retired in 2009 as Senior Vice President of Engineering. But even in retirement Tak continued to work in Woodland Hills documenting the Panavision legacy and working with his colleagues.

A Motion Picture Academy program later this month is scheduled in honor of Tak and notes the following:

During Miyagishima’s tenure, Panavision and its employees received more than 20 scientific and technical awards from the Academy for the design and manufacture of motion picture equipment, especially advanced camera systems and lenses.

Repeatedly over the years, Panavision’s designs established benchmarks that became industry standards. Miyagishima came up with many of the ideas and inventions that made Panavision successful, and even designed the iconic Panavision logo itself. In the words of Richard Edlund, chair of the Academy's Scientific and Technical Awards Committee: “Tak has been, and continues to be, a leading design engineer. His work with Panavision, in particular the technologies he has created, revolutionized the industry.”

In 1999, Miyagishima received the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation for dedicated service to the Academy; in 2004, he joined a select group of sci-tech giants whose contributions to the industry have merited the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, an Oscar statuette.

He will be missed by all his friends and industry colleagues.

Regards,
Bill Hogan
Burbank, CA

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