The Oscar organization has announced the first Academy Awards of the year, honoring scientific and technical advancements in filmmaking.
An Oscar statuette will be presented to the company Alias/Wavefront for developing the "Maya" 3-D animation software, the academy announced Monday.
The program has been used in Spider-Man, Ice Age, Hollow Man and The Perfect Storm to create special effects shots, backgrounds and characters that simulate live-action.
Two other Oscar statuettes will be presented to Arnold & Richter Cine Technik and Panavision, Inc., for the two companies' continuing advancements in camera systems.
The Scientific and Technical Academy Awards will be presented at a gala black tie dinner on March 1. The main Oscar ceremony is set for March 23.
Other honors to be presented are plaques for four Scientific and Engineering Awards and six certificates for Technical Achievement Awards.
The sci-tech Academy Awards are based on recommendations from the scientific and technical committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
© 2003 Associated Press