Technical Oscar winners include 2 Canadian teams

The first Oscars of the year were presented Saturday at the Scientific and Technical Awards, the motion picture academy's annual celebration of the geeks and gizmos that make movie magic.

Among the winners were two Canadian teamsAndrew Clinton and Mark Elendt for their work withSide Effects Software, a Toronto firm thatenhances 3D animation, and Raigo Alas,Greg Marsden,Michael Lewis and Michael Vellekoopfor the Pictorvision Eclipse camera platform.

Pictorvision Eclipse, a stabilized camera mount used for shooting scenes from helicopters, hasbeen in recent movies such as A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Hangover and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.

Elendt has won two previous Oscars for his work with Side Effects Software. The Canadian-made software helps Hollywood create digital special effects that can be overlayed in post-production.

"Prior to our invention it was really difficult for studiosit wasn't impossible but it was really difficult to render sandstorms, or puffs of smoke, or clouds. And our invention made this a lot easier for them," explained Elendt.

"When you've got splashing water, falling rain or explosions that are blowing up, those kinds of things are our real forte."

Actress Milla Jovovich hosted the show and handed out the awards at the gala Saturday in Los Angeles.

2001 to Tree of Life

Winnersincluded Douglas Trumbull, the visual-effects master behind such pioneering works as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Blade Runner.

Trumbull, 69, was honoured for his long career of technological contributions to filmmaking, including his latest wizardry in the Brad Pitt-Terrence Malick drama The Tree of Life, which featured grand images of the cosmos and the age of dinosaurs.

He toldthe black-tie industry audience that his inventive film work continues, including a system of new digital technologieshigher frame-rates, brighter projection, bigger and better screens to enhance the movie-going experience.

"I want to accept this in the spirit of affirmation of my work, which is on-going, as you know," Trumbull said upon receiving his golden statuette. "I am trying to figure out a way to make a movie that you are in, rather than looking at."

He noted that cinema audiences have fallen by 16 per cent in recent years because of the many ways audiences can watch movies todayfrom mobile devices to big-screen TVs.

He said it was time Hollywood started making films best viewed in theatres so people will say, "'I want to go out to the movies tonight because it's so cool and it's so big, it's so grand and so spectacular."'

Also receiving an Oscar for technical achievement at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel ceremony was Germany's ARRI camera company for its Arrilaser film recorder used extensively by the industry in the post-production phase of motion pictures and also for restoring old films.

In addition, 25 academy plaques and certificates were presented honouring a variety of other technical achievements in moviemaking, from lenses to camera mounts.

Portions of the Scientific and Technical Awards presentations will be included in the Feb. 26 Academy Awards show on ABC.