From the SMPTE posse in WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers announced final approval of its nomination of Andy Maltz as 2018-20 chair of ISO/TC 36, the International Organization for Standardization group dedicated to cinematography. Maltz, who is managing director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Science and Technology Council, will serve as chair-elect in 2017 as SMPTE Member Julian Pinn, the current chair, serves out his term after nine years in the role.
“I am honored to have been nominated by SMPTE for this role,” Maltz said. “It is an exciting time in the development of cinema standards, and I look forward to continuing the excellent work done by Julian and the ISO/TC group as a whole.”
Maltz is responsible for developing and implementing the Academy’s Science and Technology Council’s operational plan, for administering the Council’s day-to-day operations, for allocating individual contributions to selected Council initiatives, and for representing the Academy on science and technology issues at industry, government, and academic forums. Maltz co-authored “The Digital Dilemma” and “The Digital Dilemma 2,” the Academy’s landmark reports on long-term preservation of digital motion pictures. He is the project director for the Academy Color Encoding System, an industry-developed platform for color management, digital image interchange, and long-term archiving.
Maltz was previously CEO of Avica Technology Corp., where he led the first worldwide commercial deployment of digital cinema servers, drove the development of key technologies for digital cinema, and was heavily involved with the digital releases of many major motion pictures in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He has also served on the U.S. National Archives Public Advisory Committee for Electronic Records Archives for eight years, is an associate member of the American Society of Cinematographers, and is a SMPTE Fellow, serving on several technology committees and the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal Board of Editors.
SMPTE made the nomination in its role as ISO/TC 36 Secretariat, appointed by and acting on behalf of the American National Standards Institute. The Society’s nomination of Maltz was supported unanimously by the Technical Advisory Group for TC 36 and then approved and forwarded by ANSI to the ISO Technical Management Board for final approval, which was granted.
ISO/TC 36 is responsible for the standardization of definitions, dimensions, methods of measurement, and test and performance characteristics relating to materials and apparatuses used in silent and sound motion-picture photography; in sound recording and reproduction related thereto; in the installation and characteristics of projection and sound reproduction equipment; in laboratory work; and in standards relating to sound and picture films used in television.
In addition to serving as ISO/TC 36 Secretariat, SMPTE is the organizer of the U.S. TAG National Mirror Committee for ISO/TC 36. Howard Lukk, director of engineering and standards at SMPTE, stepped into the role of secretary and TAG organizer in October 2016.
“We are thrilled to have Andy take on this very important role,” said Lukk. “His extensive experience in the cinema industry and his dedication to the standards process will be valuable assets as we move forward into the future of global international cinema standards.”
Hosted by Fraunhofer, the next ISO/TC 36 meeting will take place in Erlangen, Germany, in August 2017.
Additional information about ISO/TC 36 and other ISO technical committees is available at www.iso.org.
