Cooke Optics, designer and manufacturer of 35mm lenses for the film industry is set to receive an Academy Awards honour this year. The British company, based in Leicester which exports to over 60 countries worldwide, are set to receive the award at this year’s ceremony on 9th February at the Beverly Hills Hotel, L.A. which will be held two weeks before the actual Oscars ceremony.
Cooke Optics, whose innovations and contributions to the cinema industry over the years have included cinematic zoom lenses, and fast prime lenses for movie cameras, which has eliminated the sheer need to very bright lights on set and on location over the years, and have also developed ‘iTechnology Protocol’, which has been adopted by many leading camera and lens manufacturers that collects vital lens metadata to provide more accurate information to camera operators and post-production teams, an almost invaluable tool in today’s fast-paced industry.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® created the Scientific and Technical Award to honour the men, women and companies whose discoveries and innovations have contributed in significant, outstanding and lasting ways to motion pictures. The Academy had this to say about Cooke’s merit award; “helped define the look of motion pictures over the last century.” Cooke lenses are renowned in the industry for the ‘Cooke Look®’, which gives a warm, natural feel to images on the screen.”
Each lens produced by Cooke is carefully hand-crafted in Britain, to combine new state of the art technology and 100 year old craftsmanship that work together to create the now famed ‘Cooke-look’.
Cooke Optics owner and Chairman, Les Zellan had this to say about receiving their first academy award, “We are thrilled that the company has been recognised by the Academy after 120 years’ continuous service to the motion picture industry; I’m humbled to accept the award on behalf of all the talented people currently working at Cooke as well as the thousands that have gone before. Cooke has been an innovative force in this industry from the birth of motion pictures to the current digital film revolution. Our commitment has always been to enable customers to realise their vision and help them create the films that capture the imaginations of audiences around the world.”
Having used Cooke Lenses before on many occasions, we at All Ablaze Productions would like to wish Cooke Optics congratulations with their long awaited (and much deserved) award, and wish them all the best for future projects and camera technology innovations! Thanks Cooke!