The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded the Tiffen Steadicam® Volt™ engineering and design team with an Academy Plaque at the 2025 Scientific and Technical Award ceremony, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. The red-carpet event at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was hosted by actor Diego Luna (Andor, Rogue One, Y Tu Mama Tambien).
Receiving the esteemed honors were Steve Wagner for the initial concept and software, Garrett Brown for the design, along with Jerry Holway and Robert Orf for the engineering of the Steadicam Volt stabilization system. According to the Academy: “The Tiffen Steadicam Volt revolutionizes inertial stabilization with its advanced two-axis motorized design, creating artificial inertia and simulated friction while providing adjustable tactile feedback. Different modes allow the operator to alter the physical feel of the rig. The Volt empowers filmmakers to achieve dynamic shots with more complex camera movement while maintaining a stable roll axis.”
This is the second Academy commendation for Steadicam. In 1978 Garrett Brown and the original engineering team took home an Oscar® for the first Steadicam Camera Stabilizer, and the visual language of camera movement was forever altered. After 50 years of innovation, today Volt technology further elevates the art of Steadicam operation.
“We are thankful that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has chosen to recognize the Steadicam Volt’s contribution to filmmaking with this esteemed Award,” says Steven Tiffen, Chairman and CEO of The Tiffen Company. “This achievement was made possible by our entire team here at Tiffen and to the thousands of operators and other filmmakers around the world who choose to help tell stories with Steadicam and now the Steadicam Volt.”
Learn more about the Steadicam Volt: https://tiffen.com/pages/steadicam
