Segundo de Chomón Award 2012 Recognizes Outstanding Contribution to the film industry

The Spanish Cinema Academy has rewarded SGO with the Segundo de Chomón Award 2012 for its significant contribution to the film industry with Mistika's highly advanced technology. The Segundo de Chomón Award is a prestigious accolade that the academy grants each year, to those companies or people, that have made an outstanding technical contribution to the cinema industry. The award, which is named after one of the greatest pioneers of twentieth century cinema, Segundo de Chomón, will be presented to SGO's CEO and Founder, Miguel Angel Doncel, at an official ceremony in Madrid in May this year.

Established in 1993, SGO is a leading developer and innovator in the industry, owing to Mistika's extraordinary capabilities from image capture right through to delivery. SGO's flagship product, Mistika is considered a phenomenal game changer in the industry today and is revolutionising the way production and post production companies work in both 2D and Stereoscopic 3D, across all genres, formats and resolutions. Mistika Live, SGO's on-set application, extends Mistika's technology to the production stage by enabling directors immediate access at the shoot, to analyse images, check stereo 3D elements, select shots, decide on colour grading, edit scenes and prepare dailies. It also allows for the integration of all the VFX with the edit and grade, and creates all the required stereo adjustments for flawless results.

Mistika continues to play a vital role in many award-winning broadcast, commercial and film projects across the globe, for industry connoisseurs at the top of their professions. Mistika is also the system of choice for a plethora of films, some of which include PINA, The Adventures of Tintin and Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough.  Mistika is also currently being used in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again at Park Road Post in New Zealand, amongst many other high profile world-class projects, currently in production. 

SGO's CEO, Miguel Angel Doncel, whose software has also been used in an endless list of well-known Spanish films, namely Los Pelayos, La chispa de la vida, Para qué sirve un oso, Fuera de juego, Que se mueran los feos, Todo lo que tú quieras, Amador, After and Pájaros de papel y Una palabra tuya, was thrilled with the news, stating: “We are delighted to receive this award and we thank The Spanish Cinema Academy for this great honour. Technology companies are often the big unknowns in the film industry, working behind the scenes and screens and hidden from view. This is a rewarding acknowledgement for all our hard work and on-going development.” Miguel continues: “The Segundo de Chomón will certainly help to further increase our product's exposure in the market. We have found that a place exists in such a competitive arena, when you deliver the best technology possible with no compromises in quality. With continual development and advanced improvements, we have very quickly become leaders in our field, which is tremendously exciting.” 

Miguel's scepticism of stereo 3D dramatically changed a few years ago, after viewing beautiful test footage of the Swan Lake Ballet in 3D at the Royal Opera House.  He adds: “High quality stereo is amazing – it draws audiences into the film to become a part of the experience. The process depends on precision and technical perfection though, otherwise it results in headaches and eye strain. If this happens, it doesn’t matter how good the story is, the audience won’t enjoy it, – quality is key.” 

SGO, a global company, with head quarters in Madrid, will always maintain its affection for the Spanish film and broadcast industry. Its inevitable move into wider international markets, has spectacularly broadened horizons. “The audio-visual post production future is focused on 3D, and is the third greatest change that the industry is experiencing. If you look back, the first step began with silent movies, then progressed to movies with sound. We then had black and white, followed by the introduction of colour – this was an evolution that took twenty years to be accomplished.” Miguel concludes: “What brings us the most satisfaction though, is the bond we have created with our customers, to whose needs we pay attention to, with a product that doesn’t stop evolving, owing to our creative and brilliant Mistika customer relationships and the vital feedback we receive.”

Previous winners of the award include the  Alfredo and Andrés Vallés brothers, Juan Mariné, Emilio Ruiz del Río, the Valero family, Luis Castro, Julián Martín, Josep A. Esteve Torres, Santiago Gordo, Ricardo Navarrete, Spanish company Next Limit Technologies and many others.  To find out more information about the award and academy, please visit: www.academiadecine.com