Loan Robert Allen
Script error: No such module "AfC submission catcheck". Summary Ioan Robert Allen (born October 25, 1938) is a British-American audio pioneer. His career with Dolby Laboratories started in 1969, where he led the introduction of many of Dolby's innovative audio formats — from Dolby Stereo in 1974 to Dolby SR in 1986, and Dolby Digital in 1992 —each step evolving Dolby Laboratories’ transition from analog audio pioneer to digital entertainment leader. He has been referred to as “the patriarch of the company’s film program” as he was in large part responsible for the origination and development of the Dolby Stereo film program. Ioan Allen is the recipient of five Academy Awards (three Scientific or Technical Awards and two Awards of Commendation).
Early Life Allen was born in Stafford, England. He was educated at Rossall School and Dartmouth Royal Naval College, England and in 2007 was awarded a prestigious honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Nottingham in the UK.
Career Mr. Allen was in the British Royal Navy receiving officer training from 1955 until 1959. On leaving he spent some time doing technical writing, including the preparation of Admiralty manuals. He later became interested in folk music and recording, which evolved into artist management, music recording, and record production.
Allen joined Dolby Laboratories in 1969 as employee number 20, where his first responsibility was to encourage the adoption of Dolby professional noise reduction (Dolby A-type) with the burgeoning use of multi-track tape recorders in the music industry. For the first few years while working at Dolby, he also continued various recording activities. Notably, he was producer/engineer for the Irish record company, Claddagh Records. For Claddagh, he produced such albums of Irish music as Veronica McSwiney’s definitive piano performance of the John Field Nocturnes, and the 3rd Chieftains album. , A highlight of their poetry catalog was the production of English Poet Laurate Ted Hughes reading Crow. After the successful worldwide adoption of Dolby A-type noise reduction for multi-track music recording, from 1971 on Allen became increasingly interested in the potential for Dolby technology in the film industry.
Other Activities Mr. Allen has served as technical chairman of the Trailer Audio Standards Association (TASA), is a Fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the Audio Engineering Society (AES), the British Kinematograph Sound and Television Society (BKSTS), and a past president of the International Theatre Equipment Association (ITEA). He is active in world standards organizations such as the International Organization of Standardization (ISO), and was Engineering Director, Motion Pictures for SMPTE.
Allen is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and has spoken at the University of San Francisco on the history of Dolby sound. Innovations & Awards Mr. Allen holds seven patents, and has authored over 40 articles and papers in technical journals, including The X-Curve, Its Origins and History, on the electroacoustic characteristic now employed in most theatres throughout the world, How Loud is a Movie for the SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) Motion Imaging Journal, and Screen Size: The Impact on Picture and Sound. Non-technical written works include a long article, A Movie Odyssey, describing his 25 years of conversations with Stanley Kubrick, published in Film Journal in the USA, and Cut Magazine in Japan. Mr. Allen is the recipient of five Academy Awards (1978, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2006). In 1978 he was awarded a BKSTS Fellowship for “his contribution to the improvement of sound in cinema”. Allen received the Samuel L. Warner Award for contributions to motion picture sound (1985) by SMPTE, “in recognition of his contribution to the development of the Dolby Stereo Optical Sound process and his continuing efforts to improve the quality of motion picture sound”. Mr. Allen received the BV Sturdivant Award for extraordinary service to the exhibition industry (1998) from the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), given to “an individual who throughout their career has demonstrated a dedication to the exhibition industry and its causes.” He also was given the BKSTS Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry (1999) from the International Moving Image Society (IMIS) in Britain. In 2000 the International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA) created the Allen Award in honor of his outstanding contributions to the industry. Mr. Allen has also been honored for his contributions to the film industry with the Ken Mason Award from the Inter-Society for the Enhancement of Cinema Presentation (2002). He received the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Silver Award in 2009. In 2014 he received SMPTE’s highest medal, the Progress Medal, for his innovations in sound research and development programs at Dolby Laboratories.
The International Cinema Technology Association in 2017 awarded Allen the first ICTA Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented, and he CTC (UK) also awarded him their first Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 (date?). (Reference?)
Personal Life
Ioan has been married three times, to Winnie (aka Billie) Campbell (1964, died 2018), Carol Fraser (1976), and Melani Chickering (1995, died 2015). He has two sons, Simon and Christopher, from his marriage to Winnie, and two adopted daughters from her previous marriage, Sharon and Fiona (died 2018).
He currently resides in San Francisco, California.
Oscars - Academy Awards (5)
1978 (51st) - SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Scientific and Engineering Award) - To RAY M. DOLBY, IOAN R. ALLEN, DAVID P. ROBINSON, STEPHEN M. KATZ and PHILIP S. J. BOOLE of Dolby Laboratories, Incorporated, for the development and implementation of an improved Sound Recording and Reproducing System for Motion Picture Production and Exhibition. [Sound]
1987 (60th) - SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Technical Achievement Award) - To IOAN ALLEN of Dolby Laboratories, Inc., for the Cat. 43 playback-only noise reduction unit and its practical application to motion picture sound recordings. [Sound]
1988 (61st) - SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Academy Award of Merit) - To RAY DOLBY and IOAN ALLEN of Dolby Laboratories Incorporated for their continuous contributions to motion picture sound through the research and development programs of Dolby Laboratories. [Sound]
2000 (73rd) - AWARD OF COMMENDATION - To Ioan Allen for the concept, Robin Bransbury for the design and Mark Harrah for the implementation of the Trailer Audio Standards Association (TASA) Loudness Standard. - The adoption of the TASA loudness standard has led directly to better sound in the cinema for trailers and features alike.
2006 (79th) - AWARD OF COMMENDATION - To Ioan Allen, J. Wayne Anderson, Mary Ann Anderson, Ted Costas, Paul R. Goldberg, Shawn Jones, Thomas Kuhn, Dr. Alan Masson, Colin Mossman, Martin Richards, Frank Ricotta and Richard C. Sehlin for their contributions to the environmentally responsible industry conversion from silver-based to cyan dye analog soundtracks.
References[edit]
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