Ira Alan Tiffen (born December 24, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York) is an optics designer and glass artist who worked at the Tiffen Company from 1973 to 2004. He has been the recipient of both an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for his technical achievements in motion picture photography and video imaging.

Early life

Ira Tiffen was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, to Nathan and Helen Tiffen. His father was born February 19, 1925, and his mother was born April 13, 1929. He started his career at 19 years of age working at Tiffen on his vacation time, making

filters Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...

in the lab. When he graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering in 1973, he began his full-time job at Tiffen managing the department for

laminating Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a Raw material, material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength of materials, strength, stability, sound insulation, visual appearance, appearance, or ...

filter glass.

Later career

Ira Tiffen worked in various departments of Tiffen, specializing in manufacturing and product development, and eventually became the Vice President of Research and Development in the late 1980s. He would later go on to receive an honorary doctorate from Columbia College. He left Tiffen in 2004, and in 2007 began making

glass art Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including glas ...

as a

glass artist Studio glass is the modern use of glass as an artistic medium to produce sculptures or three-dimensional artworks. The glass objects created are intended to make a sculptural or decorative statement. Though usage varies, the term is properly res ...

. In 2012 he took on the position of Vice President of Motion Picture Filters at

Schneider Kreuznach Schneider Kreuznach () is the abbreviated name of the company Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH, which is sometimes also simply referred to as Schneider. They are a manufacturer of industrial and photographic optics. The company was founded on ...

. In 2015, he was interviewed by the

RocketJump Freddie Wong (born September 13, 1985) is an American Internet celebrity, filmmaker, VFX artist, podcaster, and competitive gamer. Wong has participated in at least three YouTube channels; with ''RocketJump'', his production company's main chan ...

Film School.

Awards

In 1993, Tiffen was awarded with the

Academy Award for Technical Achievement The Technical Achievement Award is one of three Scientific and Technical Awards given from time to time by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (The other two awards are the Scientific and Engineering Award and the Academy Award of Me ...

for the production of the Ultra Contrast Filter Series. In 1998, Tiffen, along with his father and brother, were presented the Emmy Engineering Award for their contributions to the design and manufacturing of camera lens filters. More specifically, the award was for the Tiffen

process, which involves fusing together two layers of clear glass using a micro-thin bonding layer, which the award description says "provided the basis for an unprecedented level of color, contrast, resolution, and flare control". Since 1988, he has been the author of a Camera Filters section in the American Cinematographer Manual. Tiffen has been an Associate Member of the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

(ASC) since 1992, and a Fellow of the

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and executives working in the m ...

(SMPTE) since 2002.

References

External links

Personal WebsiteIMDb AwardsOscar Winners, Ira Tiffen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiffen, Ira Optical engineers American glass artists People from Brooklyn 1951 births Living people New York University alumni Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners