Jean Vivié (1904-1972) an elite engineer and man of action, accomplished several trans-Atlantic circuits, traipsing through Europe, North Africa and the United States, with his camera always at the ready.

Fascinated by all modern technology, Vivié quickly gained recognition as a specialist in the techniques of photography and sound recording for cinema and television.

Observing or experimenting himself with every new invention and improvement in cinema, a veritable collector and historian of cinematographic technique, Vivié directed the Service des archives du film [film archives service] at Bois d’Arcy, created in 1969 under the auspices of the CNC and renamed Archives françaises du film in 2003. He established techniques of film conservation and acquired many pieces of equipment and posters.

He managed to film in colour the ocean liner Normandie. The Normandie was gigantic. More than 300 metres long, it could hold almost 2000 passengers as well as 1355 crewmembers. It was truly a palace, its luxury, comfort and decoration of barely credible opulence.

Commissioned on 29 October 1929, that is five days before the fateful "Black Thursday", the date of the spectacular international stock market crash, the Normandie arrived in Le Havre in 1935 for the inauguration ceremonies, which drew huge crowds. It took only 4 days to reach New York. The war would put an end to this luxury liner, sold to a scrap metal company in 1946.

At the Cannes Festival, the Jean Vivié prize is awarded to outstanding image and sound technicians.