The Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist (French: Prix Vulcain de l’Artiste Technicien) is an independent film award created in 2003. It rewards the work of a technician for his or her collaboration in the creation of a film from the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival.^[1] It is awarded by a special jury, appointed by the Superior Technical Commission of Image and Sound (French: Commission Supérieure Technique de l’Image et du Son or CST).^{[citation needed]}

In 1951, the CST created the Technical Grand Prize (French: Grand Prix Technique) of the CST, awarded during the Cannes Film Festival. That prize existed until 2001.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Pierre-William Glenn, president of the CST, struggled to once again have a prize awarded to a technician during the Cannes Film Festival. Thus, the Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist was born as a part of the festival roster and approved by the festival's president Gilles Jacob.^[2]

Since 2021, the CST has also been awarding the CST Young Female Film Technician Prize, to highlight a young female head of station in French cinema.^[3]

The actual trophy is awarded to the winner in Paris, during a special evening following the festival.^[2]

It is inspired by an image from Jean-Luc Godard's movie Le Mépris (Contempt) (1963) and represents a movie camera with analog and numeric elements.^[4]