VES Awards 2013

Posted: February 28, 2013 in Uncategorized
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11th Annual VES Awards Winners

The Visual Effects Society Announces the Winners of The 11th Annual VES Awards

Fox’s ‘Life of Pi,’ Disney-Pixar’s ‘Brave’ and HBO’s ‘Games of Thrones’ Each Win Four Categories

Los Angeles, February 5, 2013 –The Visual Effects Society announced today the winners of The 11th Annual VES Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The event recognizes outstanding visual effects in twenty-four categories of film, animation, television, commercials and video games.

Jeffrey A. Okun, Chair of the Visual Effects Society, commented, “Over eleven years, our awards show has developed into a truly special event. Each year, we put a spotlight on artists’ achievements in visual effects that today more than ever define the experience of going to the cinema. We thank everyone who came together tonight to honor the artistry of all of our winners and nominees.”

Filmmakers, celebrities, producers and guests joined more than a thousand attendees from the visual effects industry for the sold-out gala – which honored director Ang Lee with the VES Visionary Award, presented by Dennis Muren, and Richard Edlund with the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Harrison Ford.

Life of Pi and Brave were the evening’s most honored feature films, with four awards each. Life of Pi won in the categories of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture; Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture; Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture; and Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture. Brave won in the categories of Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture; Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture; Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture; and Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture.

Game of Thrones was the most-honored television project, also winning four awards.

To see photos of the event, please click HERE

 

The following is the complete list of winners of The 11th Annual VES Awards:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture

Life of Pi
Donald R. Elliott
Susan Macleod
Guillaume Rocheron
Bill Westenhofer

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture

The Impossible
Felix Bergés
Sandra Hermida
Pau Costa Moeller

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Brave
Mark Andrews
Steve May
Katherine Sarafian
Bill Wise

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

Game of Thrones: Valar Morghulis
Rainer Gombos
Steve Kullback
Sven Martin
Juri Stanossek

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

Boardwalk Empire: Episode 308
John Bair
Parker Chehak
Paul Graff
Lesley Robson-Foster

Outstanding Real-Time Visuals in a Video Game

Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Jason Blundell
Barry Whitney
Colin Whitney

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

Nike: Biomorph
Rafael Colon
Aladino Debert
David Liu
Nicola Wiseman

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
Heather Drummons
Joel Friesch
Brooke Breton
Chris Bailey

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Life of Pi: Richard Parker
Erik De Boer
Sean Comer
Betsy Asher Hall
Kai-Hua Lan

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Brave: Merida
Travis Hathaway
Olivier Soares
Peter Sumanaseni
Brian Tindall

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial or Broadcast Program

Game of Thrones: Training the Dragons
Irfan Celik
Florian Friedmann
Ingo Schachner
Chris Stenner

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

The Avengers: Midtown Manhattan
Richard Bluff
Barry Williams
David Meny
Andy Proctor

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Brave: The Forest
Tim Best
Steve Pilcher
Inigo Quilez
Andrew Whittock

Outstanding Created Environment in a Commercial or Broadcast Program

Game of Thrones: Pyke
Rene Borst
Thilo Ewers
Adam Figielski
Jonas Stuckenbrock

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Matt Aitken
Victor Huang
Christian Rivers
R. Christopher White

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Commercial or Broadcast Program

ZombiU
Dominique Boidin
Léon Bérelle
Rémi Kozyra
Maxime Luère

Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture

The Avengers: Helicarrier
Rene Garcia
Bruce Holcomb
Polly Ing
Aaron Wilson

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Life of Pi: Storm of God
Harry Mukhopadhyay
David Stopford
Mark Williams
Derek Wolfe

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Brave
Chris Chapman
Dave Hale
Michael K. O’Brien
Bill Watral

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Commercial or Broadcast Program

Guinness: Cloud
Tom Bussell
Neil Davies

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture

Life of Pi: Storm of God
Ryan Clarke
Jose Fernandez
Sean Oharas
Hamish Schumacher

Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program

Game of Thrones, Episode 210: White Walker Army
Falk Boje
Esther Engel
Alexey Kuchinsky
Klaus Wuchta

Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial

Chevy 2012 Silverado
Dominik Bauch
Nicholas Kim
Benjamin Walsh

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

Natalis
Daniel Brkovic
David Kirchner
Jan-Marcel Kuehn
Tom Ferstl

BAFTA AWARDS 2013

Posted: February 28, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Film in 2013

  • WinSilver Linings Playbook

    David O. Russell

    Argo

    Chris Terrio

    Beasts Of The Southern Wild

    Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin

    Life Of Pi

    David Magee

    Lincoln

    Tony Kushner

  • WinBrave

    Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman

    Frankenweenie

    Tim Burton

    ParaNorman

    Sam Fell, Chris Butler

  • WinLife Of Pi

    Claudio Miranda

    Anna Karenina

    Seamus McGarvey

    Les Misérables

    Danny Cohen

    Lincoln

    Janusz Kaminski

    Skyfall

    Roger Deakins

  • WinAnna Karenina

    Jacqueline Durran

    Great Expectations

    Beatrix Aruna Pasztor

    Les Misérables

    Paco Delgado

    Lincoln

    Joanna Johnston

    Snow White And The Huntsman

    Colleen Atwood

  • WinBen Affleck

    Argo

    Michael Haneke

    Amour

    Quentin Tarantino

    Django Unchained

    Ang Lee

    Life Of Pi

    Kathryn Bigelow

    Zero Dark Thirty

  • WinSearching For Sugar Man

    Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn

    The Imposter

    Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis

    McCullin

    David Morris, Jacqui Morris

    Marley

    Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel

    West Of Memphis

    Amy Berg

  • WinJuno Temple

    Elizabeth Olsen

    Andrea Riseborough

    Suraj Sharma

    Alicia Vikander

  • WinArgo

    William Goldenberg

    Django Unchained

    Fred Raskin

    Life Of Pi

    Tim Squyres

    Skyfall

    Stuart Baird

    Zero Dark Thirty

    Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg

  • WinSir Alan Parker

  • WinArgo

    Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney

    Les Misérables

    Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh

    Life Of Pi

    Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark

    Lincoln

    Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy

    Zero Dark Thirty

    Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison

  • WinAmour

    Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz

    Headhunters

    Morten Tyldum, Marianne Gray, Asle Vatn

    The Hunt

    Thomas Vinterberg, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Morten Kaufmann

    Rust And Bone

    Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux

    Untouchable

    Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun

  • WinDaniel Day-Lewis

    Lincoln

    Ben Affleck

    Argo

    Bradley Cooper

    Silver Linings Playbook

    Hugh Jackman

    Les Misérables

    Joaquin Phoenix

    The Master

  • WinEmmanuelle Riva

    Amour

    Helen Mirren

    Hitchcock

    Jennifer Lawrence

    Silver Linings Playbook

    Jessica Chastain

    Zero Dark Thirty

    Marion Cotillard

    Rust And Bone

  • WinLes Misérables

    Lisa Westcott

    Anna Karenina

    Ivana Primorac

    Hitchcock

    Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger

    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

    Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

    Lincoln

    Lois Burwell, Kay Georgiou

  • WinSkyfall

    Thomas Newman

    Argo

    Alexandre Desplat

    Anna Karenina

    Dario Marianelli

    Life Of Pi

    Mychael Danna

    Lincoln

    John Williams

  • WinDjango Unchained

    Quentin Tarantino

    Amour

    Michael Haneke

    The Master

    Paul Thomas Anderson

    Moonrise Kingdom

    Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

    Zero Dark Thirty

    Mark Boal

  • WinTessa Ross

  • WinSkyfall

    Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan

    Anna Karenina

    Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Tom Stoppard

    The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

    John Madden, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Ol Parker

    Les Misérables

    Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh, William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claud

    Seven Psychopaths

    Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin

  • WinBart Layton, Dimitri Doganis

    The Imposter

    David Morris, Jacqui Morris

    McCullin

    Dexter Fletcher, Danny King

    Wild Bill

    James Bobin

    The Muppets

    Tina Gharavi

    I Am Nasrine

  • WinLes Misérables

    Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson

    Anna Karenina

    Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

    Life Of Pi

    David Gropman, Anna Pinnock

    Lincoln

    Rick Carter, Jim Erickson

    Skyfall

    Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock

  • WinThe Making Of Longbird

    Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

    Here To Fall

    Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath

    I’m Fine Thanks

    Eamonn O’Neill

  • WinSwimmer

    Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw

    The Curse

    Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries

    Good Night

    Muriel D’Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir

    Tumult

    Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews

    The Voorman Problem

    Mark Gill, Baldwin Li

  • WinLes Misérables

    Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst

    Django Unchained

    Mark Ulano, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Wylie Stateman

    Life Of Pi

    Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill

    Skyfall

    Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers

    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

    Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Brent Burge, Chris Ward

  • WinLife Of Pi

    Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer, Donald R. Elliott

    The Dark Knight Rises

    Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Peter Bebb, Andrew Lockley

    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

    Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White

    Prometheus

    Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, Trevor Wood, Paul Butterworth

    Marvel Avengers Assemble

    Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick

  • WinChristoph Waltz

    Django Unchained

    Alan Arkin

    Argo

    Javier Bardem

    Skyfall

    Philip Seymour Hoffman

    The Master

    Tommy Lee Jones

    Lincoln

  • WinAnne Hathaway

    Les Misérables

    Amy Adams

    The Master

    Helen Hunt

    The Sessions

    Judi Dench

    Skyfall

    Sally Field

    Lincoln

Maattrraan Film VFX – Conjoined Twins

Posted: February 28, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Twice the effect

When Indian actor Suriya was cast to play conjoined twins in K.V Anand’s Maattrraan, visual effects became crucial to realizing the story. Srinivas Mohan, looked to several solutions, including digital head replacement and multi-camera re-projections, to craft shots of the twins dancing, fighting and acting together.

On the Light Stage. IBL lighting pioneer Paul Debevec assisted Srinivas Mohan with the production and scanning for Maattrraan.

Face render.

Principal photography relied on Suriya acting with a body double whose head would later be replaced. Action and dance shots that required fast movements were generally achieved with a digital version of Suriya. Facial scans were taken of the actor on a Light Stage in Los Angeles (with extra assistance provided by Paul Debevec). Wider shots made use of Image Metrics facial animation tech. Suriya’s on-set facial performance was recorded via a helmet rig made up of LED strips, a CCD cam and an iPhone 4s. The digital head model was modeled in Maya and Jupiter Jazz’s Jupiter Skin.

 
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Watch a breakdown of the digital head replacement work.

More static shots of the conjoined twins were achieved by replacing the body double’s head with Suriya’s performance captured separately on greenscreen. But to solve perspective issues, the visual effects team recorded the greenscreen performance from multiple angles using five cameras. A 3D mesh of Suriya was tracked onto the body double that matched the greenscreen performance, before the five camera textures were projected onto the 3D head using Nuke. To calibrate the five-camera setup to the live cameras, an Xbox Kinect sensor helped capture camera placements on location.

 
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See how the head re-projection shots were accomplished.

An interesting approach was also used to properly time Suriya’s performance with the body double’s head and body movements. The body double’s performance was recorded with numbered beats (1,2,3,4 etc) – which Suriya observed and remembered as reference.

VES responds to VFX protest

Posted: February 28, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Yesterday saw an outpouring of support for visual effects artists as they staged a VFX protest before the Oscars in the wake of recent financial difficulties faced by shops such as Rhythm & Hues, and due to on-going issues in the industry. During the day, Visual Effects Society Chair Jeff Okun was quoted in this Variety article with comments that suggested he thought the protest had been ‘badly organized’.

Now, Okun has emailed VES members in a message (which the VES has posted on its website) saying that his comments to Variety had been taken out of context. He notes also in the message that he was ‘angry and outraged’ at the apparent censorship leveled at the visual effects Oscar winners when they were giving their acceptance speech. Okun says the VES has been working for three years on visual effects industry and union issues.

UPDATE: Variety’s David S. Cohen mentioned on twitter:
@VFXSociety No one from VES, including @Jeffokun, has called or written to complain about his quotes in @Variety or ask for a correction.

Here’s the full message from Jeff Okun:

Message from VES Chair Jeffrey A. Okun
To The Members Of The VES

From Jeffrey A. Okun, Chair

We are at a tipping point in our industry – no matter where you live or work. It has become painfully obvious that while profits abound for producers and distributors, our budgets are being squeezed to the point of jeopardizing our jobs and the quest for a reasonable life style for VFX artists. This was evidenced by the Protest yesterday at the Oscars. There is just a lot of anger and frustration out there and it has taken tangible form at this time.

Add to this heated time what occurred on the Oscar broadcast when LIFE OF PI wins the award and the team is effectively censored from making any statement about our plight. Not to mention the further insult of the Jaws theme being used.

During the Oscar-cast I received a call from Variety (they amended the article to add my comments). I WAS ANGRY and OUTRAGED. I am still angry and outraged.

But what was printed in the article was taken out of context, which I am personally very upset about. What I said was: Change needs to happen. That I supported the protest and even more the protesters. I said that what we need is a clearer sense of strategic thinking about what we should be asking for with the support of the entire VFX community. I felt that to organize a formal protest without well defined goals was not the best way to capitalize on the anger in our community (although I was heartened to hear that hundreds of artists from our community took part).

The VES has been working extremely hard to bring us together and accomplish this. We have spent 3 years meeting, talking, presenting, planning and attempting to bring together the real stakeholders in this issue. We have brought the discussion to the forefront of the artists, the facilities and the studios as well as the press. We have hosted meetings for those who wanted to explore whether or not to form Trade organizations or Unions. We have spent considerable time and effort researching Healthcare issues for our members around the world who need it. We have continued to bring the issues to the forefront while never losing sight of our primary function as a Professional Honorary Society – to highlight the artists, showcase their work, focus the spotlight of the industry on our people and their contributions.

But at this moment, this tipping point, this is the time to come together.

There are many issues on the table and none of them are simple. Take incentives offered by various states and countries – they distort the marketplace, but obviously they are good for some people because they keep being created and renewed and used. If California expanded its incentives, a great many people might not be as angry and frustrated – they might be employed and achieve greater job security.

So, should the VES lead a call to action on this? How, as a global Society, can we do this without offending some members elsewhere? After thinking long and hard on this I believe the best answer might be that maybe we should. It is a thorny issue and will upset members somewhere if we do it and others if we don’t. And the issue of actually getting the state to offer a meaningful and competitive incentive is not an easy thing to accomplish either – So expect to hear more from us very soon on this.

Business Models – in a sense, we cannot blame the studios for our woes – we are in a business, not a charity. We must be willing to say no unilaterally if we want to make change. It is not enough for one company or one artist or one city, state or country to do it alone. We must all do it. VES is committed to bringing the leaders of our industry together to take a fresh look at what a sustainable business model for the most people could and should be moving forward.

At the end of the day – the VES is working hard to find the answers to these questions and asks for your continued support in these efforts. We will not rest until we can make the kind of changes that make a real difference and that we can all be proud of.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey A. Okun

You can also read the message on the VES website here.