At Double Negative, we've been watching the developments with great interest and we've gained experience in stereo vfx production through our work on this summer's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, for which we created a major sequence in true stereo. It's something that I think all serious practitioners of vfx will have to deal with sooner or later.

EB: I think there's a lot of good that can be worked out there, and there's a lot of reason to move forward because it can immerse you so much more. It's obviously in its infancy as far as the new technology, but when it works, it works incredibly well. And I think it will be the next thing to get people to go to the movie theater, which I think is important. Aesthetically, it has lots of challenges. I think if you can get the immersion thing right, then it will not only tug on emotions or visuals, but also you'll get a sense of being there much more. It's one step closer to a virtual environment.

ILM turned a Malibu cliff into Tony Stark's opulent retreat from the world. 

BS: I think it's still a gimmick. It's not comfortable enough for me yet. There's one reason it could succeed, and that is that you have to wear special apparatus to view the images, which means it's not going to be as easy for piracy, especially if they jazz up that apparatus even more. So I can imagine studios being interested in that. But there's an artificiality that it lends even real sets -- I'm not sure why exactly -- so it'll be interesting to see what [James] Cameron does with it, since he has a lot more experience with it. I was pretty impressed with my friend Eric Brevig's film, Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was very effective.

BD: Paul, since you offered a general observation about the nominees, how would you characterize the current state of the industry?

PF: In all areas, vfx work is getting ever closer to a completely seamless rendition of reality. At the same time, we are developing greater control over that version of reality which is enabling us to capture the vision of directors and -- most importantly -- sell it to the audience. What's interesting is that as vfx technique advances in sophistication, what it actually means to filmmakers is that it's becoming simpler to understand: vfx is, in essence, just another movie camera, but it's one that shoots stuff that you wouldn't otherwise be able to see.

Bill Desowitz is senior editor of VFXWorld and AWN.