The highly stylized 300 combined the simplicity of past effects solutions with bluescreen, matte paintings, miniatures, computer-generated water and DI work. Courtesy of Warner Bros.

300 took the process of imagery and violence to a whole new level. According to Visual Effects Supervisor Chris Watts, this highly stylized film combined the simplicity of past effects solutions -- coffee stains for the sky, balsamic vinegar for the blood -- with "acres and miles" of bluescreen, matte paintings, miniatures, more computer-generated water (from Scanline). Add to that an intensely stylized production design and DI process, and you have the glorious (gory-ous?) violence of Frank Miller's graphic novel.

In the hall after the ballots were turned in, a friend that has contributed significantly to the industry over the last couple of decades, said something telling: "Remember back when we came to these things and we thought things looked good when we could only see a couple dozen matte lines?" Yeah. Light years have passed since then. Now we actually believe we could be watching impossibly listing ships amidst a violent heaving maelstrom, massive fields of fighting Spartans, an ark teeming with animals, monsters terrorizing a desolate New York, talking bears who seem like the next alternative transportation, car chases The French Connection could only dream of, puzzle-like robots who drive the protagonists into the sunset, and realize just how far we've come. Business as usual? Hardly. And thank goodness.

Jill Smolin has been a grateful member of the visual effects industry for about a decade, and has documented the industry (before it was one) for about twice that long. She is currently SIGGRAPH Conference entertainment director, overseeing the expanded Computer Animation Festival for SIGGRAPH 2008.