The VES graciously spread the Melies Moon Man trophies among many different films at its second awards dinner.

It was a very long night — lasting until midnight — but the second annual VES Awards dinner held at the Hollywood Palladium on Feb. 18 was worth the emotional journey. The Visual Effects Society paid tribute to the career and legacy of George Lucas with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award; it affectionately presented outgoing VES exec director Tom Atkin with the inaugural Board of Directors Award for his tireless efforts over the past seven years in the creation of the society and its signature events and international festivals; and it honored The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King with four golden Melies Moon Man trophies (including the top prize for outstanding vfx in a motion picture).

But the VES judiciously spread the wealth around in the movie categories, honoring Pirates of the Caribbean, the neglected Matrix Reloaded and Master and Commander and The Last Samurai (for their “invisible” CG artistry) and Finding Nemo. In TV, Carnivale (with vfx by Encore Hollywood) was singled out along with Battlestar Galactica and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (both of which had vfx courtesy of Zoic), while Johnny Walker Fish (with vfx from Framestore CFC) took the prize for commercials and Missy Elliot Pass That Dutch won for music videos (thanks to vfx by Radium).

And although journalists were forewarned that there would be no access to Lucas, he graciously visited the pressroom twice for interviews, fielding questions about Star Wars Episode III, the September DVD debut of Episodes IV-VI, Indiana Jones 4 (Frank Darabont is definitely off the project as screenwriter), his commitment to digital cinema and future filmmaking plans.

“We’re perfecting what we learned on Clones using digital technology,” Lucas offered. “More bluescreen, more digital effects and creating the illusion in a more malleable way… less expensive and more effective.”

Lucas added that he would like to see Episode III play on more than 1,000 digital screens when it opens in the summer of 2005, that the DVDs of the first trilogy (special editions only) will be cleaner and sharper than ever before, thanks to the latest digital technology and that he plans on venturing into smaller filmmaking post Star Wars.

The Man of the Hour: George Lucas accepted VES’ first Lifetime Achievement Award from Jim Cameron. All photos: Sarah Baisley.

As for the Star Wars legacy, Lucas admitted that viewing the two trilogies in chronological order would be a vastly different experience for neophytes. “[It] will be a different feeling about story than seeing them backwards IV through VI and then I through III, which is one of the designs of how it was put together. So, actually, look forward to a new generation seeing it a completely different way.”

All of the winners echoed the point that this is a very creative and exciting time to be in the vfx industry, despite the time constraints invariably faced by everyone — large and small. Visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel lauded the tireless work of director Peter Jackson on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, saying he pushed everyone to achieve greater and greater realism. “He shoots these like live-action dramas, not visual effects [movies] — pushing the camera closer and closer to the actors [and the action].” Now that the Weta gang knows what to expect from Jackson and how unpredictable he can be, they can be better prepared to handle the upcoming King Kong, which will be just as daunting as Lord of the Rings with its seamless mix of CG and practical effects.