FMX trailer 'a.maize' wins VES Award

FMX trailer a.maize wins VES Award

The short film a.maize won the VES Award in the category "Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project" at yesterday's 10th Annual VES Awards in Los Angeles. The short film and FMX 2011 trailer, that was created by Falko Paeper, Roman Kaelin und Florian Wittmann, was one of three entries from the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg. a.maize was chosen as best of six nominated films at the VES Award ceremony. The VES Awards are annually bestowed by the Visual Effects Society (VES) and count among the most prestigious distinctions in the realm of Visual Effects. This year's Awards took place on February 7th in Beverly Hills.

The three award winners, who are currently studying at the Institute of Animation, Effects and Digital Postproduction at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, are still coming to grips with their achievement:

"We are astonished and absolutely honored to receive this outstanding award from the Visual Effects Society. We want to thank our entire team and all the people who were involved in the creation of this short film. We also want to thank our school, the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, and the people at the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Post-Production who create an amazing and unique environment to realize our projects and ideas. We owe a lot to FMX that is a great international platform for the animation and VFX industry, we're very thankful for that. And, of course, a huge "Thank-you" to the VES!"

The 73 second-long trailer a.maize shows Stuttgart’s city center drowning in a sea of popcorn. Lying about the city like abstract sculptures, the over-dimensioned kernels of corn suddenly begin popping open, startling many an unsuspecting passerby.

Falko Paeper explains the film's concept: "The idea behind the film came from an interest in how people react when confronted with something new and strange."

The final result convinced a majority of the judge panels that consist of VES members from around the world. Chuck Finance, Co-chair of the annual VES Awards, praises a.maize's aesthetic quality:

"It is an entertaining and beautifully crafted work of art, and hundreds of visual effects professionals around the world voted it to be the best of all student entries."

Please find the detailed film credits on the Institute's website. 

Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.