Spider-Man and Harry Potter Sequels Lead VES Awards Along With Aviator
It was SPIDER-MAN 2 and THE AVIATOR running neck and neck for the most awards, taking three each, at the 3rd Annual VES Awards Wednesday night, Feb. 16, 2005, but it was HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN that pulled out with the top honor for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture at a black-tie gala at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.
Actor Tom Hanks made the most entertaining presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award, along with visual effects artist Ken Ralston, to director Robert Zemeckis. Most vfx houses and studio departments could trace their roots back to Robert Abel, posthumously awarded the first Georges Melies Award for his pioneering, significant and lasting contribution to the art and science of the visual effects industry, which his daughter happily accepted on his behalf.
The HARRY POTTER winners Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, Theresa Corrao and Emma Norton were surprised and happy to see the vfx professionals choose their often more subtle work over giant sweeping and explosive works. The winners were generously spread around.
CINEFEX publisher and founder Don Shay was the recipient of the second Board of Directors Award just as his magazine publishes its 100th issue, chronicling a history of visual effects, artists and techniques for more than 25 years.
Here are some remarks and tidbits VFXWORLD and AWN picked up during the VES Awards ceremony and backstage with the winners.
Anthony Ocampo on SPARTACUS: “We made Rome in CG – buildings, the main palace; a fly-through blending live footage with CG. We used Maya, After Effects and AI Implant for crowd simulation.”
Tom Hanks on the phenomenal success of POLAR EXPRESS in IMAX 3D: “POLAR EXPRESS will run in 3D forever.”
Tom Hanks’ intro to Robert Zemeckis: “ No one works harder than Bob Zemeckis… [He] is tortured by films, he’s devoured by the movies he makes.” He looks forward to going to hell and back in the future with the director using visual effects.
Zemeckis’ acceptance: “Visual effects are the forefront of the history of cinema. When we do them first, we call them spectacular. Then they become part of the language.” He singled out visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, whom he’s collaborated with for 20 years, as “the real wizard.” There hasn’t been a moment when Ralston told him that a shot couldn’t be done.
When he was reminded backstage that he has realized his dream to make a movie inside the computer, Zemeckis replied, “POLAR EXPRESS is the closest to making a movie at a keypad.” He added, “As images become more virtual, the visual effects supervisor will become more important and a digital imaging guy [will be key.]”
Technical supervisor Tim Burke of ILM on HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, which took the top prize: “POTTER is a great mix of character work and set extensions. We pushed the technical boundaries with the Hippogriff (sic) and Dementors with feathers and muscles and cloth simulation. The attention to detail on this one was critical. It’s all about making it believable, even when you have fantasy characters.”
R. Bruce Steinheimer on THE AVIATOR crash: It was a great blend of reality and full-scale models. The key for the VES is to see the manipulation of old and new techniques and to realize that it is not just a matter of digital fixes, because this couldn’t have been done if it was all digital.”
THE INCREDIBLES’ Bill Sheffler on the Brad Bird influence at Pixar: “He’s given us freedom… the characters [on future projects] are uninhibited, more flexible; there’s more realtime, no limits. It’s hard to describe, but there’s a balance between flexible and controllable – that’s THE INCREDIBLES’ trend.”
Actor Tom Hanks made the most entertaining presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award, along with visual effects artist Ken Ralston, to director Robert Zemeckis. Most vfx houses and studio departments could trace their roots back to Robert Abel, posthumously awarded the first Georges Melies Award for his pioneering, significant and lasting contribution to the art and science of the visual effects industry, which his daughter happily accepted on his behalf.
The HARRY POTTER winners Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, Theresa Corrao and Emma Norton were surprised and happy to see the vfx professionals choose their often more subtle work over giant sweeping and explosive works. The winners were generously spread around.
CINEFEX publisher and founder Don Shay was the recipient of the second Board of Directors Award just as his magazine publishes its 100th issue, chronicling a history of visual effects, artists and techniques for more than 25 years.
Here are some remarks and tidbits VFXWORLD and AWN picked up during the VES Awards ceremony and backstage with the winners.
Anthony Ocampo on SPARTACUS: “We made Rome in CG – buildings, the main palace; a fly-through blending live footage with CG. We used Maya, After Effects and AI Implant for crowd simulation.”
Tom Hanks on the phenomenal success of POLAR EXPRESS in IMAX 3D: “POLAR EXPRESS will run in 3D forever.”
Tom Hanks’ intro to Robert Zemeckis: “ No one works harder than Bob Zemeckis… [He] is tortured by films, he’s devoured by the movies he makes.” He looks forward to going to hell and back in the future with the director using visual effects.
Zemeckis’ acceptance: “Visual effects are the forefront of the history of cinema. When we do them first, we call them spectacular. Then they become part of the language.” He singled out visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, whom he’s collaborated with for 20 years, as “the real wizard.” There hasn’t been a moment when Ralston told him that a shot couldn’t be done.
When he was reminded backstage that he has realized his dream to make a movie inside the computer, Zemeckis replied, “POLAR EXPRESS is the closest to making a movie at a keypad.” He added, “As images become more virtual, the visual effects supervisor will become more important and a digital imaging guy [will be key.]”
Technical supervisor Tim Burke of ILM on HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, which took the top prize: “POTTER is a great mix of character work and set extensions. We pushed the technical boundaries with the Hippogriff (sic) and Dementors with feathers and muscles and cloth simulation. The attention to detail on this one was critical. It’s all about making it believable, even when you have fantasy characters.”
R. Bruce Steinheimer on THE AVIATOR crash: It was a great blend of reality and full-scale models. The key for the VES is to see the manipulation of old and new techniques and to realize that it is not just a matter of digital fixes, because this couldn’t have been done if it was all digital.”
THE INCREDIBLES’ Bill Sheffler on the Brad Bird influence at Pixar: “He’s given us freedom… the characters [on future projects] are uninhibited, more flexible; there’s more realtime, no limits. It’s hard to describe, but there’s a balance between flexible and controllable – that’s THE INCREDIBLES’ trend.”
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