MPC [1] VFX Supervisor Guillaume Rocheron was honored at the Academy Awards for the studio's contribution to Ang Lee’s critically acclaimed Life of Pi, winning the Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects. Having been Oscar nominated five times in the past, this is the first Academy Award for Technicolor's MPC.
Rocheron accepted the award on behalf of MPC's global team, along with Overall VFX Supervisor Bill Westenhofer, Rhythm & Hues’ Animation Director Erik-Jan de Boer and Special Effects Technician Donald R Elliott.
The team, led by MPC's Vancouver studio, delivered more than 100 shots in stereo, bringing to life the dramatic ‘Storm of God’ and ‘Tsim Tsum’ sinking scenes . The sequences are a result of a collaborative effort of more than 200 artists across the globe working over a 2-year period. MPC's work on the Storm was first shown at CinemaCon in April 2012, wowing audiences with its visual dynamism and stunning use of 3D.
Guillaume Rocheron said on the night “I am extremely proud to receive this Academy Award for Life of Pi, as it represents a fantastic achievement for the hundreds of artists working at MPC. It is a true testament of the passion and quality of work we have been striving to achieve over the years. On behalf of the team at MPC, I would like to thank Ang Lee, 20th Century Fox, Bill Westenhofer, Susan McLeod and David Conley for trusting us on such a wonderful journey.”
Global MD of MPC, Mark Benson explained “It’s been a fantastic year for MPC, with our artists and production teams once again raising the bar of what is achievable in VFX. We are very excited to have won an Academy Award.”
The Academy Award win comes after what has been an extremely successful awards season for MPC. Earlier in the month the Life of Pi team won the BAFTA for Special Visual Effects, the Critics Choice Award for Outstanding Visual Effects and 3 VES Awards for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Film, Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture and Outstanding FX and Simulation in a Feature Motion Picture.
MPC's VFX work on Ridley Scott's return to Sci Fi Prometheus was also nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA and VES and won the Visual Effects Gold award at the Australian Effects & Animation Festival.
2013 is set to be another exciting year for MPC, with the team delivering VFX for some highly anticipated movies including Man of Steel, The Lone Ranger, World War Z, The Seventh Son, Fast 6, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and Maleficent.
Source: MPC
Links:
[1] http://www.moving-picture.com/