"Avatar," "Up" Big VFX Winners

It was a very blue year for visual effects.  Some would call it “Avatar” blue, others would say “Na’vi” blue, but either way, James Cameron and crew were the big winners at the 8^th Annual Visual Effects Society Awards.

“Avatar” won six VES awards including the evening’s top prize, “Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture.  Writer/Director/Editor James Cameron was on hand to not only support his visual effects team but also to receive the evening’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  Cameron began his film career as a visual effects artist, studying under mentor Stan Winston.  When Cameron approached Winston for advice on making “Avatar,” Winston told him not to hold back but to let the film be his visual calling card.

“It’s time to make your ‘Star Wars,’” said Cameron in sharing Winston’s words.

LA 411’s Production Tech Tips were on hand to speak with the evening’s nominees and winners, those recognized for their work in “Sherlock Holmes,” “District 9,” “Up,” “Battlestar Galactica,”  “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Fringe,” “Coraline” and many more.  To view the Production Tech Tips videos, click on the link below:

www.411publishing.com/TechTips/

The Visual Effects Society Winners include:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture: “Avatar” – Joe Letteri, Joyce Cox, Eileen Moran, Richard Baneham  

Outstanding Supportuing Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture: “Sherlock Holmes” – Jonathan Fawkner, Chas Jarrett, David Vickery, Dan Barrow

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture: “Up” – Pete Docter, Jonas Rivera, Steve May, Gary Bruins

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special : “Disney Prep and Landging – Gadgets, Globes and other Garish Gizmos” – Dorothy McKim, Scott Kersavage, David Hutchins, Kee Suong

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series: “Battlestar Galactica Season 4 – Ep. 421 Daybreak” Michael Gibson, Gary Hutzel, Jesse Toves, Dave Morton

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program: CSI Crime Scene Investigation – Ep. 1001 Opening Sequence” – Rik Shorten, Sabrina Arnold, Steve Meyer, Derek Smith

Best Single Visual Effect of the Year: “Avatar – Neytiri Drinking” Joe Letteri, Joyce Cox, Eileen Moran, Thelvin Cabezas

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial: “Audi – Intelligently Combined” – Jay Barton, Rafael F. Colon, Ronald Herbst, Chris Fieldhouse

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project: “Dance of the Dragons – Eastern” Derry Frost, Michael Morreale

Outstanding Real Time Visuals in a Video Game: “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Gulag Extraction” – Mark Rubin, Richard Kriegler, Robert Gaines, David Johnson

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Video Game Trailer: “Halo 3: ODST – The Life” – Robert Moggach, Ryan Meredith, Jens Zalzala, Michael Pardee

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture: “Avatar – Neytiri” – Joe Letteri, Andrew R. Jones, Jeff Unay, Zoe Saldana

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture: “Up – Carl” – Ed Asner, Ron Zorman, Brian Tindall, Carmen Ngai

Outstanding Animated Character in a Broadcast Program or Commercial: “AMF – The Caterpillar” – Robert Sethi, Jamie O’Hara, Becky Porter, Steve Beck

Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture: “Up” – Jason Johnson, Alexis Angelidis, Jon Reisch, Eric Froemling

Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture: “Avatar – Pandora” – Yvonne Muinde, Brenton Cottman, Peter Baustaedter, Jean-Luc Azzis

Outstanding Models & Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture: “Avatar – Samson/Home Tree/Floating Mountains/Ampsuit” – Paul Jenness, Rainer Zoettl, John Stevenson-Galvin, Simon Cheung

Outstanding Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture: “Avatar – Jungle/Biolume” – Eric Saindon, Shadi Almassizadeh, Dan Cox, Ula Rademeyer

Outstanding Created Environment in a Broadcast Program or Commercial: “V – Pilot Atrium and Ship Interiors” – Chris Zapara, Chris Irving, David Morton, Trevor Adams

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture: “District 9” – Shervin Shogian, Hamish Schumacher, Jeaneen Elliott, Simon Hughes

Outstanding Composititing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial: “CSI Crime Scene Investigation – Ep. 1001 Opening Sequence” – Derek Smith, Christina Spring, Steve Meyer, Zach Zaubi

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project: “They Will Come to Town” – Thilo Ewers