We break down seven films that will duke it out for VFX gold this awards season.
With the VFX Oscar shortlist coming in the next week, I predict the race will come down to seven contenders: "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," "Interstellar," "Guardians of the Galaxy," "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," "Godzilla," "Transformers: Age of Extinction," and "Maleficent." ...
So here's what grates at me.
Nowhere is How To Train Your Dragon 2 mentioned, nor Big Hero 6. Nor Frozen or Croods or any other CG animated feature of the last dozen years. Kind of stupid, to my mind. Because what is the output of DreamWorks, Pixar, Disney or Blue Sky Studios other than an 87-minute long visual effect?
Somebody needs to explain why reindeer, flying dragons and talking snow men are excluded. But not ...
Andy Serkis' amazing Caesar (Hey everybody! The mo cap performer is a visual effects artist!)Marvel's "Guardians" (You can be a talking raccoon in a partial live-action movie, but not an animated feature)
The first CG "Godzilla" (I guess you can be a big dinosaur and get nominated ... as long as Bryan Cranston is on-screen)
Since modern visual effects are indistinguishable from CG effects/characters in modern animated features, let's tear down the barriers and nominate the latter in the Academy's visual effects category. End the pointless and idiotic segregation that makes animated movies second-tier art forms.
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4 comments:
End the pointless and idiotic segregation that makes animated movies second-tier art forms.
Hey, Beauty and the Beast nearly won "Best Picture" in 1992. We can't risk that again. ;^)
I don't disagree that animation tends to get the short end of the stick come awards season, but integrating CG into live action plates is very different than generating 100% CGI. You have to matchmove, rotoscope, match lighting environments, textures, composite onto live action plates, match film grain, and make the performances between live action actors and CG actors appear believable.
I personally wonder why more animated films aren't nominated in categories like production design and costume. Just because the animated versions weren't physically made doesn't make their designs any less worthy.
In the digital age, hasn't the line of demarcation kind of blurred.
And with most live action shot digitally, nobody has to match film grain. There isn't any.
And with most live action shot digitally, nobody has to match film grain. There isn't any.
A few directors still use film, and they still enjoy massive VFX budgets -- Nolan, J.J. Abrams and Spielberg.
However, you are right. Film's on its way out.
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