Topic: VFX Bakeoff 2015

http://www.friendsinyourhead.com/intermission/images/twitter-81.jpg

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

Without having listened to the episode yet, here are my predictions:

Interstellar (and it wins):

It'll likely be a Best Picture nominee, and if there are VFX in a BP nominee, it wins the VFX Oscar. I'm pretty sure this has happened 100% of the time. They like to give it to the "classy" option and avoid having to bestow their prize on some lowly vulgar blockbuster.

Dawn of Planet Ape:

Because mocap is still cool right guys? It'll be the nominee that probably deserves to win but gets edged out by the BP nominee.

The other 3 are more of a toss-up, but I think we can safely eliminate Maleficent and Museum Nights 3 because no one cares about them. So that leaves us with Godzilla, Cap 2, GotG, Hobbit, Transformers, X-Men.

I have a hunch that only one superhero movie is getting in. I'd throw X-Men out, because we've seen that shit like ten times before. And of the remaining 2, Guardians is a lot more visually creative, so I think that's in.

So, the remaining two spots: Godzilla, Hobbit, Transformers. This is where things get real tricky for me. Does Hobbit get the legacy vote? Maybe, but on the other hand, no one cares about those movies. Transformers always seems to get in, but will this be the year people are finally tired of it? Godzilla has less going for it on the surface (other than having really, really good effects), but it's also the only monster movie of the ten, so it stands out. It also might have that "classic" cred, if it reminds people of the original. I think Godzilla's in.

This last spot is a coin-flip. I think it comes down to which film has worn out its welcome the least. Transformers is on its fourth installment, but that's spread out over six years. Hobbit's only on three, but over three years. Does that even matter? Does it even make sense? I'm struggling to find a deciding factor here.

Well, how about this. We know that a fifth Transformers film is coming, but The Hobbit is over and done with. I think that legacy vote wins it the spot.

tl;dr -

THE ASTRONAUT FARMER
DAWN OF APE PLANET - THE APEOCOLYPSE - PART ONE
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (do their responsibilities cover Ape Planet? food for thought.)
GODZILLA
THE HOBBIT: THE LAST ONE, FUCKING FINALLY

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

more like uuuuuuggggggggghhhhhcademy awards

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

paulou wrote:

more like uuuuuuggggggggghhhhhcademy awards

BREAKING: Academy Disbands; "Burns Were Too Sick", Says President

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

Thumbs up +4 Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

lol

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

I gotta hunch Colbert might just beat Trey at a Tolkien trivia night

not long to go now...

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

I imagine most people could.  smile

Side note:  I don't think this has ever been done for VFX (yet) but Makeup Artist Magazine has put all the makeup bakeoff presentation reels online, with commentary from the potential nominees.  Worth checking out to see how much makeup work there can be even in movies that don't have aliens and monsters.

https://makeupmag.com/oscar-watch-2015

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

Academy Award for VFX - Marvel edition.

Pretty much what I would of guessed except switching Winter Soldier for Hobbit.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

Jacob H wrote:

Academy Award for VFX - Marvel edition.

Pretty much what I would of guessed except switching Winter Soldier for Hobbit.

X-Men gets in for one 3 minute scene, pushing out Hobbit which hasn't won shit despite 9 hours of solid effects including Smaug.

Jake Gyllenhall didn't get nominated for Nightcrawler?!? FFS! I'm out.

Sarah Snook - totally off the radar, but her role in Predestination beats any acting in any category this year.

Last edited by avatar (2015-01-15 15:23:47)

not long to go now...

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

Kirk Baxter for Editing GOne GIrl and NO OVERNIGHTERS.  THis was a year of phenomenal snubs.

Eddie Doty

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

Hobbit is the new Sith

But, on the other hand - yay for Bill Corso getting a makeup nom.   There's a surprising amount of love for Foxcatcher across the board, a lot more than I would have expected.

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

Kind of gratified that Hobbit got snubbed, I feel vindicated about hating that visual aesthetic.

No cinematography nom for Interstellar bums me out a bit, but that's Birdman's category to win anyway.

And Desplat getting nominated against himself for best score is pretty hilarious. It makes we wonder, has anyone ever been nominated for 3 different movies in the same category before?

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

I missed you guys there. I came with my wife and kids. We were on the right side about the middle.


Anyways, I'm surprised about Hobbit not making the cut. I have to admit that the first time I saw HFR was at the last bake-off. At the time I had not even seen Desolation of Smaug so seeing the HFR footage out of context was a bit disorienting. However this year, having already seen Five Armies, I really enjoyed the HFR much to my surprise. But I didn't know how much I liked it until the other reels started playing. Coming out of Hobbit, which looked so clear and bright and crisp, Maleficent looked dark and blurry and shallow in comparison. In fact, none of the films really came close to looking as bright and deep as Hobbit. The 3D in Hobbit just worked so well. But it was funny that there were no questions after their presentation. They were actually walking off the stage when, I think it was that lady they called Teresa, asked a question that brought the Hobbit presenters back onto the stage. She must have been the designated "first question" person for the night.

And quite honestly, not to disappoint the old timers, (of whome I'm one) I felt really let down with the print of Interstellar that was screened. I immediately noticed the graininess and dust and scratches. I guess it's been a while since I've seen a non-digital presentation in a theater. I know the presenter said it added character, but to me it just looked dirty. I'm afraid I don't have the sentimental love of film that others do. Although I'm sure that comes mostly from never shooting with it. (Motion pictures that is. I've spent many a hours in a dark room before developing stills)

As far as X-Men, it earned its spot with the spontaneous applause after the Quicksilver scene. I thought it was cool when they described how they animated the stadium being flown around. They decided to animate it based on how Magneto would actually be able to control it. They built the interior metal "rebar" structure and then hung the body of the stadium over it as a cloth sim. As they animated the metal skeleton, the stadium would flex around it. Then they had the surface procedurally crack as the "cloth" flexed past certain parameters. I found that particularly cool.

The highlight for me was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The opening shot to the closing shot. The detail and subtlety that can be achieved in CG characters now blows me away. To be able to push in that close into the eyes and it holds up completely is incredible. Although, the presentation was ruined a bit that they didn't announce the reel was in 3D. It followed several non-3D movies so it wasn't until it was 20 seconds or so into the reel when it started looking like a double image and then we were fumbling to put on our glasses. Maybe it was noted on the program which reels were in 3D, but as I arrived at the last minute, I didn't get a program.

All in all, it was another fun experience, this time one I got to share with my teenage boys.



BTW, I don't know who in that room could afford a new Ferrari, but my son enjoyed walking by it in the parking lot on our way out.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: VFX Bakeoff 2015

More on the Hobbit's lack of a VFX nomination...

not long to go now...

Thumbs up Thumbs down