DigitalEffects Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Visual Effects Society Offers More Categories, Nominees
Filed under: Action », Animation », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Awards », Disney », Warner Brothers », Tech Stuff », 20th Century Fox », Johnny Depp », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », Games and Game Movies », Lists », Oscar Watch »
One thing I love about the guild awards is their need to break things down as specifically as is tolerable. The Oscars only satisfy if you're simply looking to award films with general categorization, but guilds and societies satisfy the more detailed classifications. For example, there is only one Oscar given for Best Visual Effects, but there are nine awards given in different motion picture categories by the Visual Effects Society.The VES has announced their nominees for their 5th annual awards, which will be given out February 11. Some of the specific honors include Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture (no, Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties is not nominated), Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture (read: computer animation), Outstanding Created Environment (think green screen scenes), Outstanding Models and Miniatures (good to see they still exist!) and Outstanding Compositing. There are also awards given separately to both the best effects in an effects-driven movie and the best effects in a non-effects-driven movie (called "supporting visual effects"), an award for best in-camera effect ("special effects") and an award for single best visual effect (very specific -- though only Children of Men's nomination lists a distinct sequence).
Ten Important Breakthroughs in Digital Effects History
Filed under: Action », Animation », Classics », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Tech Stuff », Family Films », George Lucas », Steven Spielberg », Peter Jackson », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Games and Game Movies », Lists »
As much as I complain about CGI in movies, I do recognize and respect the few films that have used computer effects well. The truth is, some bad movies have great digital effects that go under-appreciated, which is far more tragic than the so-so movies that are ruined by weak CGI. Sure, Tron is a guilty pleasure for me and many others, but its only real worth is in its place in film history. Other movies that are important for their advancement of digital effects include Forrest Gump, Cliffhanger and The Perfect Storm -- none of which needs to be thought of for any other reason. Popular Mechanics has listed these four films with six other (better) milestones. Many of them are not surprises; everybody thinks of Terminator 2: Judgment Day when thinking of significant digital effects, even though it wasn't even the first movie to feature morphing (Willow is not included in the ten, but it is referenced). Jurassic Park is also obvious, but then, this isn't really an opinion-based list. It is a chronological top ten based on real, monumental breakthroughs. There are a few on the list, such as Cliffhanger, that I didn't even know were of importance. Did you know it was the first film to use digital effects as an eraser?
So, I may have to take a look at this list whenever I'm about to curse the existence of computer effects. A lot of the worst effects are appropriately featured in movies that are already terrible, anyway (personally, I think The Lord of the Rings and its CGI fall into this worst/terrible category, but I probably shouldn't be admitting this, especially since it is on the list).
What do you think was the most important advancement in special effects history (pre-digital era included)?
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