One Category at a Time: Visual Effects

I must profess, I'm not sure why the Academy chose this year of all years to finally expand the number of nominees in this category to five. It hasn't been a particularly outstanding year for effects work, and it shows with a slate of mostly mediocre nominees.

I've long since been on the record for thinking the effects of Alice in Wonderland are glaring and poorly animated, but I can't begrudge Ken Ralston & co. for the sheer amount of work they did. Practically every shot is an effects shot. Everything is computerized. Computerized to death if you ask me. And yet it's still a dark horse candidate in this field. Remember that "most" visual effects can sometimes beat "best" visual effects.

Adding to the population of nominees that make me say "m'eh" are Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and Hereafter, the latter of which seems to have made it in for that tsunami sequence alone. Decent work, but nothing particularly special. It's a crime that these got in over the much more stunning and unique effects of TRON Legacy and Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

Incpetion, on the other hand, is the only movie this year whose effects made me go "whoa". Those brilliant hotel corridor scenes are justly lauded, but let's not forget the detailed work done by the digital effects artists, or the meticulous pyrotechnic work. It has four VES nominations under its belt (winners announced tomorrow) and is also the only Best Picture nominee in the field. The Oscar is clearly it's to lose.

Will win: Inception
Runner-up: Alice in Wonderland

Should win: Inception
Should have been nominated: Scott Pilgrim vs the World

VES nominees!

4 nominations for Inception, which rules the roost with the Visual Effects Society. Deservedly so.


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual-Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture
“Inception” Here's your winner
“Iron Man 2″
“TRON Legacy”
“Alice In Wonderland”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I”

These five are the expected Oscar nominees. Inception's Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, and company are likely to end up on stage with Oscar in hand on the big night.

I must say, I'm disheartened by the complete omission of Scott Pilgrim (not a single nomination!), but pleased to see the effects artists of Legend of the Guardians were tossed a few bones in the animated categories.

See the many other categories (and my geeky thoughts on who should win each one) after the cut.

My Award nominations: Visual Effects

With the VES announcing their nominees tomorrow, I thought I'd better announce my own nominees for Best Visual Effects:

Black Swan (Dan Schrecker, Henrik Fett, Conrad V. Brink Jr., Michael Capton):

Devilishly clever freakout effects. Lots of fun with mirrors. Let's not forget all the subtle clean-up work.

Inception (Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Marc Weingartner, Tom Struthers):

What sets Inception apart is the fact that its special effects are actually special. Borrowing techniques as old as Kubrik's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Nolan's brilliant effects team put on a spectacular show that looked so real because a lot of it was, particularly those stupefying zero gravity sequences.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
(Grant Freckleton, Aidan Sarfield, Ben Gunsberger, Craig Welsh):

The photorealism of the effects animation is dazzling every detail, from the hair-raising grandeur of the matte paintings to the immaculate minutia of each individual feather on the owls' heads, which are forced to interact with wind, ash, and in one especially breath-taking sequence, torrential rain.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
(Frazer Churchill, Arthur Langevin, Dennis Berardi, Aaron Weintraub):

Nifty graphics pop in and out of frame indicating point levels and character specifics, vanquished foes burst into coins, and the fight scenes are as full of visual exclamation points as a Mortal Combat face-off. The virtue of these wonderfully creative effects are that they give the film such personality.

TRON Legacy (Eric Barba, Alex Burdett, Steve Preeg, Ben Procter):

Sure, young Jeff Bridges looked a little hokey, but the rest is pretty stunning CG light show.

My Award nominations: Film Editing

Best Film Editing:

Black Swan (Andrew Weisblum):
The slow build of tension is brilliantly controlled so that when we come to the jumps scares, they really do make you jump! The handling of Nina's hallucinations is essential to selling her descent into madness.

Exit Through the Gift Shop (Tom Fulford & Chris King):
A sharp sense of comic timing helps punctuate every hilarious phrase that leaves Guietta's mouth. To have sifted through the tens of thousands of hours of his amateur movie making alone merits some kind of Iron Man award.

Inception (Lee Smith):
Intertwines multiple dream levels into a cohesive and thrilling action extravaganza. The entire final hour of the film is a masterstroke of bravura storytelling, executed with infallible clockwork precision.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss):

I've seen 'Scott Pilgrim' a few times now, but I always laugh as though it's the first time. It occurs to me that it's because the comedy isn't so much in the text as it is in the timing. The editing is so precise that I could watch it in a foreign language and still respond to every comic beat.

The Social Network (Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall):
Does justice to the back-and-forth structure of Sorkin's screenplay, as well as his rapid-fire dialogue. The editors need to be as on their toes as the actors, and they find a terrific rhythm to each scene.

Just missed: Fish Tank, How to Train Your Dragon,
The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, Toy Story 3

Seven remain for VFX

Five of this list of seven bake-off finalists will be up for the Best Visual Effects Oscar. I'm extremely pleased to see Scott Pilgrim's wonderful effetcs make the cut. Perhaps it could bump out one of the more undeserving titles (Alice or Iron Man 2) for a nomination?

Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
TRON Legacy

VFX Shortlist

The fifteen finalists for this year's five slots for Best Visual Effects are:

Alice in Wonderland
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Clash of the Titans
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2
The Last Airbender
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Shutter Island
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
TRON Legacy
Unstoppable

Happy to see Scott Pilgrim vs the World survive here. With any luck it'll squeak in over Alice in Wonderland, which most people are assuming will be one of the five nominees. I'm less pleased that no animated films made it through, especially when titles like Tangled and especially Legend of the Guardians featured such strong effects animation.