Visual Effects Society Nominations

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MaxWilder
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Re: Visual Effects Society Nominations

Post by MaxWilder »

What will be in the vfx highlight reel for First Man? The moon scenes are stunning but that’s a static environment. Is there enough there there? The last space film to win this award, Interstellar, had to build a spinning black hole, among other things.
Sabin
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Re: Visual Effects Society Nominations

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Mister Tee wrote
Another view might be that Suicide Squad, while a godawful movie, did have more impressive and more original make-up than the other nominees. The perceived favorite, Star Trek: Who Can Remember What Number, was seen as a staggeringly dull choice. And, like in the 2016 election, apathy led to horrible upsetting the merely dull.
Yeah, maybe. It could've also been A Man Called Ove. To be honest, I haven't seen either one outside of Suicide Squad but I didn't think the makeup in Suicide Squad was incredibly impressive.
Mister Tee wrote
I thought the fact there were three best picture nominees -- plus The Force Awakens, which was viewed as a pretty big deal in the moment -- all competing, with no one of them a clear favorite, made it possible for a random choice to slip through. Ex Machina was the most distinct from the rest -- the hipster choice -- and may have eked out a plurality win. (Reinforcing my view that the Oscars are most prone to surprise choices when the competition is widespread rather than binary. 2011 editing is another example.)
Again: yeah, maybe. I'd argue that the reason why there wasn't a clear favorite is worth exploring. Simply being a Best Picture winner is good but not enough. Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, and The Revenant weren't SEEN as FX films. Mad Max and The Martian were largely feats of creating backgrounds while The Revenant's bear attack constituted five remarkable minutes in a two and a half hour film. I think we're mostly saying the same thing but the fact that Ex Machina was nominated for Best Original Screenplay probably got a few extra pairs of eyes and helped it become the hipster, plurality winner.
Mister Tee wrote
It's possible First Man becomes the choice, simply by most appealing to grown-up tastes. But it would be mostly based on the last -- what? -- half hour of the movie?

It's always possible Black Panther gets nominated after all, and becomes the rote choice. But it's amazing how, after so many years where we couldn't drum up a race anywhere on the ballot, so many categories seem in flux at this late point.
Sure. It could go to First Man.

I'm just betting against Black Panther because the effects aren't that good. And at the end of the day, this branch cares about great visual effects, which is why they nominate garbage and pass over films like Arrival.
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Re: Visual Effects Society Nominations

Post by Mister Tee »

Sabin wrote: Remember we live in a world where Suicide Squad won an Oscar. Why did that happen? Well, I think it came down to which movie did the most voters see.
Another view might be that Suicide Squad, while a godawful movie, did have more impressive and more original make-up than the other nominees. The perceived favorite, Star Trek: Who Can Remember What Number, was seen as a staggeringly dull choice. And, like in the 2016 election, apathy led to horrible upsetting the merely dull.
Sabin wrote: Ex Machina won the Oscar over Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, and The Revenant and the only explanation I can give is enough voters saw it due to its screenplay nomination. The other reason is the effects of those three films were very background whereas Ex Machina's effects were front and center.
I thought the fact there were three best picture nominees -- plus The Force Awakens, which was viewed as a pretty big deal in the moment -- all competing, with no one of them a clear favorite, made it possible for a random choice to slip through. Ex Machina was the most distinct from the rest -- the hipster choice -- and may have eked out a plurality win. (Reinforcing my view that the Oscars are most prone to surprise choices when the competition is widespread rather than binary. 2011 editing is another example.)
Sabin wrote: Publicly, I think there's some kind of push to get a Marvel film an Oscar especially for the year they had. And Thanos is a very "present" effect. So, I would say Avengers: Infinity War.
Isn't this hard to square with Black Panther being let out?
Sabin wrote:It's also likely that most of the nominees in this category will be single nominees. Right now, my predictions are Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Robin, First Man, Ready Player One, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. If those are the nominees, it's between Avengers and First Man.
It's possible First Man becomes the choice, simply by most appealing to grown-up tastes. But it would be mostly based on the last -- what? -- half hour of the movie?

It's always possible Black Panther gets nominated after all, and becomes the rote choice. But it's amazing how, after so many years where we couldn't drum up a race anywhere on the ballot, so many categories seem in flux at this late point.
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Re: Visual Effects Society Nominations

Post by dws1982 »

Will the fact that most of First Man's effects were practical, in-camera effects (no green screen or CGI was used, I believe) help it, hurt it, or have no effect?
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Re: Visual Effects Society Nominations

Post by Sabin »

Mister Tee wrote
So, if Black Panther doesn't make the Oscar cut, what wins this category? I've been saying all year that Ready Player One had the effects that impressed me most, but I never thought it had much chance at winning. But if it comes down to that and, say, Infinity War, would Spielberg's movie have a shot? Am I overlooking something else obvious?
Remember we live in a world where Suicide Squad won an Oscar. Why did that happen? Well, I think it came down to which movie did the most voters see. Ex Machina won the Oscar over Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, and The Revenant and the only explanation I can give is enough voters saw it due to its screenplay nomination. The other reason is the effects of those three films were very background whereas Ex Machina's effects were front and center.

So... what's getting seen this year? Well, Avengers: Infinity War will be seen simply by virtue of the fact that it's a gargantuan, reasonably well-liked hit. Additionally, several members of the cast are set to present so I think that helps its chances as well, as does the presence of Black Panther in the film. Publicly, I think there's some kind of push to get a Marvel film an Oscar especially for the year they had. And Thanos is a very "present" effect. So, I would say Avengers: Infinity War.

It's also likely that most of the nominees in this category will be single nominees. Right now, my predictions are Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Robin, First Man, Ready Player One, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. If those are the nominees, it's between Avengers and First Man.
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Re: Visual Effects Society Nominations

Post by Mister Tee »

Sabin wrote:Big story is no Black Panther. It's worth noting that Arrival got no love either and didn't make it. I think it's getting snubbed.
So, if Black Panther doesn't make the Oscar cut, what wins this category? I've been saying all year that Ready Player One had the effects that impressed me most, but I never thought it had much chance at winning. But if it comes down to that and, say, Infinity War, would Spielberg's movie have a shot? Am I overlooking something else obvious?
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Visual Effects Society Nominations

Post by Sabin »

Big story is no Black Panther. It's worth noting that Arrival got no love either and didn't make it. I think it's getting snubbed. I think Christopher Robin really has a shot at a nomination.



OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURES.
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Welcome to Marwen

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
12 Strong
Bird Box
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Outlaw King

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: into the Spider-Verse

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED FEATURE IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avengers: Infinity War (Thanos)
Christopher Robin (Tigger)
Jurassic World: Fallen World (Indoraptor)
Ready Player One (Art3mis)

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (The Grinch)
Incredibles 2 (Helen Parr)
Ralph Breaks the Internet (Raplhzilla)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Miles Morales)

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Ant-Man and the Wasp (Journey to the Quantum Realm)
Aquaman (Atlantis)
Ready Player One (Overlook Hotel)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (Vandor Planet)

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (Whoville)
Incredibles 2 (Parr House)
Ralph Breaks the Internet (Social Media District
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Graphic New York City)

OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
Aquaman (Third Act Battle)
Echo (Time Displacement)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Gyrosphere Escape)
Ready Player One (New York Race)
Welcome to Marwen (Town of Marwen

OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED FEATURE
Avengers: Infinity War - Nidavellir Forge Megastructure
Incredibles 2 - Underminer Vehicle
Mortal Engines - London
Ready Player One - DeLorean DMC-12
Solo: A Star Wars Story - Millennium Falcon

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avengers: Infinity War
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Venom

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch
Incredibles 2
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avengers: Infinity War
First Man
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Welcome to Marwen
"How's the despair?"
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