Visual Effects and Sound Effects finalists

[CMJ]

Theses 2 branches of the Academy(along with Make-up) narrow their choices down to finalists. Usually 3 of each of these are nominated....so here they are your finalists....

8 Visual Effects finalists

A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Black Hawk Down
Cats & Dogs
The Fast and the Furious
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Jurassic Park III
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Pearl Harbor

7 Sound Effects Editing finalists

A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Amelie
Black Hawk Down
The Fast and the Furious
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Monsters, Inc.
Pearl Harbor

[Jedieb]

With the critical and B.O. success it's had you'd think FOTR would edge out HP in both categories.

[darth_mcbain]

I would think FOTR has a good shot for both of them. After that I'd say its a tossup between Pearl Harbor, A.I. and Harry Potter. But I haven't seen a bunch of the rest of the movies, so I don't know how they rate up. I thought the effects in JP3 were decent, but I wouldn't choose that one to win awards...

[Jedi Master Carr]

JP 3 might get nominated in Visual Effects, FOTR and HP are both guarentees I think the other is between JP 3, PH and AI all ILM by the way (as is HP right?) I am not sure if PH will get it or not, the effects were brilliant but the movie is considered bad overall. AI is another example of this so we might see the dinosaurs get a third nomination. Sound Effects probably FOTR, Pearl Harbor should get this one and the Fast and the Furious for the other.

[Hart]

Black Hawk Down make not have had as much visual and sound effects as the others, but it undoubtedly was more realistic in those categories.

[CMJ]

The sound in BLACK HAWK DOWN is amazing.....

[Hart]

From what I heard, they made it as realistic as possible. That's why I'd have to give it props in these categories.

[Jedi Master Carr]

sound maybe but I doubt it would get a visual nod I think JP3, PH and AI are all ahead of it in that one, most likely though it doesn't matter, the FOTR will probably take them both.

[CMJ]

Unfotunately you are right...but BHD literally blows you away. If ever a film deserved the sound awards it is this. Hopefully it'll at least be nominated.

[JonathanLB]

The effects in Harry Potter absolutely SUCKED! Everyone I have talked to says they are so unimpressed that such a massive film would have such lousy effects work. What happened to this movie anyway? Why were the effects so sub-par? I guess nobody really cares, the biggest films are just automatically nominated and often times the winner is simply the biggest film or the most liked at the time. Matrix, for instance, did nothing innovative for the effects industry really, just used a great technology that had been used in commercials in a movie, which we all appreciated, but come on, the film's effects looked like something from a Radio Shack camcorder compared to TPM! Titanic's effects were horrid too compared to Starship Troopers. One film made excellent use of CG, the other (Titanic) had CG that looked so fake I thought for a second I was watching something on The Cartoon Network! The same is true of Harry Potter. Guys, if you are going to use CG, please, please let a decent company do it! The physical effects in Titanic were most impressive, so I hope that is why it won the award, not the lousy CG, but the CG in Harry Potter is even worse than the CG in Lost In Space with that stupid yellow monkey.

Pearl Harbor has some pretty awesome effects, but LOTR did too. I'd just as soon see LOTR win because it was the best film anyway, it might as well win since nothing else was just really awesome.

TPM still has the best effects of any film made, nearly 3 years after it came out. Not too surprising, but Episode II will probably build upon TPM's visual effects, at least as far as complexity or/and sheer number. Although, effects have basically reached a ceiling anyway. You cannot do better than photo realism. We're there with TPM, with Pearl Harbor, LOTR, all of these films have perfect effects work throughout for the most part. Any mistakes are those by the programmers, not the technology. The technology has reached the point where it cannot improve much further except possibly to make it more efficient and easier to use, more cost effective, but not more realistic. In 1977, people had to settle for what you could "do" with technology, now, you can do anything with it. Create anything you want and have it look photo realistic. It won't improve any beyond that because there isn't any room for growth beyond photo realism. The only thing that is impressive is doing things in a new way, like The Matrix did something not typically seen, but we already had the technology to do that. Coruscant may look beautiful in Episode II, at least I love the city, but it's nothing that we couldn't have done five years ago. The most impressive thing is simply the sheer number of CG creations and effects shots.

[CMJ]

IMHO the effects in A.I. were the best I've ever seen. I know it won't win...FOTR will...but man, oh man. They were SOOO impressive.

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
The effects in Harry Potter absolutely SUCKED!

Did you watch it eventually? I remember you said you didn't want to see it, coz you may help it get passed a Star Wars movie...

[Marcus Telcontar]

but come on, the film's effects looked like something from a Radio Shack camcorder compared to TPM!


You need to get some non blinkered eyes. The fact is, inducstry specialists seem to quite disagree with you. In few places I read, is the effects of TPM are not held up as ground breaking. The Matrix with it's stop motion camera control, is.

Now, photo realism is a mis used term. It is a printing term, not an effects term. What you should be saying is seamless. CG is good when you just dont know it is. The moment you see CG for what it is, it has failed. Your claim that nothing more can be really done is also a nonsense, we are barely on the edge of what will happen.

I will also say, I really dont give a rats how many CG shots or how complex they are. LOTR used 500 CG setup,s TPM 2000+. Lucas relies on ttechnology too much. Jackson used a lot of camera tricks and just good load fashioned movie making tricks in the makup and sets. It takes more skill to realise a shot using what you have to work with, than the easy way out of a computer. That is why, ANH to me is far superior as a film - it's done by movie making techniques, by visual tricks, by sleigh of hand. I prefer that. Leave movies mainly CG to Pixar.


The most impressive thing is simply the sheer number of CG creations and effects shots.

Nonsense. CG is a shortcut. The most impressive thing is when a director takes the time and effort to produce a camera trick to seamlessly get what he or she wants. Now that is impressive. It's more impressive to me to realsie Jackson used forced perspective a lot to achieve the height differences and resorted to a computer when it was simply not possible at all.

There is a difference between "Hey, lets do this cause.... wel cause we can!!!! Gee, that was cool!!" to "Well, I just simply need that, but it is not possible. Okay, we have to use a computer".

I really wonder what Hitchcock, a true film master would make of CG. Most likely, not use it much. He I bet would realise the true failing of CG - CG truly sucks if there is no point and there is no real movie behind it. It just becomes nice to look at.

I dont respect anything that just does gee whiz just because you can. I respect the gee whiz when it serves a true purpose in the film and is not the main point.

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Marcus Q'Dunn
Nonsense. CG is a shortcut. The most impressive thing is when a director takes the time and effort to produce a camera trick to seamlessly get what he or she wants. Now that is impressive. It's more impressive to me to realsie Jackson used forced perspective a lot to achieve the height differences and resorted to a computer when it was simply not possible at all.

There is a difference between "Hey, lets do this cause.... wel cause we can!!!! Gee, that was cool!!" to "Well, I just simply need that, but it is not possible. Okay, we have to use a computer".

I really wonder what Hitchcock, a true film master would make of CG. Most likely, not use it much. He I bet would realise the true failing of CG - CG truly sucks if there is no point and there is no real movie behind it. It just becomes nice to look at.

I dont respect anything that just does gee whiz just because you can. I respect the gee whiz when it serves a true purpose in the film and is not the main point.

Amen. Well said.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I completely disagree with you I think CGI is necessary in certain kind of film like Star Wars. CGI is necessary with creating stuff in space and things like that. The only other way is stop motion which looks really fake now IMO and CGI doesn't. Sure you say Hitchcock wouldn't use it, but I don't see him doing Sci-fi films either so he wouldn't. Also you say the Matrix was more ground breaking because of that whole slow mo stuff that is crap that effect was done well before the Matrix (Lost in Space and Gap commercials both come to mind) if it was so ground breaking why didn't Lost in Space get a Visual effect award?

[Darth Turbogeek]

I completely disagree with you I think CGI is necessary in certain kind of film like Star Wars. CGI is necessary with creating stuff in space and things like that. The only other way is stop motion which looks really fake now IMO and CGI doesn't


I reply with a quote of myself



There is a difference between "Hey, lets do this cause.... wel cause we can!!!! Gee, that was cool!!" to "Well, I just simply need that, but it is not possible. Okay, we have to use a computer".

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think that is what I was saying. Lucas is using the CGI because it is neccessary to create his worlds otherwise it would just look fake much like they used CGI to create the dinosaurs in the jurassic park movies. There are plenty of films though which used CGI just because they could, off hand I can't think of any in particular.

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Darth Turbogeek
I reply with a quote of myself


You are Marcus Q'Dunn then?

[Darth Turbogeek]

Yep