For the last few months, 3D enthusiasts all over the globe have been nominating and voting in the 3D World CG Awards.
Now, the results are in, and one of the biggest stirs was caused in the hotly contested VFX Short category in the 'Creative' section. Read on discover the winner and runners up in this category – and you can watch them online right here!
01. Power/Rangers
Ingenuity Studios worked with director Joseph Kahn to create this 'bootleg' short film. The sheer number of shots combined with the complexity of the VFX work is extraordinary.
The team spent many late nights and weekends over the course of six months to create this film, and are pleased their efforts haven't gone unnoticed: "We were quite busy with other projects during post-production on Power/Rangers which meant splitting time and a lot of late nights," says VFX supervisor Grant Miller.
"When doing work on a personal project like this, you really operate in a box," says fellow VFX supervisor David Lebensfeld. "You have no idea if a single other soul will see it, or care. You get lost in the work, the fun of it, the stress of it; the challenges with little to no expectation of external reward. The response has been nothing short of gratifying and frankly, shocking. This award is the cherry on top."
The team borrowed fellow artists from other projects who had some downtime. This practice benefitted the film, as each of the 248 VFX shots were worked on by numerous artists throughout the studio, which helped to craft a cohesive, varied and engrossing film.
02. Artoo in Love
This brilliantly executed short, directed by Evan Atherton, is the result of a love for Star Wars, technology and filmmaking. Evan created Artoo in Love with the help of some friends at Autodesk, where he was an intern: it shows everyone's favourite droid falling in love with a letterbox.
It's well written and beautifully shot, with R2-D2 bringing his loved one a picnic and defending her from humans when they try to post letters. It was a winner in the eyes of our CG Awards judge Cirstyn Bech-Yager: "How can you not love Artoo in Love? It has everything: beautiful craftsmanship from textures to final output and a sweet little story with a happy ending."
03. Sync
SYNC is one of two proof of concept films that Hasraf wrote, produced and directed. The short film feels epic, but was made on a budget: "You have to think outside the box when using CGI, VFX, design and live-action combined to tell a grounded story about an everyday threat – cyberterrorism," says director Hasraf.
"Sync has opened doors for me as a filmmaker, leading to my debut feature currently in production. I'm especially proud this film has enabled the talented VFX team who worked with me on this film to go onto bigger things."
Find out more about all the winners and runners up of the CG Awards in the latest issue of 3D World – on sale now!
