The awards race is officially on as VFX innovators gather to explain what was involved in bringing the Oscar contenders to life.
The combination of ever-advancing technology and brilliantly creative minds means there's not much VFX artists can't do these days. Each year, visual effects in cinema get better, with the best, quite rightly, celebrated at the annual Oscars ceremony. But with so many films to choose from, a shortlist must be made - cue the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ annual VFX Bake-Off.
The yearly event, hosted in Jan 2014, will see 10 films and their VFX supervising teams go head-to-head to be shortlisted for Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects.
Recently annouced, the movies to be showcased are Elysium, Gravity, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger, Oblivion, Star Trek Into Darkness, Thor: The Dark World, Pacific Rim and World War Z.
Pacific Rim is amongst the contenders for a VFX Academy Award
There are a few surprises in there, with notable VFX films such as Man of Steel and Ender's Game not making the cut. And the inclusion of Disney's summer flop The Lone Ranger may raise a few eyebrows. But this is not about a film's popularity, it's about the blood, sweat and tears that went into creating the entire new world's, amazing creatures and impossible shots that, regardless of the narrative, made us sit back and go 'wow!'.
VFX teams will present 10-minute clips of their work, after which the shortlist will be reduced to five films that will contend for an Oscar. The winner will be announced at the 86th Annual Academy Awards on March 2, 2014.
