Will TF Get the "Best Special Effects" Oscar?

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Will TF Get the "Best Special Effects" Oscar?

Post by Yaya » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:55 am

It should.

But if history is any lesson, I bet "The 300" will walk away with it.

Pirates and I Am Legend don't hold a candle to TF.
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Post by spiderfrommars » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:10 am

Who's nominated?

Transformers is the moral victor in any case - with groundbreaking effects that couldn't have even been done a couple of years ago. Surely that's what it's all about?

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Post by Brendocon » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:19 am

spiderfrommars wrote:Who's nominated?
Beowulf
The Bourne Ultimatum
Evan Almighty
The Golden Compass
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
I Am Legend
Live Free Or Die Hard
National Treasure: Book Of Secrets
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Ratatouille
Spider-Man 3
Sunshine
300
Transformers
The Water Horse

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Post by Impactor returns 2.0 » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:53 am

This has Pirates written all over it no?

IMO... Beowulf is technically the most complex, as its 100% special effect. And uses every CGI technique in the book.

I think 300 does the best thing with CGI in that it creates somthing using a medium that cant be realised through normal props and film.

TF is a nice blend of the two, the TF themselves are highly convincing, even if the designs are borderline useless thanks to thier complexity...

But, as with all things J.Depp, I predict Pirates to get the Oscar as its Disney etc...
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Post by Yaya » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:41 pm

spiderfrommars wrote:Who's nominated?

Transformers is the moral victor in any case - with groundbreaking effects that couldn't have even been done a couple of years ago. Surely that's what it's all about?
It should be.

But I can see 300 taking it, similar to how The Matrix beat out some other film that deserved it that I can't remember (anyone?).
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Post by Brendocon » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:08 pm

Yaya wrote:But I can see 300 taking it, similar to how The Matrix beat out some other film that deserved it that I can't remember (anyone?).
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Post by Yaya » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:56 pm

Actually, it was Star Wars. I mean, I know people didn't like the movie, but it was all mostly special effects. None of those places existed.

Just becaue Neo can dodge a bullet, the Matrix gets the Oscar?

Maybe I'm wrong. Impactor would agree with me though.
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Post by Brendocon » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:10 pm

Yaya wrote:Actually, it was Star Wars.
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Post by sprunkner » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:25 pm

Honestly, I think Ratatouille deserves it. Has there ever been more delicious animation?
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Post by Yaya » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:35 pm

Transformers should get it.

Tyring to pull off Transforming vehicles looking real was a risk, and they delivered.

Hell, that scene where Prime turns around on the freeway and collides with Bonecrusher is worth the Oscar by itself!
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Post by The Last Autobot » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:36 pm

Mmmmm

Shouldnt it be that a movie must be a mix of special effects and real people interacting with them?

Then Beowulf and Ratatouille would be more animated than anything else?

From that list I think Tfs and 300 are the most worthy. But at the end that doesnt mean any of them will win...
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Post by Scraplet » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:05 pm

Wow...1977 - 1984. What a time! All the winners and runners-up for all of those years deserved to win! But I'd have picked Blade Runner over ET, and Ghostbuster over Indiana Jones &TD. :D

The visual effects oscar doesn't seem to mean as much these days. I mean, yes Transfermers was well done, and yes, it couldn't have been done until now. But was anyone really suprised or wowed by it? Really? I was wowed by CGI effects with Jurassic Park, Independance day, even the bits in T2 at the time. I'd never seen anything like it. But its just....common...now isn't it?

If they made Robocop now, it'd probably be CGI, and no one would think anything of it - wouldn't bat an eyelid. And yet I can watch that film now and still be bowled over by many of the clever (non CGI) visual effects.
Ok ED-209 looks a bit dated....... ;)
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Post by Yaya » Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:54 am

Scraplet wrote:
Wow...1977 - 1984. What a time! All the winners and runners-up for all of those years deserved to win! But I'd have picked Blade Runner over ET, and Ghostbuster over Indiana Jones &TD. :D

The visual effects oscar doesn't seem to mean as much these days. I mean, yes Transfermers was well done, and yes, it couldn't have been done until now. But was anyone really suprised or wowed by it? Really? I was wowed by CGI effects with Jurassic Park, Independance day, even the bits in T2 at the time. I'd never seen anything like it. But its just....common...now isn't it?

If they made Robocop now, it'd probably be CGI, and no one would think anything of it - wouldn't bat an eyelid. And yet I can watch that film now and still be bowled over by many of the clever (non CGI) visual effects.
Ok ED-209 looks a bit dated....... ;)
The only time I was really, truly floored by special effects was the T-1000 in Terminator 2. That **** was groundbreaking. The time he smashed his liquid head through the coptor window, the time he came up from the floor, the time his head got split in two only to slowly come back together. Damn, I haven't felt that rush from special effects like that before.
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Post by Impactor returns 2.0 » Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:59 am

not to split hairs but I dont agree on the SW beating the matrix. The matrix intriduced bullet time to the cinema, an effect that had never been seen before.

The concept of stopping the action, and still alowing the camera to move is a stroke of genius in the action movie department, and i think they got what they deserved.

SW, whilst highly impressive, is essentially CGI x 100, its high quality stuff but it didnt break many new grounds except for sheer volume of work.

on the same front, I just got hold of the massive graphics engine that runs the battles in Lord of the Rings ...
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Post by spiderfrommars » Fri Jan 11, 2008 12:25 pm

Impactor returns 2.0 wrote:not to split hairs but I dont agree on the SW beating the matrix. The matrix intriduced bullet time to the cinema, an effect that had never been seen before.
Agreed.

Impactor returns 2.0 wrote:on the same front, I just got hold of the massive graphics engine that runs the battles in Lord of the Rings ...
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Post by Impactor returns 2.0 » Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:42 pm

damm thats good!
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Post by Brendocon » Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:12 pm

Right, final noms are in. The three-movie shortlist is Pirates, Golden Compass and TF.

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Post by Yaya » Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:10 pm

Brendocon wrote:Right, final noms are in. The three-movie shortlist is Pirates, Golden Compass and TF.
No 300? Sweet!

Transformers should take this one.
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Post by Kaylee » Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:08 pm

I hope Pirates takes it since it's the only one of the three short-listed that I like :)

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Post by Best First » Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:23 am

no way. TFs was full of holes but at least i didn't nod off several times.

plus in that catagory TFs wipes the competition away. Its an FX oscar, not a best film oscar.
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Post by Brendocon » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:23 pm

Best First wrote:no way. TFs was full of holes but at least i didn't nod off several times.

plus in that catagory TFs wipes the competition away. Its an FX oscar, not a best film oscar.
Yeah. TF had fully CG characters interacting with live action cast on a level we've never seen before.

Pirates had... uhm... some stuff with water? Lots of water? And Davey Jones, who we saw the year before? Uhm... some water? Oh, and a giant person. Yay.

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Post by Impactor returns 2.0 » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:28 pm

TF easily outstrips the other 2 films in terms of special effects.

What surprises me is that the special effects in the compass are pretty *****, its one of the main critisims leveled at the film. Mainly because I read in an interview with the director that he hadnt worked with CGI before so he wasnt sure what could and couldnt be done. bad director choice if u ask me, anyhows.

Pirates, whilst a **** film, does have some brillant special effects but we have seen them all before in pirates 1&2. Unfortuantly if Pirates doesnt win and TF does ill be amazed.

TF clearly has the latest and most complex CGI in a film of recent times, yet I just cant belive anyone in Hollywood voting for it over a Disney made Jhonny Depp/Kiera Nightly movie... sad but true.
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Post by Best First » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:45 pm

Not seen GC but remember from the trailers the Polar Bears looked a bit sh*t so can't help but agree.

doing stuff with water well is def always impressive but as said its been seen before.
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Post by Yaya » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:04 pm

I agree, if there is fairness in this world, TF should run away withe Best FX. I mean, as Impactor says, when have we ever seen vehicles transforming into battling robots? Never been done, at least not in America. Pirates might have had great effects, but its all been done.

To me, Transformers was like Terminator 2, when the T-1000 was introduced and you just knew it was head and shoulders above all else, a shoe in for the Oscar.

On a side note, I can't believe that Beowulf was not nominated for Best Animation.

I tell you, I haven't had a movie experience like Beowulf 3-D IMAX, something I will cherish forever. To not see it even be nominated sucks.
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Post by Kaylee » Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:11 pm

Best First wrote:no way. TFs was full of holes but at least i didn't nod off several times.

plus in that catagory TFs wipes the competition away. Its an FX oscar, not a best film oscar.
True though I found most of the effects too blurry to be that great tbh. Though that's more the director than the effects dept.

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Post by Impactor returns 2.0 » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:03 pm

On the subject of Beowulf. The only reason I think its not nominated is because its all CGI. not saying thats its easy or anything but blending CGI with real-life is alot harder than just doing 100% cgi.

When your 50-50 effects and real-life you have to overcome loads of problems from light & camera matching, aswell as actually generating the CGI in the first place.
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Post by Guest » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:23 pm

Impactor returns 2.0 wrote:When your 50-50 effects and real-life you have to overcome loads of problems from light & camera matching, aswell as actually generating the CGI in the first place.
Not to mention all those people, vehicles and cranes with flourescent tennis balls stuck on them for direction.

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Post by Impactor returns 2.0 » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:48 pm

I did a video once where we had to insert a CGI tower block into a car park.

I had to purchase about 200 tennis balls, and attach them to sticks for mapping out the area, and finaly camera matching them. At the time we had to use some custom built tools in 3DS max but now adays u get purpose built software to do the job for you... kids have it easy now...
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Post by Dreadwind's Ghost » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:02 pm

I can see the Compass getting this one, to be honest.

TF won't because the Academy hates massive blockbusters, GC did only modestly well.

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Post by Yaya » Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:29 pm

Tonight's the night!

Up for three.

At least get the Special Effects crown.
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