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For the 14th consecutive year, every film nominated for the Best Visual Effects Academy Award was shaped with Autodesk, Inc. digital filmmaking tools. Autodesk congratulates Matte World Digital for its Oscar-winning visual effects work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

“This year’s Academy Award nominees continued to push digital imagery to new heights — from intricate and complex computer-generated characters to pyrotechnical marvels to invisible effects so realistic they deceive the eye,” said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the artists and technologists who enthrall audiences with spectacular visuals. We are honored that these filmmakers utilize Autodesk digital technology from planning and previsualization right down to final grade.”

Autodesk technology was used to shape Oscar-winning and Academy Award nominated films in the following categories:

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• Oscar Winner–Matte World Digital, tasked with re-creating the early 20th century through Hurricane Katrina, created 3D environments, crowd simulations and matte paintings using Autodesk 3ds Max as its main tool with Autodesk Maya 3D modeling, animation and rendering software complementing the work of some shots.
• Asylum VFX used Maya, Autodesk Smoke finishing effects software, Autodesk Inferno visual effects software and Autodesk Lustre digital color grading system for 189 shots for the photoreal tugboat adventure that included extensive water simulation, digital environments and a computer-generated (CG) submarine.
• Lola VFX created 100 age reduction and 200 make-up enhancement shots using a combination of tools, including Inferno and the Autodesk Flame system.
• Evil Eye Pictures used Maya and Autodesk Combustion desktop compositing software to integrate matte paintings and environmental effects set in and around New Orleans.

Iron Man

• Academy Award Nominee–Industrial Light & Magic brought the superhero character and his nemesis to life using Maya for animating and modeling the CG suits, as well as Inferno visual effects software as part of its SABRE system for compositing over 400 shots.
• Pixel Liberation Front worked on the film for 19 months, relying on Maya to create reference models for extensive previsualization.
• The Orphanage developed the thruster look and an exploding mountainside using 3ds Max and used Maya for the Gulmira, Missile Test and Stark Jet sequences.

The Dark Knight

• Academy Award Nominee–Double Negative created the majority of visual effects in this film, using a combination of proprietary tools and Maya for most of the 2D and 3D work. Maya fluid dynamics helped shape a helicopter crash sequence. Maya nCloth and Syflex Maya plug-ins were used for cloth simulation of the Batsuit.
• Academy Award Nominee–Framestore produced CG environments, CG doubles and digital prosthetic makeup using in-house proprietary tools and numerous Autodesk software applications, including Maya, Autodesk Mudbox software, Autodesk Matchmover, Autodesk Movimento and Autodesk Softimage 3D modeling, animation and rendering software.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Kung Fu Panda

• Academy Award Nominee–DreamWorks Animation SKG developed new tools and workflows for this stereoscopic 3D film, using Maya for setting and rigging stereoscopic cameras, building virtual sets and rendering.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

This Way Up

• Academy Award Nominee–Nexus used a combination of 3ds Max for modeling and animation and Combustion for compositing, among other tools, for this high-definition digital animated short.

Oktapodi

• Academy Award Nominee–Gobelins, l’ecole de l’image, a team of six students from the Paris-based school, created this short using Maya for animation.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Waltz With Bashir

• CinePostProduction, one of Europe’s largest film labs, relied on Smoke for the conform and online, Flame for visual effects, and Lustre for digital color grading.

We all live in a digital world, although it means different things to different people. In her inaugural public lecture as Adelaide’s Thinker in Residence, Intel’s Genevieve Bell will explore how digital technology is shaping our lives, our culture, and our future.

Dr Genevieve Bell is an anthropologist and ethnographer with both an academic and industry background. Her research has provided considerable insight to the importance of culture in the adoption and adaptation of technology. She is currently the Director of User Experience in Intel Corporation’s Digital Home Group in the United States.

Listen to lecture (mp3, 48 min, 16.5 mb):

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