The Oscar 2020 nominations for best visual effects had the strongest contenders. While the prospects of Disney looked great with three movies, the others had more or less if not equal the chances for a win.
1917
This Oscar winner proves that visual effects are not just some replacements done to a green screen through digital machinery. It necessarily involves production design and a creative approach to achieving effects possible without the use of heavy editing. The way this movie incorporated VFX into it is absolutely genius. The movie had to be framed in such a way that I was entirety captured in one single shot. In this movie, the camera never cuts away from the action. The task of integrating multiple shots together seamlessly was an incredibly challenging task for the VFX team. Depending on the type of shot, different approaches were used to achieve the desired results. The fact that the movie was produced in native IMAX (widescreen with incredibly high-resolution) format made it even more complicated. The digital painting work of the VFX artists had to be precise and intricate.
Apart from 1917, Birdman too was shot using this one-continuous shot technique and was nominated for an Oscar in the same category.
In a nutshell, VFX is more effective when it goes unnoticeable.

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The Irishman
It is masterpiece from Martin Scorsese and a big budget ambition project due to the cast and the de-aging used in it. Now, it is a familiar technique (seen in Iron man 3, Ant Man, and Terminator: Dark Fate earlier). In The Irishman it was used in the flashback scenes where De Niro is required to look like his 40s. The present age of De Niro is 76. If you haven’t watched it already it is available on Netflix.

Avengers Endgame
Being the most anticipated movie of 2019, VFX artists had no room for error. The final fight sequence against the army of Thanos made a memorable impact on the viewers. However, Marvel was condemned by critics for using too much CGI. The Marvel team mentioned that the nearing deadlines left less time for production design to develop full-fledged sets, and they had to rely on VFX.

The Lion King
Imagine the CGI being so good that it actually becomes a shortcoming of the movie. That’s exactly what happened with The Lion King. In the original animated counterpart, the characters portrayed their personalities through expressions and quirks while the live action seemed flat due to the hyper-realistic animation. Still kudos to the Disney artists for they have almost blurred the lines between reality and CGI with the movies like The Jungle Book and The Lion King. VFX isn’t an easy task and to mimic the movements and natures of animals is nothing less than a revolutionary feat.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Layers of work went into The Rise of Skywalker. Some of the most striking VFX moments from the film include the assembly of Leia’s farewell from deleted scenes shot by Carrie Fisher years before her death, the blending of old-school models and digital effects, and flashback scene of Luke and Leia training created with the elements from the Return of the Jedi.

Do you think 1917 deserves the Oscar win? Or do you have another personal favourite? Let us know in the comments.
If you wish to be more than just a spectator of amazing visual effects, join a VFX course and get the skills to create your own VFX. Click here to know more.

Universal studios on 12th November gifted us with a space epic movie – First Man. Directed by Damien Chazelle, this movie dramatises the ‘Giant leap for Mankind’- the moon landing and the biopic of Neil Armstrong. The film was awarded an Oscar in the Best Visual Effects category at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony, defeating fellow nominees – Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Robin, Ready Player One and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
The Oscar was accepted by VFX supervisor Paul Lambert of the DNEG team who had also won an Oscar the previous year in the same category for Blade Runner 2049.
Was First Man’s Oscar a deserving one? Do you think Ready Player One was more rightful or any of the rest were more worthy? Well, we leave that to you, but let’s talk about First Man. It deserved the Oscar not for the CGI-ed moon landing or the intense eye-popping space travel rather for relying more on in-camera effects than Visual Effects. Let us explain it.

Damien Chazelle wished to work with practical sets and archival footage that would be able to capture the authenticity of this historical event. For this, they used the original never-seen footages of the Apollo mission which were in square format. Additional CG and matte paintings were then added to extend the square footage on either side to match the IMAX format.

Rather than counting on CGI, the First Man VFX crew filmed docking scenes using miniature models of various space shuttles, including the Saturn V rocket. Also for the launch sequence there wasn’t any green screen. How did they achieve it then? DNEG developed a 60 foot wide by 35 foot tall curved 180 degree LED screen. The LED wall was the best option to get the clarity and brightness and capture as much in-camera as possible. As for the CG part, DNEG delivered around 430 VFX shots supervised by Paul who oversaw all the on-set VFX work as well as the VFX process in post-production.

The old-school technique of using miniatures and avoiding green or blue screen for live-action shots depicts the brilliancy of the VFX crew. As a general audience we have always stated that CGI is pleasing only when used in the right amount. Had it been over used, it would have distracted the viewers from immersing into the story.

DNEG CEO Namit Malhotra said: “It is a huge honour for the team’s work on First Man to be recognised with an Oscar.”
Apart from First Man and the other nominees, we would also like to appreciate another movie- Aquaman. The visual effects used were truly artistic and absolutely outstanding. Achieving the floating effect and under water movements seem a bit more difficult than two people stranded in zero gravity. Unfortunately Aquaman wasn’t able to secure a nomination which it rightfully deserved.
Do you believe it to be an Oscar snub? Does First Man deserves this? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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