Oscar. Agree to disagree.

Well, last night Tiff and I along with 100billion something other viewers across the world watched the Oscars. I must say that John Steward was a great host this year and the Wii tennis game on stage was awesome! I was really happy for "Big Bird" and the Pixar crew for their Best Animated Feature win for Rats but greatly disappointed in the Academy's choice for Best Animated Short Film "Peter and the Wolf". I thought the story for "Peter and the Wolf" was ok but the ending was lackluster. You can see the short on one of my earlier posts here. I personally was pulling for Alexander Petrov's "My Love" because of it's story, creative difficulty, and artistic beauty. I felt Petrov was snubbed by the Academy but this isn't the first time my artistic tastes have differed from the "House of Oscar" nor will it be the last. I am happy Daniel Day Lewis got his statuette for "There Will Be Blood" because it was a phenomenal performance (he should have won one for his role as "Bill the Butcher" in "Gangs of New York" a few years back as well). It was also wonderful to see legendary art director Robert Boyle receive an honorary Oscar for 7 decades of artistic leadership and creative innovation in Hollywood. But one of the surprises of the night politically came when US soldiers from Iraq presented the awards for best documentary short. I thought it was interesting how the Academy tied in the presenters with the winning documentary. I was also extremely shocked that ILM didn't win this year for best visual effects for "Pirates 3" or "Transformers". I think they were totally snubbed yet again because there was no way "The Golden Compass" surpassed the visual effects superiority of "Pirates". How can you possibly compare a cg polar bear with the maelstrom scene from "Pirates"? You can't. All in all I agreed with the Academy's choices about half the time but I guess that's how it goes every year.



Maelstrom Scene from Pirates 3



Golden Compass VFX

Cloverfield FX Reel by Double Negative

Cloverfield showreel

This is a great sequence of shots from the film with breakdowns. The green screen work is pretty surprising in places. The bridge and roof top sequences are really awesome and worth the look.

Ray Harryhausen and Friends

Well, last night Tiff and I along with friends and co-workers turned out to see Ray Harryhausen, Craig Barron, Arnold Kunert, Dennis Muren and Phil Tippett talk about Ray's films and the effects industry. One of the highlights of the night was when Arnold Kunert showed some clips from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms that were cut from the original film. Some of the shots were of Ray's animation tests for the film and others were extended scenes. Despite being 87 years young Ray held his own and provided wonderful incite and commentary on some of his most memorable works in stop motion animation. It was inspiring to see these giants of the effects industry all on one stage together talking shop! Special thanks to Anna for the pictures!

Pixar vs Pixar

I haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd put up this Pixar film comparison I found over on Box Office Mojo. It's pretty interesting to see how the films differ in budget and domestic gross.


PIXAR VS. PIXAR

On Acting by Michael Caine

Michael Caine gives great incite and instruction to a group of actors learning how to act for film. This acting direction is also extremely valuable to us animators. It's a must see when you get a chance!