86th Academy Awards Visual Effects Shortlist

The Academy's Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist with 10 contenders that remain in the VFX Oscar race. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will now be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on Thursday, January 9, 2014. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

Have seen most of the films but my instinct tells me that the movie that has much buzz is Gravity and buzz comes mainly for awesome visual effects. We can assume that Gravity is the top contender to win the category. Still lets take a look at each of the films visual effects and maybe we can consider another film to be a contender or maybe not.

Elysium
Director Neill Blomkamp reteamed with Vancouver-based visual effects house Imagine Engine (District 9) for his sci-fi epic. VFX vendors also included Industrial Light + Magic, MPC, Method, Whiskytree, Embassy, 32Ten Studio and Animatrix. Believe that visual effects even if are awesome look/feel more "traditional".



Gravity
Movie has too many groundbreaking visual effects that yes, will transform -again- the visual effects industry that today produces effects that look more real than ever before. Impossible to show all but take a look a this example I chose that also is analyzed in the video.





The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
In my opinion film has excellent but "traditional" visual effects that nowadays seem to be taken for granted, especially when some criticize some characters as according to them look less "real" than those in video games. I tend to agree. There are many videos with the many visual effects but here is one from the VFX company.



Iron Man 3
The way that visual effects are these days is that we definitely are the can-do department, said Chris Townsend. Comments the overall VFX supe on Marvel’s Iron Man 3, reflecting on the crucial role his department played in bringing the film to the big screen. Along with visual effects producer Mark Soper, Townsend co-ordinated 17 studios across the globe and more than 2,000 shots for the Shane Black-directed picture. Here is a 27 minutes short documentary featuring some of the visual effects.



The Lone Ranger
Walt Disney visual effects seem to me VERY traditional but of course, all look real while watching movie. Check video with one sequence.



Oblivion
Did not enjoy much movie but yep is another with lots of VFX's, some quite innovative. Check the video about creating the world of Oblivion.



Pacific Rim
Definitively not my kind of movie but can see the amazing visual effects that in my opinion tend to be of the more "traditional" kind. Some examples.




Star Trek Into Darkness
Many companies involved with VFX's but here is a video from one of them. Again, great visual effects but nothing outstandingly remarkable.



Thor: The Dark World
Lots of "practical" visual effects plus the ones done in computers to create a fantastic world that seem could be real.



World War Z
More "traditional/practical" visual effects as seen in first video plus some of the computer generated that show how "intelligent" animation has become, as seen in the second video.