Mumbai : DNEG, Prime Focus’ creative services arm, was recognized at the Oscar’s in Los Angeles for the work on First Man with a 5th Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
This is DNEG’s second consecutive VFX Oscar, with Paul Lambert winning the award last year as VFX Supervisor on director Dennis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, and it means DNEG has now received the Best VFX OSCAR for four out of the last five years. DNEG’s Academy Award-winning VFX Supervisor Paul Lambert and DNEG DFX Supervisor Tristan Myles accepted the award for ‘Best Visual Effects’ for their outstanding in-camera FX work on First Man, alongside Miniature Effects Supervisor Ian Hunter, and Special Effects Supervisor J.D. Schwalm.
DNEG won its first VFX OSCAR in 2011 for work on director Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending thriller Inception. This was followed by another collaboration with Nolan on the sci-fi blockbuster Interstellar, which won in 2015. In 2016, DNEG accepted the VFX OSCAR for work on Alex Garland’s directorial debut Ex Machina, followed by Blade Runner 2049 last year.
Speaking about the award, VFX Supervisor Paul Lambert said: “It’s such a great honour to have won this wonderful award. We did things a little bit differently in terms of the visual effects for First Man so being recognised by the Academy is all the more special. It goes without saying that none of this would have been possible without our amazing cast and crew throughout the project – pre-production, the shoot and everybody in post — All of us led by the truly inspirational Damien Chazelle.”
“Huge thanks to the producers of the movie: Marty Bowen; Wyck Godfrey; Isaac Klausner and Adam Merims; Universal VFX Heads Jennifer Bell and Bill Tlusty; my VFX Producer Kevin Elam; and a big shout out to Michelle Eisenreich and all my people at DNEG Vancouver. We seem to have done it for the second year running!”
Meanwhile, DFX Supervisor Tristan Myles, said:“Wow! What an achievement to have won this prestigious award! Special ‘Thank You’ to the talented VFX team back home in Vancouver, without whose fantastic work this would not have been possible.”
DNEG CEO, Namit Malhotra, said: “It’s a huge honour for the team’s work on First Man to be recognised with an OSCAR. While our primary focus is always on supporting the amazing storytellers we work with through the creation of state-of-the-art effects, it’s fantastic for our global teams to be recognised by the industry for their hard work and dedication.
“We are massively grateful to the director, Damien Chazelle, for having the confidence in our teams and technology to push the boundaries of visual effects.”
