The Golden Compass has been awarded an Oscar for Visual Effects.
 
This is fantastic news and a double whammy for The Golden Compass visual effects after it won the BAFTA two weeks ago.
Antony Hunt, MD at Cinesite says, "I am thrilled that The Golden Compass won the Oscar for Visual Effects. Coming soon after the BAFTA announcement, this just goes to show the world-class standard of visual effects that Cinesite is creating. Everyone worked extremely hard on the project and we are lucky enough to have some of the most creative artists in the industry working with us here at Cinesite. We produce the highest standards of work and it's great for British VFX to at last be recognized with such a prestigious award."
"Cinesite were one of the key visual effects facilities on The Golden Compass and we delivered 400 shots to the production. Our work included photorealistic CG daemon animal characters, the spectacular battle sequence at Bolvangar, as well as 3D vehicles, digital matte paintings and various composites throughout the film."
Cinesite's daemon characters include a chameleon, owl, raccoon, rat, raven, spaniel, panther, praying mantis, and several dogs including wolves, huskies and spaniels. All were created using bespoke in-house character animation pipelines, including specially written fur, feather and muscle systems. The characteristics of the daemons' hosts needed to be reflected in their movement, so each animal has its own distinct personality.
The spectacular Bolvanger battle sequence was another major visual effect achievement by Cinesite. Bolvanger, a detention centre at the North Pole, was created, along with its entire glacial location, using digital matte paintings and environments.
Cinesite is also pleased to announce the expansion of its London offices as well as the forthcoming opening of CELIA - Cinesite (Europe) Ltd In America. This trans-Atlantic pipeline will provide a direct link between London and LA. The LA base will house cutting rooms, Scratch suites Producers and Supervisors to allow the viewing of identically calibrated dailies the same day at 2K in LA and London.
Cinesite is currently working on South of the Border for Disney, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and The Dark Knight for Warner Bros. as well as Generation Kill and Churchill at War for HBO. |
