"Natalis" From
Filmakademie in Germany Wins Outstanding Visual Effects in a
Student Project
Los Angeles – For the fifth consecutive year, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) extended its support for tomorrow's artists, animators, designers and filmmakers by sponsoring the Visual Effects Society's (VES) award for "Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project" at the 11th annual VES Awards held on February 5, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Chris Bradshaw, senior vice president at Autodesk presented the honor to Jan-Marcel Kühn from Filmakademie for Natalis.
Filmakademie students Daniel Brkovic, David Kirchner and
Jan-Marcel Kühn graduation short, Natalis,
travels alongside an Android into forest foliage that unveils
life-altering visions of the future. Tools from the Autodesk
Entertainment Creation Suite, including 3ds Max, Maya, Mudbox and
MotionBuilder, were used to create lush
backdrops, intricate characters and whirling particle effects.
Established in 2009 in response to a challenge from Steven
Spielberg (see related video) to recognize the amazing
visual effects work being done by students, the award provides a
unique opportunity for students embarking on a career in visual
effects to gain wide industry visibility.
"Five years ago, Autodesk and the VES came together to invest
in the future of visual effects through this annual student award.
We're thrilled to provide this platform for incredible student
work, and the amazing talent that we see year in and year out
provides an inspiring glimpse into the future of the movie
industry," said Jeffrey A. Okun, Chair of the VES.
Past award nominees have worked at leading visual effects houses
such as MPC, Pixomondo, Glassworks, The Mill and Psyop. While not a
requirement, all of the nominees this year used 3D animation
software from Autodesk to help bring their films to life.
Handpicked from dozens of entries from around the world such as
ArtFX in France and Filmakademie Barden-Württemberg in Germany,
the 2013 nominees included:
- Voile Noir - Submitted by ArtFX students
Michael Balthazart, Raphaël Gaudin, Clément Granjon De Lépiney
and Quentin Sauvinet, Voile Noir seamlessly blends live-action and
computer graphics (CG) to recount the tale of two pilots on a
mission to bring down the government. The team relied on Autodesk Maya to design all of the film's CG assets
from fiery explosions to bomber planes;
- Globosome- For this gorgeous
short animated with Autodesk 3ds Max and digitally sculpted with Autodesk Mudbox, Filmakademie students Sascha
Geddert, Johannes Peter, Patrick Schuler and Philipp Wolf, portray
a journey into outer space to observe the rise and fall of a new
life form;
- Rollin' Safari - In this
hilarious entry by Filmakademie students Kyra Buschor, Anna
Habermehl and Constantin Päplow, overly rotund safari animals
animated in Maya and Mudbox find daily survival tasks such as
stretching or grabbing a bite of zebra at the local watering hole
more complicated than ever;
"Every year we're blown away by the beautifully crafted
original stories that these students create. The shorts not only
illustrate keen artistry, but also a deep understanding of
technology and how it can be applied to create a compelling
story," said Chris Bradshaw, senior vice president at
Autodesk. "We're proud to continue our support for this award
and congratulate all of this year's nominees -- can't wait to see
what they do next."
About the Visual Effects Society
The Visual Effects Society (VES) is a professional, honorary
society dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences and applications
of visual effects and to upholding the highest uniform standards
and procedures for the visual effects profession. It is the
entertainment industry's only official organization representing
the extended community of visual effects practitioners, including
supervisors, artists, producers, technology developers, educators
and studio executives. VES's more than 2,700 global members
contribute to all areas of entertainment - film, television,
commercials, music videos, games and new media. VES strives to
enrich and educate its members and the entertainment community
at-large through many domestic and international events, screenings
and programs.
Autodesk Education Community
The 6 million-strong Autodesk
Education Community offers training materials, access to the
Design Showcase career center as well as more than 40 software
products for free* -- each with a 36-month non-commercial license.
Students can download the same Autodesk software that professional
architects, engineers and digital artists use to push the
boundaries of design.
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment
software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture,
building, construction, and media and entertainment industries --
including the last 17 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects
-- use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their
ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD
software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest
portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For
additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com .
*Free Autodesk software is for personal use for
education purposes and is subject to the terms and conditions of
the end-user license and services agreement that accompanies
download of the software.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, Maya, MotionBuilder, Mudbox and 3ds Max are
registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its
subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries.
Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names, or
trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk is not
responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear
in this document. © 2013 Autodesk, Inc. All rights
reserved.
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