The short film “a.maize” won the VES Award in the category “Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project” at yesterday’s 10th Annual VES Awards in Los Angeles.
The short film and FMX 2011 trailer, that was created by Falko Paeper, Roman Kaelin und Florian Wittmann, was one of three entries from the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg.
“a.maize” was chosen as best of six nominated films at the VES Award ceremony. The VES Awards are annually bestowed by the Visual Effects Society (VES) and count among the most prestigious distinctions in the realm of Visual Effects. This year’s Awards took place on February 7th in Beverly Hills.
The three award winners, who are currently studying at the Institute of Animation, Effects and Digital Postproduction at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, are still coming to grips with their achievement:
“We are astonished and absolutely honored to receive this outstanding award from the Visual Effects Society. We want to thank our entire team and all the people who were involved in the creation of this short film. We also want to thank our school, the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, and the people at the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Post-Production who create an amazing and unique environment to realize our projects and ideas. We owe a lot to FMX that is a great international platform for the animation and VFX industry, we’re very thankful for that. And, of course, a huge “Thank-you” to the VES!”
The 73 second-long trailer a.maize shows Stuttgart’s city center drowning in a sea of popcorn. Lying about the city like abstract sculptures, the over-dimensioned kernels of corn suddenly begin popping open, startling many an unsuspecting passerby.
Falko Paeper explains the film’s concept: “The idea behind the film came from an interest in how people react when confronted with something new and strange.”
The final result convinced a majority of the judge panels that consist of VES members from around the world. Chuck Finance, Co-chair of the annual VES Awards, praises a.maize‘s aesthetic quality:
“It is an entertaining and beautifully crafted work of art, and hundreds of visual effects professionals around the world voted it to be the best of all student entries.”
a.maize Credits
Direction & Animation: Roman Kaelin, Falko Paeper, Florian Wittmann
Assistant Director: Christian Werner
Producer: Christoph Arni
Additional Compositing: Peter Hacker
Cinematography: Markus Nestroy
Editor: Kaya Inan
Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg Institut für Animation Visual Effects und Digitale Postproduktion Akademiehof 10 71638 Ludwigsburg Contact via email
“Ǝvolution” Comes Full Circle At The Chelsea Film Festival
The Chelsea Film Festival, running from October 16th through October 20th, 2024, at Regal Cinemas here in Union Square, is set to host the East Coast premiere of Ǝvolution, a thought-provoking experimental micro-short film that proves big ideas can come in small packages and in perfect circles.
In just 1 minute 16 seconds, this cinematic gem by Award-Winning Director Romina Schwedler, with original music by Argentine Composer Ignacio Montoya Carlotto, explores a cycle as old as time: life leads to progress, progress leads to destruction, and destruction, well, leads back to life. But is this vicious circle unbreakable? Ǝvolution suggests the answer is yes, unless we decide to open our eyes.
Inspired by the overwhelming number of recent events that threaten human existence, Ǝvolution, possibly the shortest film in this 12th edition of the festival, plays out entirely through the symbolism of circles, cleverly illustrating —in the blink of an eye— the repeating patterns of history, and confronting viewers with the uncomfortable truth that our so-called “progress” may, in fact, be guiding us to our own ruin.Premiering at the Regal 14 Union Square, New York City, on October 18, 2024, at 11 a.m., Romina Schwedler's micro-short, featuring Leah Young with cinematography by Alan J. Carmona, will be sure to spark conversations longer than the film itself! Forcing viewers to reconsider the true meaning of evolution, not just as a biological process, but as a reflection of our collective journey as humans.
With a string of festival appearances across the globe, including CineGlobe at CERN (Switzerland/France), Oscar®... Read More