The Visual Effects Society (VES) has made several significant additions to its 18th Annual VES Awards, which will be held on January 29, 2020 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The Society has introduced a new category recognizing Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Project. It has also expanded the number of categories open to animation projects, which are now eligible to compete for top honors in Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project and all three compositing categories (Outstanding Compositing in a Feature, Episode and Commercial).
The VES strives to keep the Awards fair, meaningful and open to as many artistic specialties as possible, while being responsive to trends in the field. The Special Effects category was introduced after careful consideration by the VES Awards Committee and collaborative discussion with prominent members of the special effects community. As well, the expanded eligibility of animation projects reflects meaningful conversations with animation industry leaders, and is in recognition of trends where live action and animation production are blending and of the legions of outstanding compositors working in animation.
“Special effects is not only a legacy craft, it is in use as much now as ever before, and is a critical element of filmmaking and creating cinematic illusion,” said Mike Chambers, VES chair. “Aligned with our mission to recognize and elevate the full breadth of creativity and innovation across our industry, it was due time to bring this category back to our awards program.”
Neil Corbould, VES, special effects supervisor and newly named VES Fellow, added, “Special effects is stronger than it has ever been, working in close conjunction with visual effects, and there is a lot of interest and enthusiasm around this new opportunity to celebrate the outstanding work of our peers. It’s gratifying that the special effects award is coming back this VES Awards season and that we have this highly visible platform to keep special effects at the forefront of modern day film production.”
As previously announced, Martin Scorsese, Oscar, DGA and Emmy Award winning director-producer-screenwriter, is the forthcoming recipient of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his valuable contributions to filmed entertainment. Additional honorees will be announced.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More