Autodesk and Shotgun Software play a supporting role in the creation of some of the year’s most lauded films and TV series.
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’ © and TIM Lucasfilm, Ltd. All rights reserved.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Autodesk media and entertainment software played a role in the making of many of 2015’s most distinguished television shows and movies. The company also received awards from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a Scientific and Technical Achievement Award (Sci-Tech Award) for Shotgun RV and from The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with a Technical Emmy for Autodesk MotionBuilder.
“Film and television artistry is at an all-time high, and we’re proud that our technology continues to play a part in top Oscar-nominated features,” said Autodesk Senior Vice President Chris Bradshaw. “To top off our 21-year record, receiving both a Sci-Tech Award and Technical Emmy has made this one of the most memorable awards seasons yet.”
Best Visual Effects
In the Best Visual Effects category of the Academy Awards, all five nominees -- Ex Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant and Star Wars: The Force Awakens -- were created with help from Autodesk Maya and Autodesk-owned Shotgun Software and, in some cases, additional Autodesk technology. Outstanding visuals for these five films were produced by thousands of talented artists working out of 32 visual effects studios across five continents, with work spanning previsualization, visual effects, virtual cinematography, post-production and color grading.
‘The Martian.’ ©2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Image courtesy of Framestore.
Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards
Every year, the Academy hosts a special awards ceremony in honor of individuals whose achievements “demonstrate a proven record of contributing significant value to the process of making motion pictures.”
In a press release, Richard Edlund, chair of the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee said, “With their outstanding, innovative work, these technologists, engineers and inventors have further expanded filmmakers’ creative opportunities on the big screen.”
This year, Jim Hourihan, Alan Trombla and Seth Rosenthal received a Technical Achievement Award for the design and development of the Tweak Software RV system, a highly extensible media player system now included with Shotgun. In past years, Autodesk scientists, designers and technologies have been similarly recognized eight times in the Academy’s Sci-Tech Award ceremonies.
Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards
Autodesk Software Development Manager Sylvain Laroche collected the Pre-production Visualization System Technology & Engineering Emmy Award. In a press release, Bob Mauro, president of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, said winners’ “unrelenting passion in pushing the boundaries of what television can be continues to surprise and inspire us, and we salute their efforts with this well-deserved recognition.”
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’ © and TIM Lucasfilm, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
