Maxon Congratulates 2024 Visual Effects Oscars Nominees Celebrating exceptional VFX artists for 2024 Academy Awards.

Bad Homburg - March 5th, 2024 - Maxon, developers of professional software solutions for editors, filmmakers, motion designers, visual effects artists, and creators of all types, congratulates all the VFX artistic teams shortlisted and nominated for the 96TH ACADEMY AWARDS®. This achievement recognizes the dedication and hard work of the visual effects teams in creating engaging stories and unforgettable experiences for moviegoers.

"Enthusiasm for the craft of visual effects is palpable in the nominations for this year's Oscars. The creativity and dedication of the talented individuals and teams nominated is truly inspiring,” says Maxon CEO, David McGavran. “It brings immense pride to our company that tools from Maxon have played a part in these masterpieces. We endeavor to create a space for artists to push the boundaries of what is possible in visual storytelling, and it is rewarding to see that continue to happen year after year. The magic created on screen in these films is nothing short of extraordinary."

Some of the 2024 Oscar-nominated and shortlisted films that used tools from the Maxon One Suite include:

Long time ZBrush user and modeling supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, Terry Park, led the modeling team in the creation of every object, character and set, forming the foundation of each shot in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The use of ZBrush facilitated an interactive work process between designers, making character design faster and more efficient. As a result, the team achieved a record-breaking feat of the creation of over 200 characters, the highest number of unique characters in a single animated film. These numerous detailed character designs crafted in ZBrush were key in creating scenes like the rooftop barbecue party, where a bustling crowd added depth and energy and helped to immerse viewers in the vibrant world of Spider-Man.

“ZBrush gives us freehand so that we can sculpt easily and quickly without dealing with any technical limitations,” says Park. He adds, on the importance of being able to create the record-breaking number of unique characters, “it didn't just add natural realism of diversity into the film, it also brought the joy of looking and finding all the different characters in the film.”

In the production of Godzilla Minus One, director Takashi Yamazaki and modeler Kousuke Taguchi employed Maxon's ZBrush to bring Godzilla to life, drawing inspiration from previous iterations while adding new elements to suit the latest narrative. ZBrush's versatile tools played a crucial role in shaping the monster's appearance, with Yamazaki creating a rough 3D maquette in ZBrush before Taguchi refined the details and balanced the model. Taguchi highlighted the use of Sculptris Pro for film models alongside a set of essential ZBrush brushes for detailing. Through innovative tools like ZBrush, Godzilla Minus One represents the pinnacle of creature creation in modern cinema.

The Oscar-nominated short Letter To a Pig, produced by The Hive Studio, captivated audiences with its powerful storytelling and stunning visual effects. VFX artist Shahar Davis played a crucial role in its creation, particularly in visually representing the film's fragmented memories and theme of transformation. Using Maxon tools including Misfire and other Red Giant Universe plugins, Davis achieved a cohesive and grungy visual language, manipulating background layers to mirror the shifting narrative of the Holocaust taught in Israeli high schools. Davis emphasized the challenge of blending diverse source materials to create a cinematic image, highlighting the importance of tools like Red Giant in adding grunge, balanced looks, fading effects and simulated backlight effects to enhance the film's aesthetic.

Additional notable mentions include Mammal Studios who utilized Maxon’s Redshift for CG rendering in the shortlisted film, Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire.