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VES Student Award Nominees and Winners: 2010 — Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project They Will Come to Town Thilo Ewers (winner) The Full Moon Mystery — The Discovery David Goubitz,VFX supervisor & producer Flip Buttinger,VFX supervisor & producer Jeffrey De Vore, director Motherland Hannes Appell Urs The 8th Annual VES Awards were held late February in Los Angeles. School, had a similar experience when they took home the inaugural award for a trans- formation sequence from Plastic, their live- action short about obsession for the per- fect body image, employing sophisticated Thilo Ewers poses for pictures with Avatardirector James Cameron. animation and effects. As part of the award, Autodesk spon- sored the winners’ travel to the Los Angeles awards ceremony, took them to visit local Los Angeles visual effects companies, and made personal introductions to profes- sional artists and studio heads. The award also includes a complimentary copy of the Autodesk 3D animation software of the winner’s choice: Maya, 3DS Max, or Softimage. Thomas Haegele, director of Fil- makademie, encouraged his former stu- dent, Ewers, to submit his final project to the awards — as he has done with his students since the VES Student Award was founded.“The VES Award is a wonderful opportunity for our stu- dents. It brings them right in front of the industry, to be seen, to be visible, and to make people aware of them and what they can do.” Eric Roth, Dr. Ed Catmull and VES Chair Jeff Okun arrive at the 8th annual VES Awards. On the flip side, the Student Award injects a fresh perspective, new energy and new skills into the VES universe. Says Autodesk’s Goldfinch,“During the award ceremony when the first student recipients took the stage, the energy and excitement they brought with them was incredible.They were so inspired by the company in that room, and they, in turn, inspired.They brought back that feeling of awe about the visual effects craft and profession.” The Visual Effects Society’s Roth Moritz Mayerhofer, graduate 2009 - Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project Plastic— Transformation Sequence Sandy Widyanata Courtney Wise (winners) Hangar Number Five — Robot Attack Nathan Matsuda La Main Des Maitres—Revolution Adrien CaYuS Toupet Clement Delatre Vivien Looky Chauvet Our Wonderful Nature Tomer Eshed Dennis Rettkowski notes,“The VES is about the creation of en- tertainment and the world of tomorrow. Visual effects represent the possibility of an idea not yet put forward, and the marriage of art and technology. Students represent that.This award program is about harness- ing the hopeful resources to create a new way to put imagination on the screen. Stu- dents aren’t tainted by previous thinking and can come forward with a fresh take on every sort of process.” He adds,“We want the next generation to aspire to be members of the VES. Sub- mitting a student award brings them into the inner sanctum of the best in the visual effects industry.” www.postmagazine.com June 2010 • Post 41 (PHOTO BY ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES ) (PHOTO COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES)