Tag Archives: Frozen

Feb 28 2014
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GrabBag – Oscar Weekend!

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It’s Oscar Weekend, folks! I’ve spent the week focused on my 6-part Oscar Predictions series (now complete!), so today’s GrabBag may be a bit less thought-out than usual. Still, you need your weekend fix of internet links, so here we go…

  • Kids reenact Oscar nominees…
  • Fandor has a series of video essays on who “deserves” to win. (I haven’t had a chance to watch these yet, but they are high on my to-do list.)
  • In case you haven’t been paying attention to the season, check out In Contention’s 10 Things You Need to Know About the 2014 Oscars. While I may not agree describing last year’s show as “terrible,” these are the most important facts to keep in mind leading up to the big night.
  • Moving away from Oscar for a moment (I know, right?)… The real backstory of Andy’s mom make the Toy Story films that much more endearing.
  • Speaking of Disney, the folks behind Frozen release a Deleted Scene. (Good thing it was deleted.)
  • And speaking of Frozen (I’ve had a lot of Frozen-related links in these GrabBags recently, haven’t I?): My apologies to your eardrums, but this is pretty hilarious. “Let It Go” as sung by, who else, Mr. Freeze…

That’s all for today. Enjoy your Oscar Weekend! Oh, and Mardi Gras, too. Yeah that’s happening, apparently.

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Feb 23 2014
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Cinema Audio Society Awards: Another Win for Gravity

Gravity-debris-2

The Cinema Audio Society added to the slew of technical guild awards Gravity has already scooped up, including the ASC, ADG, MPSE, and VES. That, in addition to the DGA and half the PGA. Friends, this is what we like to call a juggernaut.

Other winners announced last night include Frozen, Behind the Candelabra, Game of Thrones, and their previously announced CAS Filmmaking Award to director Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, Defiance).

The CAS is the guild for sound mixing. For more on the difference between sound mixing vs sound editing, read here or here.

Scroll down for the full list of CAS Awards winners. (Click here to see the nominations.)

Motion Picture — Live Action
“Gravity”

Motion Picture — Animated
“Frozen”

Television Movie or Mini-Series
“Behind the Candelabra”

Television Series – One Hour
“Game of Thrones” – “The Rains of Castamere”

Television Series – Half Hour
“Modern Family”

Television Non Fiction, Variety or Music – Series or Specials
“History of the Eagles: Part One”

Career Achievement Award
Andy Nelson

CAS Filmmaking Award
Edward Zwick

Technical Achievement Awards

Production
Sound Devices, LLC – 633 Mixer/Recorder

Post-Production
iZotope – RX 3 Advanced

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Feb 14 2014
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GrabBag: Valentine’s Edition – Princesses and Romantic Video Games

Heart with Question Mark copy

Happy Valentine’s Friday! In lieu of a card or teddy bear, I present you with this GrabBag of screen-related bon-bons…

  • Up first, The Onion’s “Starfix” gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Colin Farrell’s “lack of preparation” for this weekend’s big romantic release, Winter’s Tale…
  • Oscar’s telecast producers urged winners to give speeches “from your heart, not from a list.” I can get behind that. Who cares about a list of agents and producers? The speeches we remember are those that take the opportunity to really say something.
  • Speaking of Disney, the cast of Frozen reunited for a live Cabaret night. I wish we got more than 18 seconds of footage from it.
  • And finally, Hoth should never have been chosen to host the Winter Olympics…

Hoth olympics

(Source: Imgur)

OK that’s enough candy for today. Time to go buy some real sweets, whether you have a sweetie to share them with or get the whole box to yourself!

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Feb 13 2014
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Gravity, Frozen Dominate VES Awards

Gravity-2

This may be the least surprising news of the awards season, but it’s news nonetheless. Gravity pretty much swept the Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards at their ceremony Wednesday night.

The only award it could have won but didn’t went to The Hobbit for Animated Character in a Live Action Feature. And that makes sense: they animated Sandra Bullock for scenes that were impossible to shoot practically, but it may be a bit of a stretch to consider that an “animated character.” Smaug is more consistent with the intent of the category.

Elsewhere, Frozen took all four Animated Feature categories. And Game of Thrones took a trio of TV awards.

See below for the complete list of winners. (Check out the nominees here.)

MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
“Gravity”

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
“The Lone Ranger”

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“Frozen”

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” – Smaug

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“Frozen” – Bringing the Snow Queen to Life

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
“Gravity” – Exterior

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“Frozen” – Elsa’s Ice Palace

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
“Gravity”

Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture
“Gravity” – ISS Exterior

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
“Gravity” – Parachute and ISS Destruction

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“Frozen” – Elsa’s Blizzard

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
“Gravity”

TELEVISION AND COMMERCIALS

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program
“Game of Thrones” – “Valar Dohaeris”

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
PETA – “98% Human”

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program
“Banshee” – Pilot

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
PETA – “98% Human”

Outstanding Created Environment in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
“Game of Thrones” – “The Climb”

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Commercial or Broadcast Program
“The Crew”

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
PETA – “98% Human”

Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program
“Game of Thrones” – “The Climb”

Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial
“Call of Duty” – “Epic Night Out”

OTHER MEDIA

Outstanding Real-Time Visuals in a Video Game
“Call of Duty: Ghosts”

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
“Space Shuttle Atlantis”

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
“Rugbybugs”

Lifetime Achievement Award
John Dykstra

Visionary Award
Alfonso Cuarón

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Jan 25 2014
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GrabBag – Star Wars, Shorts, and Preferential Balloting Explained

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Tonight the DGA awards may finally give us a frontrunner in one of the tightest Oscar races ever. Tomorrow the Grammy Awards will be resoundingly ignored by yours truly. It’s too cold to go outside, so here’s a handful of distractions for your weekend…

  • Apparently the new Star Wars VII will NOT be shot in IMAX. Maybe the use of standard (can we say “old-school” yet?) film will help give it that warm, lived-in, epic feel of the old ones that the prequels so sorely lacked. Either way it’s fun to hear the script is complete.
  • The Oscar for Best Picture and Producer’s Guild Award both use a complicated preferential ballot, or “instant run-off,” to determine their winners. Basically the ballots are organized according to the first place votes, and then the one with the fewest… OK, there’s no way I can explain it, myself. Here, watch this 4-minute video instead. It seems crazy and unbelievably impossible to me that with 10 films and 4,700 votes that system somehow ended up in a tie. 
  • The Onion “reports” that all 10 of this year’s Oscar nominated screenplays were written during the same continuing education screenwriting class. I want to take that class!!!!
  • “Let It Go” from Frozen, sung in 25 different languages, and it’s still gorgeous. 
  • “100 Films / 100 Behind the Scenes Photos” is exactly what it sounds like. Except it’s a 3-part series, so that’s actually 300 photos. Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Ok, that’s all for this week. If you have any suggestions for future editions of GrabBag, please email me or post them in the comments. And once again, here’s my plea for any designer willing to donate their skills to help create an original GrabBag logo. Any takers?

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