Academy Award Nominations Celebrate Marriage of Storytelling, Artistry and Technology

Digital Artists Worldwide Relied on Autodesk Media & Entertainment Software to Create the Best Movies of the Year

MALAYSIA, Feb 25, 2013 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) media and entertainment technology has played a pivotal role in the creation of some of the most iconic and breathtaking movie imagery over the past two decades. From large post-production studios to small boutique houses, talented artists across the globe — from North America and Europe to Asia and Australia/New Zealand — combined digital artistry, Autodesk software and great storytelling to make the most celebrated films of this past year.

“When I realized all five Academy Award nominated films for best visual effects and all five nominees for best animation used Autodesk Maya, I felt like the father of the bride,” said Chris Bradshaw, Autodesk senior vice president. “Digital artists pushed technology in exciting new directions last year — whether blending hand-drawing and computer graphics, combining traditional stop-motion animation with visual effects or bringing beloved books and superheroes to life, it’s their innovation that inspires Autodesk to continually make our software better.”

In the Best Visual Effects category, all five film nominees— “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “Life of Pi," “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Prometheus,” and “Snow White and the Huntsman”—used Autodesk software. This will be the 18th consecutive year Autodesk has had that distinction. The five nominated movies contained a combined 7,754 visual effects shots and involved the work of 30 visual effects studios using Autodesk software (many of whom worked on multiple films) in more than 10 countries.

This year, a record-setting 21 animated films were eligible for nomination in the Best Animated Feature category. The five nominees all used Autodesk Maya 3D animation and visual effects software. The nominees include two 3D animated features “Brave” and “Wreck-It Ralph” and three stop-motion movies: “Frankenweenie,” “ParaNorman,” and “The Pirates! Band of Misfits.”

Autodesk software also played a role in the creation of a number of other movies nominated this year including “Amour,” “Argo,” “Buzkashi Boys,” “Flight,” “Les Misérables,” “Lincoln,” “Paperman,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Skyfall,” “Ted” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Autodesk congratulates the following studios for using Autodesk software to contribute movie magic into this year’s Academy Award-nominated films: Aardman Animation, Argon, Atomic Fiction (video interview), Baseblack, BlueBolt,  Buf Campagnie, Christov Effects and Design, Cinesite, Digital Domain, DIVE, Double Negative, Evil Eye Pictures, fluent/image, Framestore, Fuel VFX, Halon, Hammerhead Productions, Hydraulx, Identity FX, Industrial Light & Magic, Iloura, Image Engine, LAIKA, Legacy Effects, Lola VFX, LOOK Effects, Luma Pictures, Method Studios, Mikros Image, The Mill, Modus FX, MPC, New Deal Studios, Nvizage, Nvizible, Pixar, Pixomondo, Prologue, REDLAB Digital, Reliance Mediaworks, Rhythm & Hues (video presentation), Rising Sun Pictures, Rushes, Scanline VFX, Shade VFX, Technicolor, The Third Floor, Tim Burton Productions, Tippett Studio, Trixter, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Weta Digital, Whiskytree, yU+co and Zero VFX.

To watch trailers and breakdown reels from many of these nominees, please visit the Autodesk YouTube channel Academy Award playlist.