Scientific and technical Oscars are awarded for discoveries that have significantly contributed to film production. And while the work is often at the centre of each year’s biggest blockbusters, little is known about the winners who carry home the awards.
What kind of impact does winning a technical Oscar have on a career trajectory?
Much has been written about the so-called "Oscar effect"-- when an actor or actress can demand a significantly larger paycheque after winning an Academy Award -- but can the same be said about technical winners?
Ontario-born computer scientist Doug James said despite winning a technical Oscar in 2013 as part of the Wavelet Turbulence software team, his career has mostly remained the same -- with one small exception: people bring up the win.
"I wouldn't say it's changed much day to day; it's more that people say 'Oh, you got that award,'" he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
As an associate professor of computer science at Cornell University, James is part of a team whose software has helped to create more realistic-looking smoke and gas in films, at far less cost than older methods. The software has helped achieve bigger and better explosions in such blockbusters as "Avatar," "The Amazing Spider-Man," "Iron Man 3," and "Sherlock Holmes."
Theodore Kim, Nils Thuerey, Markus Gross and Doug James appear at the Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony. (Darren Decker / ©A.M.P.A.S.)
And while the impact on the industry is undeniable, James says it's hard to say if winning an Oscar had any impact on his career.
"My career was going great before it, and my career is going great now, so I guess I'll never know," he said with a laugh. "But so far nobody has given me a gigantic raise, so I don't know if the Oscar effect applies to me."
James and his team attended the technical Oscars ceremony in 2013, which was held in Beverly Hills. The technical ceremony is similar to the main event in many ways, complete with paid photographers, speeches and presentations.
While James acknowledges there is a fair amount of buzz often associated with winning an Oscar, he said it was never one of his primary goals to take one home.
"It doesn't have anything to do with why I wanted to do any of the research that we do," he said, noting he simply finds his work exciting.
"It may seem kind of cavalier, but doing things for prizes is not really a good motivation."
James finds, however, there is one major benefit to winning an Oscar: It has proved to be a great way to engage others and discuss other research he is heading. (He keeps his award in his office.)
He and his team are currently working on software that aims to automatically compute the sounds associated with a certain animation, be it an object bouncing or a glass smashing. James says that if he and his team are successful, they'd be accomplishing a sort of industry "Holy Grail."
'A fantastic reward'
Vancouver-based special effects supervisor Guillaume Rocheron also won an Oscar in 2013 for best visual effects for his work on Ang Lee's film "Life of Pi."
Guillaume Rocheron, from left, Bill Westenhofer, Donald R. Elliott, and Erik-Jan De Boer pose with their award for best visual effects for "Life of Pi" during at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision)
He said the win, which was presented to him at the main ceremony by actors Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson, was a "fantastic reward" for him and his team from MPC Studio.
"Creating visual effects is a team's work, involving hundreds of artists and technicians crafting every single frame and detail," he said in an email.
Rocheron said while he was thrilled with the win, it hasn't changed how he works.
"I see it as an achievement at a given time, but it doesn't change my perspective as to how I approach my job," he said. "But it keeps giving me the opportunity to work with great filmmakers on some very interesting and challenging projects."
The Paris native is currently working as the visual effects supervisor on the upcoming Batman film, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."
