Teesside graduate shares Oscar night celebrations

A Teesside graduate is celebrating the Oscar success of blockbuster Avatar after working on the film.

Andy Lomas was one of Avatar's computer graphics supervisors and is delighted to see it is officially the world’s most successful film, and has clinched three Oscars.

Andy graduated from Teesside in 1992 with an MSc Computer Aided Graphical Technology Applications and is a former head of computer graphics at Framestore.

While at Framestore, he supervised work on their contribution to Avatar. Andy was particularly involved in the 3D stereo aspects of integrating computer generated effects and environments with live action material.

He now works for The Foundry, a leading UK company for writing software for use in visual effects.

Andy said: 'Avatar was definitely one of the most fascinating projects I've had the opportunity to work on. It was a huge production to be involved with, both in collaborating with the other main VFX companies, particularly Weta in New Zealand and ILM in California, and the sheer complexity of work needed for each individual shots.

We had to work very closely with director James Cameron 'At Framestore we had to work very closely with the director James Cameron and the supervisors from his production company, doing video conference calls with them on a nearly daily basis.

'I believe Avatar really is a game changer for visual effects, being the first time that truly compelling photo-real environments and digital actors have been achieved and sustained for an entire film. I think it takes someone like James Cameron to have the audacity to take on a production of that scale.

'I was fortunate enough to go to the Premiere in Leicester Square and have to say that all of us from Framestore were blown away. You never really know what the final film is going to be like when you're working on it, so it's great when it really exceeds your expectations. The 3D stereo side just helps to really draw you into the whole world of Pandora.

'Personally I was thrilled with the Best Visual Effects Oscar in recognition of the incredible work that so many people around the world put in to create Avatar.'

Avatar won Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.

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