The Academy Delves Into The Visual Effects Recipe For "Life Of Pi"

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The creative team from the Oscar®-winning film “Life of Pi” will reunite to examine the breakthrough 3D and visual effects work that went into crafting the film. The evening will feature film sequences and “making-of” clips along with an onstage conversation with Academy Award®-winning visual effects artists Bill Westenhofer, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott, Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda, previsualization supervisor Brad Alexander, and Oscar-nominated film editor Tim Squyres. Hosted by Academy governor Bill Kroyer, “Deconstructing Pi” will take place on Monday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.


Hosted by Academy governor Bill Kroyer

With special guests Oscar-winning visual effects artists Bill Westenhofer, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott, Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda, previsualization supervisor Brad Alexander and Oscar-nominated editor Tim Squyres

“Thinking in 3D really helped me make this movie…I think that put me in a position to conceive and make this movie somehow differently.” – director Ang Lee

The Academy takes a look at the breakthrough stereoscopic and visual effects work that went into crafting the Oscar-winning film “Life of Pi,” featuring an onstage discussion with members of the film’s creative teams.

While stereoscopic filmmaking has literally added a new dimension to visual effects in theatrical motion pictures, few films have combined those technologies with greater technical virtuosity or narrative impact than “Life of Pi.”

This year’s Oscar winner for Cinematography, Directing, Music – Original Score and Visual Effects, “Life of Pi” tells the story of a boy lost at sea and his struggle to survive inside a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

The evening will include film sequences and “making-of” clips alongside presentations and panel discussions on the creative challenges and production processes of employing stereoscopic technology with visual effects. Topics will include shot concepts, previsualization, location design, depth scripting and the complexities of combining live-action plates with extensive visual effects.

Life of Pi

Academy Award winner: Cinematography (Claudio Miranda), Directing (Ang Lee), Music – Original Score (Mychael Danna), Visual Effects (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott)


Academy Award nominee: Film Editing (Tim Squyres), Music – Original Song (“Pi’s Lullaby,” Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri), Best Picture (Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, producers), Production Design (David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock), Sound Editing (Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton), Sound Mixing (Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin), Writing – Adapted Screenplay (David Magee)