iWorld
20th VES Awards: DNEG sweeps seven awards for visual effects
Mumbai: The London-based VFX major Double Negative (DNEG) has received seven awards at the 20th Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards held in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The company is a technology-enabled visual effect and animation studio for the creation of feature film, television and multiplatform content. This year’s seven VES awards bring The company’s all-time total to 18.
The four of DNEG’s seven awards honoured its VFX work on Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar 2022 frontrunner “Dune,” including the main award for ‘Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature,’ which was presented by the filmmaker himself.
DNEG also received two awards for its work on the Apple TV+ drama “Foundation,” as well as the award for ‘Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature” for Edgar Wright’s “Last Night In Soho.”
DNEG’s dominant and expansive awards haul on the evening provides further evidence of the company’s leading capabilities in the visual effects and animation industries. This year’s extraordinary levels of success and the recognition of the Visual Effects Society add to DNEG’s impressive list of recent and historical accolades, said the statement.
“Thank you to the Visual Effects Society for honouring the incredible work of our teams and congratulations to all of our winners, collaborators, global teams and clients on this epic achievement,” commented DNEG chairman and CEO Namit Malhotra. “It is important to note that these projects were all in production during the pandemic. Despite the challenges of finding new ways of working in this incredibly difficult time for the world, DNEG has produced work of a quality that has been recognised as outstanding by the VES – an industry body that provides a detailed and comprehensive gauge of the technology and artistry that makes this work so special.”
“This, alongside the unprecedented number of awards that we won last night, is a massive testament to the capabilities of our teams, and the trust of our customers that DNEG will always deliver their vision to the highest possible standard. It is also a huge validation of DNEG’s ambitious growth plans as we go from strength to strength, scaling our business, and delivering great results across all of our global teams,” Malhotra further said.
DNEG’s complete 2022 VES Award winners are:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “Dune” – Paul Lambert, Brice Parker, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “Last Night in Soho” – Tom Proctor, Gavin Gregory, Julian Gnass, Fabricio Baessa
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode: “Foundation” – The Emperor’s Peace – Chris MacLean, Addie Manis, Mike Enriquez, Chris Keller, Paul Byrne
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project: “Dune” – Royal Ornithopter – Marc Austin, Anna Yamazoe, Michael Chang, Rachael Dunk
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature: “Dune” – Dunes of Arrakis – Gero Grimm, Ivan Larinin, Hideki Okano, Zuny An
Outstanding Effects Simulation in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project: “Foundation” – Collapse of the Galactic Empire – Giovanni Casadei, Mikel Zuloaga, Steven Moor, Louis Manjarres
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature: “Dune” – Attack on Arrakeen – Gregory Haas, Francesco Dell’Anna, Abhishek Chaturvedi, Cleve Zhu
DNEG served as lead VFX partner on each of the above projects, with work completed throughout its worldwide studios, according to the company.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
