Bifa 2021 craft winners
8 December 2021
AIM EPA Assessor, Steve Bray has won the British Independent Film Award for Effects.
At the ceremony on 5 December, Steve said: “I’m very happy to accept this award and to share it with the many people who worked so hard to create the VFX for Dashcam. Over a dozen artists around the world lent their talents to the VFX for this movie and without them it would not have been possible. I’m grateful to all of them.”
Steven Bray, who led the VFX team, alongside colleagues Mike Knights (practical effects), and Dan Martin and Leigh Cranston (make-up effects), won best effects for their work on Rob Savage’s road trip horror, DASHCAM.
DASHCAM is a 2021 computer screen horror film directed by Rob Savage and written by Gemma Hurley, Savage and Jed Shepherd. It stars Annie Hardy and Amer Chadha-Patel and was produced by Blumhouse Productions. The entire film is shot from the perspective of either Hardy's hand-held iPhone or the dashcam in her car, as she livestreams her actions for viewers whose comments on the events are also displayed.
The film premiered in the Midnight Madness selection at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2021, where it was named second runner up for the People's Choice Award: Midnight Madness.
Steven, who works as an assessor for AIM on the VFX standards said “My work at AIM is similar to much of my work as a VFX Supervisor; I’m often interacting with new artists, assessing their work and providing useful, professional feedback to them. As an assessor it’s really rewarding to channel my skills and experience towards helping a new generation of people get a strong start as they join the VFX industry.”
Pauline Coyle, AIM Lead Assessor added, “This is a fantastic achievement, and we congratulate Steve on his award. He’s a great role model for our creative apprentices who will, I’m sure, be delighted that they are undertaking their assessments with an industry specialist of his calibre and expertise. “