Seven-time Oscar-winning make-up artist Rick Baker has received Locarno Film Festival’s Vision Award, recognising his influence on practical screen transformation and creature design. In an interview following the honour, he said artificial intelligence and computer-generated imagery should complement, rather than replace, practical make-up effects.

Baker said he initially faced claims that practical artists would become “dinosaurs” as CGI emerged, but believes modern digital effects can achieve remarkable things. However, he criticised using CGI for effects that could be created physically, arguing that actors gain something valuable from seeing their transformed appearance in a mirror; he cited his work transforming Eddie Murphy for *Coming to America*.