The 3D poetry of "Life of Pi" beat the 48 frames-per-second extravagance of "The Hobbit" at Visual Effects Society Awards, with Ang Lee's international hit taking home four awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture, TheWrap said.

In a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton, the film was also honored for its CG character of the tiger named Richard Parker, and for the compositing and FX simulation in its "Storm of God" sequence.

Pixar's "Brave" was the big winner on the animated front, winning four awards and sweeping the VES animated categories.

Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" won a single award, for its virtual cinematography, while "The Impossible" was honored for its supporting visual effects.

The Oscar race was once considered a likely showdown between "Life of Pi" and "The Hobbit," but the VES results reinforce that all the momentum is with "Pi." The film's effects were done by the Rhythm & Hues effects house, which this week received an infusion of capital from three studios to prevent bankruptcy.

In the television categories, HBO's "Game of Thrones" won four awards.

In addition to watching his film win four awards, Lee was himself given the VES's Visionary Award. "It's not visual effects, it's visual art," he said in his acceptance speech.

Pioneering visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund received the VES Lifetime Achievement Award.