It was the second consecutive Oscar for the film's VFX supervisor Paul Lambert of lead VFX house DNEG, who won last year for Blade Runner 2049. It also was the second Academy Award for Ian Hunter, who previously won for Interstellar. First Man marked the first nomination and first win for Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm.

On his second consecutive Oscar, Lambert said, "This is so surreal. My 15 minutes of fame seems to be carried on for another 15 minutes. ... The fact that we've been honored by the Academy is truly magnificent." Lambert will next be reteaming with Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve on Dune.

First Man's VFX topped a field that included Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Robin, Ready Player One and Solo: A Star Wars Story.