Project Description
17TH ANNUAL VES AWARDS
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Beverly Hilton Hotel
Beverly Hills, CA
PREVIOUS VES AWARDS | VIEW PREVIOUS YEAR
Jimmy Kimmel presented the VES Award for Creative Excellence to award-winning creators-executive producers-writers-directors David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Evan Rachel Wood presented the VES Visionary Award to acclaimed writer-director-producer Jonathan Nolan. And Steve Carell presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Oscar®-nominated producer and founder and CEO of Illumination Chris Meledandri. Avengers: Infinity War was named the photoreal feature winner, garnering four awards. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was named top animated film, winning four awards. Lost in Space was named best photoreal episode and also garnered four awards. Awards presenters also included: James Marsden, Incredibles 2 director Brad Bird, Avengers: Infinity War directors Anthony and Joe Russo, legendary director-producer Roger Corman, Allen Leech, Suzanne Cryer, Thomas Middleditch and Sydney Sweeney.
Honorees
Lifetime Achievement Award
Chris Meledandri
Awarded for significant and lasting contributions to the art and science of the visual effects industry by way of vision, artistry, invention and innovation.
Visionary Award
Jonathan Nolan
Awarded for uniquely and consistently employing the art and science of visual effects to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work.
VES Award for Creative Excellence
David Benioff
D.B. Weiss
Awarded for uniquely and consistently employing the art and science of visual effects to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work.
Video & Photo Galleries
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Winners and Nominees
Below is the complete list of Winners and Nominees for the 17th Annual VES Awards. A sortable list for ALL years of VES Award winners / nominees can be found on the Previous VES Awards page.
Please click on the category to reveal the nominees and winners
This award is to honor the overall achievement of the invisible or near-invisible visual effects within a photoreal (i.e., live action) feature motion picture wherein the visual effects, when taken as a whole, are not essential to the story. Supporting visual effects are generally used to help create the setting, environment, or mood of the film and may include extensive recreations of realistic historical settings. They may include set or lighting changes, CG or practical real vehicles, real-world alterations to actors, and limited surrealistic or expressionistic effects. Action sequences and destruction are allowed only if they are real-world and not critical to the story. Supporting visual effects do not consist of any non-human CG characters, science fiction or fantasy elements, extensive stunts and Special Effects, or other highly visible effects that one would expect to see in a visual-effects-driven or “tentpole” film. Supporting visual effects are generally the type of work that, when viewed by the general public, are not recognized by the untrained eye.
Roger Nall
Robert Weaver
Mike Meinardus
Marcus Taormina
David Robinson
Mark Bakowski
Sophie Dawes
Mike Meinardus
Paul Norris
Tim Field
May Leung
Andrew Simmonds
Paul Lambert
Kevin Elam
Tristan Myles
Ian Hunter
JD Schwalm
Alex Bicknell
Dan Bethell
Greg O’Connor
Stefano Pepin
This award is to honor the technical and artistic achievement of the animation and visual effects in a non-demonstration project rendered largely with a real-time engine. Only content that has been rendered in real time at a minimum of 24fps will be considered, and if requested the Submitter must be able to demonstrate the real-time rendering to the Committee; however, animation within the project may be captured, keyframed, interactive, or any combination thereof. Real-time visual effects and animation are defined as including, but not limited to, characters, effects, animation, environments, and lighting as long as they meet the criteria stated in the Glossary of these Rules & Procedures. All projects should reference the systems in the Before & Afters that generated the real-time renders shown in the Work To Be Considered.
Pre-rendered “cinematics” or other elements that are rendered outside a game engine are not eligible for this category, nor are real-time projects created for education or demonstration purposes. Stage productions should show the audience’s POV of the project in the Before & Afters.
Regardless of source, all submissions for the VES Awards must be in the appropriate specifications laid out below. No special facilities will be made available to nomination judges and members for interactivity, VR, 3D, or other setups.
John Kahrs
Kevin Dart
Cassidy Curtis
Theresa Latzko
Jeff Gipson
Nicholas Russell
Lauren Nicole Brown
Jorge E. Ruiz Cano
Greg Broadmore
Mhairead Connor
Steve Lambert
Simon Baker
Maximilian Vaughn Ancar
Corey Teblum
Kevin Huynh
Paolo Surricchio
Grant Hollis
Daniel He Wang
Seth Faske
Abdul Bezrati
This award is to honor outstanding achievement in compositing multiple elements into a final visual effect shot or group of shots in a single episode of a photoreal (i.e., live action) Series, Mini-Series, Movie, or Special. This category is for a body of work created for a single broadcast episode by an individual artist or team of artists.
Jean-François Leroux
Reece Sanders
Stephen Bennett
Laraib Atta
David Wahlberg
Douglas Roshamn
Sofie Ljunggren
Fredrik Lönn
Tim Carras
Michael Eng
Shiying Li
Bill Parker
Winston Lee
Gwen Zhang
Xi Luo
Kevin Quatman
This award is to honor the achievement of visual effects created through simulation in a photoreal (i.e., live action) or animated commercial, broadcast program, or video game. The award is for a body of work, and all simulated effects in the project will be considered. Simulated effects are dynamic effects that generally include particle, dynamic, fluid, cloth, hair, and crowd simulations. The effects may interact with, or be elements that make up, the characters, set elements and environments with which they coexist. The Before & Afters must demonstrate the simulation processes used to create the effects presented for consideration.
Philipp Kratzer
Daniel Fernandez
Xavier Lestourneaud
Andrea Rosa
Denys Shchukin
Heribert Raab
Michael Billette
Jaclyn Stauber
Juri Bryan
Will Elsdale
Hugo Medda
Maxime Marline
Saber Jlassi
Igor Zanic
Nick Chamberlain
Chris Parks
This award is to honor the achievement of the visual effects within a single episode of a photoreal (i.e., live action) episodic broadcast series, a mini-series or Special where the visual effects are a visible, essential, and integral part of the story and play a principal and active role in the show. A rule of thumb for defining whether a series would be considered effects-driven would be to ask if the story could be told without the active participation of extensive digital effects, Special Effects, effects-enhanced stunts, practical effects, or nonhuman CG characters. The general public would easily identify the VFX in effects-driven series, whether they are made for pay cable, standard cable, broadcast, or streaming.
Everett Burrell
Tony Meagher
Steve Moncur
Christine Lemon
Joel Whist
Ian Markiewicz
Jennifer Wessner
Niklas Jacobson
Martin Pelletier
Jabbar Raisani
Terron Pratt
Niklas Jacobson
Joao Sita
Frank Petzold
Lenka Líkařová
Viktor Muller
Pedro Sabrosa
Jay Worth
Elizabeth Castro
Bruce Branit
Joe Wehmeyer
Michael Lantieri
This award is to honor the overall achievement of a single created environment in a photoreal (i.e., live action) motion picture that best creates an illusion of setting for the story being told. Created environments are defined as either completely artificial environments, or the significant enhancement of an existing practical set or location through the addition of elements not present during photography. The environment may occur more than once in the project and under different conditions, but must be the same environment, created by the exact same team.
This category judges not only the techniques for creating the environment, but also their integration with any practical plate photography. Before & Afters must show the integration of the multiple elements used to create the environment.
All entries must focus on one contiguous environment and be consistent in scope by featuring either breadth or detail, but not both. For example, an entire city or large environment should be shown largely in flyovers and wide shots. Smaller, more intimate environments, such as a forest environment or building interior should be confined to a single setting of the immediate surroundings.
Florian Witzel
Harsh Mistri
Yuri Serizawa
Can Yuksel
Quentin Marmier
Aaron Barr
Jeffrey De Guzman
Ziad Shureih
Mert Yamak
Stanley Wong
Joana Garrido
Daniel-Ștefan Gagiu
Julian Foddy
Christoph Ammann
Clément Gérard
Pontus Albrecht
This award is to honor outstanding achievement in compositing multiple elements into a final visual effect shot or group of shots in a photoreal (i.e., live action) Commercial. This category is for a body of work created for a single commercial by an individual artist or team of artists.
Main title sequences are not eligible in this category.
Morten Vinther
Michael Gregory
Gustavo Bellon
Rodrigo Jimenez
Michael Ralla
Steve Drew
Alejandro Villabon
Peter Timberlake
Neil Alford
Jose Caballero
Joseph Dymond
Greg Spencer
Kamen Markov
Pratyush Paruchuri
Kalle Kohlstrom
Daniel Benjamin
This award is to honor the outstanding use of the totality of cinematographic techniques of camera and lighting in mostly or fully CG shots within a photoreal (i.e., live action) project. The award recognizes the collaboration among traditional cinematographers and visual effects artists. In addition, this may include vfx, previs, lighting, and layout artists. The project may be computer-generated or photographed, but the shots being submitted must be mostly or fully CG and appear photographic, and any non-CG elements must have been re-lit or similarly altered. The Before & Afters must show the development of the cinematography of the shots and may include previs, mocap, layout and lighting. Modeling, particle effects, and texturing are not to be considered except as how they affect the cinematography. This category is open to any motion media that meets the minimum length and distribution standards defined in the Glossary for Motion Media Project.
Claus Pedersen
Mohammad Rastkar
Cedric Lo
Ryan McCoy
Victor Perez
Tomas Tjernberg
Tomas Wall
Marcus Dineen
Pawl Fulker
Matt Perrin
Oscar Faura
David Vickery
Daniele Bigi
Edmund Kolloen
Mathieu Vig
Jean-Baptiste Noyau
C. Kim Miles
Matthew A. Ward
Ryan Beagan
Marc Chu
This award is to honor the overall achievement of the visual effects within a photoreal (i.e., live action) motion picture where the visual effects are a visible, essential, and integral part of the story and play a principal and active role in the motion picture. A rule of thumb for defining whether a motion picture would be considered effects-driven would be to ask if the story could be told without the active participation of extensive digital effects, Special Effects, effects-enhanced stunts, practical effects, or nonhuman CG characters. On the whole, effects-driven films may be “tent-pole” or “independent”, but they are not possible to make without effects and the general public would easily identify the VFX.
Dan DeLeeuw
Jen Underdahl
Kelly Port
Matt Aitken
Dan Sudick
Chris Lawrence
Steve Gaub
Michael Eames
Glenn Melenhorst
Chris Corbould
Roger Guyett
Jennifer Meislohn
David Shirk
Matthew E. Butler
Neil Corbould
Rob Bredow
Erin Dusseault
Matthew Shumway
Patrick Tubach
Dominic Tuohy
Kevin Baillie
Sandra Scott
Seth Hill
Marc Chu
James Paradis
This award honors an outstanding single physical or digital model in any photoreal (i.e., live action) or animated motion media project. Features, Programs, Commercials, Special Venue Projects, and Real-Time Projects are all eligible in this category. A model may be of a living thing, inanimate object, or animated vehicle, but may not also be entered in any Created Environment or Animated Character Category.
The model may have been created virtually, physically, or any combination thereof, and may use any scale. Large environments such as cities may not be entered in this Category even if rendered as a single model. The model’s artistry, detail, textures, animation and lighting are to be considered. An entry may include multiples of the same model with minor variations, such as scale and features, but must have been created by the same team.
Chad Roen
Ryan Rogers
Jeff Tetzlaff
Ming Pan
Neil Blevins
Philip Metschan
Kevin Singleton
Matthew Sandoval
James Ogle
Nick Keller
Sam Tack
Giuseppe Bufalo
Kim Lindqvist
Mauro Giacomazzo
William Gallyot
Masa Narita
Steve Walton
David Meny
James Clyne
This award is to honor outstanding achievement in compositing multiple elements into a final visual effect shot or group of shots in a photoreal (i.e., live action) feature motion picture. This category is for a body of work created for a single motion picture by an individual artist or team of artists.
Multiple entries from the same project are eligible provided the compositing teams are 100% different and the shots being submitted are completely different.
Title sequences are eligible as long as they are submitted in textless form so as not to conflict with any other awards rule, and they are part of the storytelling and are not a specially designed separate animated title sequence in a live action project.
Animated films are not eligible in this category.
Sabine Laimer
Tim Walker
Tobias Wiesner
Massimo Pasquetti
Joel Delle-Vergin
Peter Farkas
Miles Lauridsen
Francesco Dell’Anna
John Galloway
Enrik Pavdeja
David Nolan
Juan Espigares Enriquez
Woei Lee
Saul Galbiati
Max Besner
Thai-Son Doan
This award is to honor the achievement of visual effects created through simulation in a photoreal (i.e., live action) feature motion picture. The award is for a body of work, and all simulated effects in the project will be considered. Simulated effects are dynamic effects that generally include particle, dynamic, fluid, cloth, hair, and crowd simulations. The effects may interact with, or be elements that make up, the characters, set elements and environments with which they coexist. The Before & Afters must demonstrate the simulation processes used to create the effects presented for consideration.
Multiple entries from the same project are eligible provided the artistic teams are 100% different and the shots being submitted are completely different.
Title sequences are eligible as long as they are submitted in textless form so as not to conflict with any other awards rule, and they are part of the storytelling and are not a specially designed separate animated title sequence in a live action project.
Gerardo Aguilera
Ashraf Ghoniem
Vasilis Pazionis
Hartwell Durfor
Florian Witzel
Adam Lee
Miguel Perez Senent
Francisco Rodriguez
Dominik Kirouac
Chloé Ostiguy
Christian Gaumond
Aharon Bourland
Jordan Walsh
Aleksandar Chalyovski
Federico Frassinelli
This award is to honor the overall achievement of a single created environment in a photoreal (i.e., live action) or animated Program, Commercial, or Real-Time Project that best creates an illusion of setting for the story being told. Created environments are defined as either completely artificial environments, or the significant enhancement of an existing practical set or location through the addition of elements not present during photography. The environment may occur more than once in the project and under different conditions, but must be the same environment, created by the exact same team.
This category judges not only the techniques for creating the environment, but also their integration with any practical plate photography. Before & Afters must show the integration of the multiple elements used to create the environment. If the project is animated, then the environment should clearly match the style and complexity of the rest of the elements.
All entries must focus on one contiguous environment and be consistent in scope by featuring either breadth or detail, but not both. For example, an entire city or large environment should be shown largely in flyovers and wide shots. Smaller, more intimate environments, such as a forest environment or building interior should be confined to a single setting of the immediate surroundings.
Michael R.W. Anderson
Jeff Gipson
Jose Luis Gomez Diaz
Edward Everett Robbins III
Philip Engström
Kenny Vähäkari
Jason Martin
Martin Bergquist
John Bair
Vance Miller
Jose Marin
Steve Sullivan
Patrick Zentis
Kevin McGeagh
Leo Bovell
Zachary Dembinski
Casi Blume
Michael Eng
Ben McDougal
Sean Myers
This award is to honor the overall achievement of the invisible, or near-invisible visual effects within a single episode of a photoreal (i.e., live action) episodic series, mini-series, movie or special where the visual effects, when taken as a whole, are not necessarily essential to the story. Supporting visual effects are generally used to help create the setting, environment, or mood of the series and may include extensive recreations of realistic historical settings. They may include set or lighting changes, CG or practical vehicles, real-world alterations to actors, and limited surrealistic or expressionistic effects. Action sequences and destruction are allowed only if they are real-world and not critical to the story. Supporting visual effects do not consist of any non-human CG characters, science fiction or fantasy elements, extensive stunts and Special Effects, or other highly visible effects that one would expect to see in a visual-effects-driven series. Supporting visual effects are generally the type of work that, when viewed by the general public, are not recognized by the untrained eye.
Effects-driven series may not enter their “invisible” effects in this category.
Kent Houston
Wendy Garfinkle
Steve Murgatroyd
Drew Jones
Paul Stephenson
Jim Rider
Steven Weigle
John Bair
Aaron Raff
Karen Goulekas
Eddie Bonin
Roland Langschwert
Bryan Godwin
Matthew James Kutcher
Brendan Taylor
Stephen Lebed
Winston Lee
Leo Bovell
Erik Henry
Matt Robken
Bobo Skipper
Deak Ferrand
Pau Costa Moeller
This award considers all animation techniques to be a part of visual effects, and honors the overall technical achievement of the animation within an entire Animated Feature. This award recognizes the craftsmanship of the animation which best conveys the entirety of the setting, mood, and action, thereby defining the film’s overall visual and emotive effectiveness.
Pierre Leduc
Janet Healy
Bruno Chauffard
Milo Riccarand
Brad Bird
John Walker
Rick Sayre
Bill Watral
Mark Waring
Jeremy Dawson
Tim Ledbury
Lev Kolobov
Scott Kersavage
Bradford Simonsen
Ernest J. Petti
Cory Loftis
Joshua Beveridge
Christian Hejnal
Danny Dimian
Bret St. Clair
This award is to honor the overall performance and technical execution of a single animated character in a Photoreal (i.e., live action) or Animated Commercial. All entrants must have contributed directly to the performance of the character itself (e.g. voicing, animating, rigging, texturing, or lighting, but not environment, compositing or layout). The character may not include live action elements unless they do not significantly affect the performance.
Gabriela Ruch Salmeron
Joe Henson
Andrew Butler
Joel Best
Jonas Ekman
Goran Milic
Jonas Skoog
Henrik Eklundh
Bernd Nalbach
Emanuel Fuchs
Sebastian Plank
Christian Leitner
David Bryan
Chris Welsby
Fabian Frank
Chloe Dawe
This award is to honor the overall performance and technical execution of a single animated character in a Photoreal (i.e., live action) Feature. All entrants must have contributed directly to the performance of the character itself (e.g. voicing, animating, rigging, texturing, or lighting, but not environment, compositing or layout). The character may not include live action elements unless they do not significantly affect the performance.
Jan Philip Cramer
Darren Hendler
Paul Story
Sidney Kombo-Kintombo
Arslan Elver
Kayn Garcia
Laurent Laban
Mariano Mendiburu
Jance Rubinchik
Ted Lister
Yannick Gillain
Keith Ribbons
David Shirk
Brian Cantwell
Jung-Seung Hong
Kim Ooi
This award is to honor the overall achievement of a single created environment in an Animated Feature that best creates an illusion of setting for the story being told. The environment may occur more than once in the project and under different conditions, but must be the same environment, created by the exact same team.
Loic Rastout
Ludovic Ramière
Henri Deruer
Nicolas Brack
Christopher M. Burrows
Philip Metschan
Michael Rutter
Joshua West
Benjamin Min Huang
Jon Kim Krummel II
Gina Warr Lawes
Matthias Lechner
Terry Park
Bret St. Clair
Kimberly Liptrap
Dave Morehead
This award is to honor the overall performance and technical execution of a single animated character in an Animated Feature. All entrants must have contributed directly to the performance of the character itself (e.g. voicing, animating, rigging, texturing, or lighting, but not environment, compositing or layout). The character may not include live action elements unless they do not significantly affect the performance.
David Galante
François Boudaille
Olivier Luffin
Yarrow Cheney
Michal Makarewicz
Ben Porter
Edgar Rodriguez
Kevin Singleton
Dong Joo Byun
Dave K. Komorowski
Justin Sklar
Le Joyce Tong
Marcos Kang
Chad Belteau
Humberto Rosa
Julie Bernier Gosselin
This award is to honor the overall performance and technical execution of a single animated character in a Photoreal (i.e., live action) or Animated Episode of a Series, Mini-Series, or Special, or in a Real-Time Project. All entrants must have contributed directly to the performance of the character itself (e.g. voicing, animating, rigging, texturing, or lighting, but not environment, compositing or layout). The character may not include live action elements unless they do not significantly affect the performance.
Andrew Proctor
Gemma Humphries
Mike Chapman
Gianluca Di Marco
Jose Luis Gomez Diaz
Edward Everett Robbins III
Jorge E. Ruiz Cano
Jose Luis -Weecho- Velasquez
Chad Shattuck
Paul Zeke
Julia Flanagan
Andrew McCartney
Brian Wyser
Henrique Naspolini
Sophie Brennan
William Salyers
Peter Giliberti
James Chretien
Ryan Cromie
Cesar Dacol Jr.
Eric Carme
Nicolas Brice
Milo Riccarand
Paul Kanyuk
Tiffany Erickson Klohn
Vincent Serritella
Matthew Kiyoshi Wong
Paul Carman
Henrik Fält
Christopher Hendryx
David Hutchins
Henrik Karlsson
Theo Vandernoot
Martin Furness
Dmitriy Kolesnik
Ian Farnsworth
Pav Grochola
Simon Corbaux
Brian D. Casper
Maxime Luère
Léon Bérelle
Remi Kozyra
Dominique Boidin
Kamen Markov
Philip Whalley
Anthony Bloor
Andy Steele
Ben Cronin
Josh King
Gez Wright
Suzanne Jandu
Steve Drew
Nick Fraser
Murray Butler
Greg White
David Peterson
Carsten Keller
Anandi Peiris
Dan Sanders
Fabian Frank
The award is to honor the overall achievement of the visual effects within an entire Special Venue project. Special Venues are defined as installations specifically set up to project large-format films (e.g. IMAX or OMNIMAX theaters), theme park theaters that may include a motion-based ride, museums, World Fairs, and similar venues.
To be eligible, a Special Venue project must have been exhibited publicly:
- In a commercial venue for a paid admission, which may include the general admission to a theme park or special venue theater;
- For a minimum period of one week on a regular daily schedule; and
- Premiered in the current awards year in a Special Venue theater as defined above.
The following are not eligible in this category, regardless of the material’s original capture format:
- Special purpose events such as trade shows and conventions;
- Video material generally referred to as “pre-show” material;
- Repurposed films, i.e. projects initially intended for the theatrical market but which have been blown up for exhibition in large-format Special Venue theaters;
- Projects that were created as conventional 2D theatrical presentations but have been repurposed to stereographic 3D;
- Any 2D or stereographic 3D feature motion picture that either premiered first, or simultaneously, in any regular movie theater or in any broadcast medium;
- Any project that runs for an equal or greater amount of time in any regular movie theater or in any broadcast medium; and
- Movies intended for simultaneous distribution in both Special Venue and normal movie theaters. The intent of this category is to honor those projects made specifically for the Special Venue market.
B. R. Rajeev
Suhit Saha
Arish Fyzee
Unmesh Nimbalkar
Keith Miller
Alejandro Crawford
Thelvin Cabezas
Jeremy Thompson
Marc Scott
Doug Cooper
Michael Losure
Alex Timchenko
André Montambeault
Marie-Josée Paradis
Alyson Lamontagne
David Bishop Noriega
Eugénie von Tunzelmann
Liz Oliver
Ian Spendloff
Ross Burgess
David Bellenbaum
Aleksandra Todorovic
Jörg Schmidt
Martin Bout
Denis Krez
Tina Vest
Elias Kremer
Lukas Löffler
Meike Müller
Lena-Carolin Lohfink
Anno Schachner
Lisa Ecker
Thomas Battistetti
Mélanie Geley
Mickael Le Mezo
Guillaume Hoarau