VES announce nominations of VES Awards

The Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the nominees for the 22^nd Annual VES Awards, the prestigious yearly celebration that recognises outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in features, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX Supervisors, VFX Producers and hands-on Artists who bring this work to life.  

Awards will be presented at the 22^nd Annual VES Awards on February 21, 2024 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

The Creator leads the feature film field with seven nominations. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse is the top animated contender with seven nominations. The Last of Us leads the episodic field with six nominations.

Nominees in 25 categories were selected by VES members at 39 in-person and virtual nomination events conducted worldwide over a 36-hour continuous process.  The distinctive and thoughtful VES Awards nominations protocol included a review of each awards submission including “Befores and Afters” by a minimum of three different judging panels.  Participating VES members on the panels represented 25 countries, highlighting the full breadth of the Society’s diverse global membership.

“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create remarkable imagery,” said Kim Davidson, newly elected VES Chair. “We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of innovation.  The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of our nominees.”

“Autodesk is thrilled to once again sponsor the Visual Effects Society Student Award, honoring bright and innovative upcoming filmmakers and artists,” said Leona Frank, Director, Media & Entertainment Marketing, Autodesk. “Year after year, we are amazed by these talented young minds’ boundless creativity and technical prowess. The submissions for this year’s award have left us in awe, showcasing an exceptional level of imagination, craftsmanship, and skill. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all of this year’s deserving student nominees.”

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The nominees for the 22^ndAnnual VES Awards in 25 categories are as follow:

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Ben Snow
Diana Giorgiutti
Khalid Almeerani
Scott Benza
Sam Conway

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Stephane Ceretti
Susan Pickett
Alexis Wajsbrot
Guy Williams
Dan Sudick

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Andrew Whitehurst
Kathy Siegel
Robert Weaver
Julian Hutchens
Alistair Williams

Oppenheimer
Andrew Jackson
Mike Chambers, VES
Giacomo Mineo
Dave Drzewiecki
Scot Fisher

The Creator
Jay Cooper
Julian Levi
Ian Comley
Charmaine Chan
Neil Corbould, VES

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

John Wick: Chapter 4
Janelle Croshaw Ralla
Reina Sparks
Jonathan Rothbart
Javier Roca
Gerd Nefzer

Killers of the Flower Moon
Pablo Helman
Brian Barlettani
Sam Bassett
Brandon Keys McLaughlin

Napoleon
Charley Henley
Sarah Tulloch
Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet
Simone Coco
Neil Corbould, VES

Nyad
Jake Braver
Fiona Campbell Westgate
Christopher White
Mohsen Mousavi

Society of the Snow
Félix Bergés
Micaela Gagliano
Laura Pedro
Ezequiel Larrú
Pau Costa

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Jon Biggins
Jim Lewis
Charles Copping
Matthew Perry

Elemental
Peter Sohn
Denise Ream
Sanjay Bakshi
Stephen Marshall

Nimona
Archie Donato
Yancy Lindquist
Theodore Ty
Anthony Kemp

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Alan Hawkins
Christian Hejnal
Michael Lasker
Matt Hausman

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Matthieu Rouxel
Marie Balland
Jacques Daigle
Vincent Leroy

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

Ahsoka; Season 1; Dreams and Madness
Richard Bluff
Jakris Smittant
Paul Kavanagh
Enrico Damm
Scott Fisher

Loki; Season 2; Glorious Purpose
Christopher Townsend
Allison Paul
Matthew Twyford
Christopher Smallfield
John William Van Der Pool

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Sean Konrad
Jessica Smith
Jed Glassford
Khalid Almeerani
Paul Benjamin

The Last of Us; Season 1; Infected
Alex Wang
Sean Nowlan
Stephen James
Simon Jung
Joel Whist

The Mandalorian; Season 3; The Return
Grady Cofer
Abbigail Keller
Victor Schutz IV
Cameron Neilson
Scott Fisher

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

A Murder at The End of the World; Season 1; Crypt
Aaron Raff
Tavis Larkham
Douglas Stichbury
Mat Ellin

Citadel; Season 1; Secrets in Night Need Early Rains
Wesley Froud
Scott Shapiro
Aladino Debert
Greg Teegarden

Ted Lasso: Season 3; Mom City
Gretchen Bangs
Bill Parker
Lenny Wilson

The Crown; Season 6; Dis-Moi Oui
Ben Turner
Reece Ewing
Oliver Bersey
Joe Cork

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty; Season 2; BEAT LA
Raymond McIntyre Jr.
Victor DiMichina
Javier Menéndez Platas
Damien Stantina

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT

Alan Wake 2
Janne Pulkkinen
Johannes Richter
Daniel Kończyk
Damian Olechowski

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Jakub Knapik
Paweł Mielniczuk
Maciej Włodarkiewicz
Kacper Niepokólczycki

Immortals of Aveum
Joseph Hall
Kevin Boyle
Dave Bogan
Julia Lichtblau

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Jacinda Chew
Jeannette Lee
Bryanna Lindsey
Alan Weider

Mortal Kombat 1
Christopher Chapman
Scott Quinn
James DeSousa
Jeff Palmer
Matt Gilmore

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL

Accenture; Changing Tree
Simon French
Vic Lovejoy
David Filipe
Matteo La Motta

Apple; Air Pods Pro; Quiet The Noise
Iain Murray
Oscar Wendt
Dean Robinson
Sergio Morales Paz

Coca-Cola; Masterpiece
Ryan Knowles
Antonia Vlasto
Gregory McKneally
Dan Yargici

Jean Paul Gaultier; Divine Perfume
Stéphane Pivron
Cécile Hubin
Guillaume Dadaglio
Mathias Barday

Virgin Media; Goat Glider
Ben Cronin
George Reid
Sam Driscoll
Christian Baker

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT

Hypersphere 360; SeaWorld Abu Dhabi
Daren Ulmer
Cedar Connor
Lindsey Sprague
Ryan Kravetz

Postcard From Earth
Aruna Inversin
Eric Wilson
Corey Turner
Bill George

Rembrandt Immersive Artwork
Andrew McNamara
Sebastian Read
Andrew Kinnear
Sam Matthews

The Marvels: Goose the Flerken Cat
Tim Kafka
Mari Suarez
Toya Drechsler
Sebastian Niño Florez

Zootopia: Hot Pursuit
Blaine Kennison
Jeanne Angel
Darin Hollings
Aaron Arendt

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom; Topo the Octopus
Thomas Ward
Andrew Butler
Felix Slinger-Thompson
Jacob Burstein

Godzilla Minus One; Godzilla
Kosuke Taguchi
Takashi Yamazaki

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Rocket
Nathan McConnel
Andrea De Martis
Antony Magdalinidis
Rachel Williams

Wonka; Oompa Loompa
Dale Newton
Kunal Ayer
Valentina Ercolani
Gabor Foner

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Elemental; Ember
Gwendelyn Enderoglu
Jared Fong
Jonathan Hoffman
Patrick Witting

Elemental; Wade
Max Gilbert
Jacob Kuenzel
Dave Strick
Benjamin Su

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Spot
Christopher Mangnall
Craig Feifarek
Humberto Rosa
Nideep Varghese

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; Superfly
Gregory Coelho
Anne-Claire Leroux
Simon Cuisinier
Olivier Pierre

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

Diablo IV; Inarius and Lilith Cinematic; Lilith
Matt Onheiber
Jason Huang
Maia Neubig

Shadow and Bone; Season 2; No Funerals; Nichevo’ya the Shadow Monster
José María del Fresno
Matthieu Poirey
Carlos Puigdollers
Guillermo Ramos

The Last of Us; Endure & Survive; Bloater
Gino Acevedo
Max Telfer
Pascal Raimbault
Fabio Leporelli

The Nevers; It’s a Good Day; Robot Dog
Christian Leitner
Bernd Nalbach
Sebastian Plank
Martin Wellstein

Virgin Media; Goat Glider; The Goat
Sam Driscoll
Kanishk Chouhan
Suvi Jokiniemi
Chloe Dawe

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Knowhere
Omar Alejandro Lavrador Ibanez
Fabien Julvecourt
Klaudio Ladavac
Benjamin Patterson

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny; Underwater Wreck Environment
Johan Gabrielsson
Adrian Tsang
Stefan Andersson
Martin Eneroth

John Wick: Chapter 4; Place de L’Étoile
Manuel Gaudreau
Fabrice Vienne
Vignesh Ravi
Laurent Makowski

The Creator; Floating Village
John Seru
Guy Williams
Vincent Techer
Timothée Maron

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; Chicken Island
Charles Copping
Matthew Perry
Jim Lewis
Jon Biggins

Elemental; Element City
Chris Bernardi
Brandon Montell
David Shavers
Ting Zhang

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Mumbattan City
Taehyun Park
YJ Lee
Pepe Orozco
Kelly Han

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; Midtown Manhattan
Olivier Mitonneau
Eddy Frechou
Guillaume Chevet
Arnaud Philippe-Giraux

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

Loki; Season 2: 1983; World’s Fair White City
Christian Waite
Ben Aickin
Francesco Ferraresi
Pieter Warmington

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; The Broken Circle
Nathaniel Larouche
Owen Deveney
Mujia Liao
Alex Morin

The Last Of Us; Look for the Light; Salt Lake City
Pascal Raimbault
Nick Cattell
Jasper Hayward
Kristine -Joeann Jasper

The Last of Us: Post-Outbreak Boston
Melaina Mace
Adrien Lambert
Juan Carlos Barquet
Christopher Anciaume

OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Joanna Davison
Cheyana Wilkinson
Michael Cozens
Jason Desjarlais

Migration
Guylo Homsy
Damien Bapst
Antoine Collet
David Dangin

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Rich Turner
Randolph Lizarda
Daniela Campos Little
Thomas Campos

The Creator
Roel Coucke
Christopher Potter
Amanda Johnstone-Batt
Jeremy Bloch

OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; The Arête
Kenneth Johansson
Jason Galeon
Tim Civil
Artur Vil

Peter Pan & Wendy; Jolly Roger
Patrick Comtois
Thomas Gallardo
Harrison Stark
David Thibodeau

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Spider HQ
Dongick David Sheen
Mark JeongWoong Lee
Mikaela Bantog
René Völker

The Creator; Nomad
Oliver Kane
Mat Monro
Florence Green
Serban Ungureanu

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Napoleon
Koen Hofmeester
Gianmichele Mariani
Clair Bellens
Hernan Llano Duque

Nyad; Stormy Waters
Korbinian Meier
Sindy Saalfeld
David Michielsen
Andreas Vrhovsek

The Creator
Ludovic Ramisandraina
Raul Essig
Mathieu Chardonnet
Lewis Taylor

The Nun 2
Laurent Creusot
Sebastien Podsiadlo
Michael Moercant
Benjamin Saurine

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Elemental
Kristopher Campbell
Greg Gladstone
Jon Reisch
Kylie Wijsmuller

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Pav Grochola
Filippo Maccari
Naoki Kato
Nicola Finizio

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Louis Marsaud
Paul-Etienne Bourde
Serge Martin
Marine Pommereul

The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Simon Pate
Christophe Vazquez
Milo Riccarand

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

Citadel; Secrets in Night Need Early Rains; Ocean Water
James Reid
Mathew Rotman
Filipp Elizarov
Nardeep Chander

Invasion; Season 2; A Voice from the Other Side
Zybrand Jacobs
Alex Marlow
Tim Jenkinson
Tobias Grønbeck Andersen

Loki; Season 2; Science/Fiction; Spaghettification
Rafael Camacho
Jonathan Lyddon-Towl
Julien Legay
Benedikt Roettger

The Mandalorian; Season 3; Lake Monster Attack Water
Travis Harkleroad
Florian Wietzel
Rick Hankins
Aron Bonar

Willow; Children of the Wyrm; Crone Duststorm and Magical Effects
Michael Cashmore
Robert Zeltsch
Jiyong Shin
Audun Ase

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Indah Maretha
Beck Veitch
Nathan Abbot
Steve McGillen

John Wick: Chapter 4; Apartment Massacre Videogame Style
Javier Roca
Julien Forest
Thomas Bourdis
Dominik Kirouac

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Bret St.Clair
Kieron Cheuk-Chi Lo
Kelly Christophers
Rowan Young

The Creator; Bar
Phil Prates
Min Kim
Nisarg Suthar
Toshiko Miura

The Creator; Spaceships
Ben O-Brien
Juan Espigares Enriquez
Wesley Roberts
Hayes Brien

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE

The Last of Us; Endure and Survive; Infected Horde Battle
Matthew Lumb
Ben Roberts
Ben Campbell
Quentin Hema

The Last of Us; Infected; Boston
Casey Gorton
Francesco Dell’Anna
Vaclav Kubant
Natalia Valbuena

The Mandalorian; Season 3; The Return
Sam Wirch
Tory Mercer
Donny Rausch
Erich Ippen

Willow; Children of the Wyrm
Jeremy Sawyer
Steve Hardy
Martin Tardif
Miguel Macaya Ten

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL

Accenture; Changing Tree
David Filipe
Matteo La Motta
Jordan Dunstall
Taran Spear

Coca-Cola; Masterpiece
Ryan Knowles
Greg Mckneally
Taran Spear
Jordan Dunstall

Smirnoff; Cocktail
Vittorio Barabani
Peter Hodsman
Giacomo Verri
Marc Greyvenstein

Starfield
Jimmy Bullard
Ajit Menon
Ruairi Twohig
Karim Moussa

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT

I’m a Virgo
John McLeod
Scott Kirvan
Alec Gillis
Carl Miller

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Neil Corbould, VES
Ray Ferguson
Keith Dawson
Chris Motjuoadi

Oppenheimer
Scott Fisher
James Rollins
Mario Vanillo

Society of the Snow
Pau Costa
Carlos Laguna
Guillermo F. Aldunate
Eloy Cervera

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Blue Beetle; Machine Learning Cloth
JohnMark Gibbons
Allen Ruilova
Momme Carl
David Minor

Elemental; Volumetric Neural Style Transfer
Vinicius C. Azevedo
Byungsoo Kim
Raphael Ortiz
Paul Kanyuk

The Flash; Volumetric Capture
Stephan Trojansky
Thomas Ganshorn
Oliver Pilarski
Lukas Lepicovsky

Wish; Dynamic Screen Space Textures for Coherent Stylization
Brent Burley
Daniel Teece
Brian J. Green

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT (AWARD SPONSORED BY AUTODESK)

Au 8ème Jour
Flavie Carin
Agathe Sénéchal
Alicia Massez
Elise Debruyne

L’Animal Sauce Ail
Aurélien Duchez
Ysaline Debut
Diane Mazella
Camille Rostan

Loup y es-tu ?
Célina Lebon
Louise Laurent
Emma Fessart
Annouck François

Silhouette
Alexis Lafuente
Antoni Nicolaï
Chloé Stricher
Elliot Dreuille