13th Annual VES Award Nominees

Press release from VES:

Los Angeles (January 13, 2015) – Today, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the nominees for the 13th Annual VES Awards, the prestigious yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on-the-keys artists who bring this work to life. Nominees were selected by VES members via events hosted by its nine sections – Australia, Bay Area, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, New Zealand, Toronto and Vancouver. The VES Awards will be held on February 4th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

As previously announced, the Visionary Award will be presented to J.J. Abrams, award-winning director-producer- writer. (Note: Due to a change in his production schedule, Ridley Scott will unfortunately not be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at this time; we look forward to honoring him in the future for his enormous contributions to filmed entertainment).

“Visual effects in and by themselves are nothing unless they serve the story,’” said Jeffrey A. Okun, VES Chair. “This year, more than ever, we are seeing amazing work that not only serves the story but tells the story in a manner never before seen. The VES Awards is proud that we are the only organization that showcases and honors these amazing artists in depth and across a wide range of fields. We are extremely proud of our nominees!”

The nominees for the 13th Annual VES Awards are as follows:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Joe Letteri, Ryan Stafford, Matt Kutcher, Dan Lemmon, Hannah Blanchini

Guardians of the Galaxy
Stephane Ceretti, Susan Pickett, Jonathan Fawkner, Nicolas Aithadi, Paul Corbould

Interstellar
Paul Franklin, Kevin Elam, Ann Podlozny, Andrew Lockley, Scott Fisher

Maleficent
Carey Villegas, Barrie Hemsley, Adam Valdez, Kelly Port, Michael Dawson

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Joe Letteri, David Conley, Eric Saindon, Kevin Sherwood, Steve Ingram

X-Men: Days of Future Past
Richard Stammers, Blondel Aidoo, Lou Pecora, Anders Langlands, Cameron Waldbauer


Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Ara Khanikian, Ivy Agregan, Sebastien Moreau, Isabelle Langlois

Divergent
Jim Berney, Greg Baxter, Matt Dessero

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gabriel Sanchez, Jenny Foster, Simon Weisse, Jan Burda

The Imitation Game
Stuart Bullen, Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor, Simon Rowe

Unbroken
Bill George, Steve Gaub, Erin Dusseault, Dave Morley, Brian Cox


Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Big Hero 6
Don Hall, Chris Williams, Roy Conli, Zach Parrish

How to Train Your Dragon 2
Bonnie Arnold, Dean DeBlois, Dave Walvoord, Simon Otto

Rio 2
Carlos Saldanha, Bruce Anderson, John C. Donkin, Kirk Garfield

The Boxtrolls
Travis Knight, Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable, Brad Schiff

The Lego Movie
Chris McKay, Amber Naismith, Jim Dodd, David Williams


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Broadcast Program

Constantine; A Feast of Friends
Kevin Blank, Elizabeth Castro, Yafei Wu, Chris LeDoux

Game of Thrones; The Children
Joe Bauer, Steve Kullback Stuart Brisdon Thomas Schelesny Sven Martin

Hemlock Grove
Matt Whelan, Chris Brown, Todd Masters, Johnathan Banta, Eric McAvoy

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Mark Kolpack, Sabrina Arnold, Gary D Amico, Kevin Lingenfelser, David Beedon

The Flash
Armen Kevorkian, James Baldanzi, Jeremy Jozwick, Andranik Taranyan


Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Broadcast Program

American Horror Story; Freak Show; Edward Mordrake, Part 2
Jason Piccioni, Jason Spratt, Mike Kirylo, Justin Ball, Eric Roberts

Black Sails, Episode 1
Erik Henry, Annemarie Griggs, Paul Graff, George Murphy

Crossbones
Kevin Blank, Ron Pogue, Andy Weder, Niklas Jacobson, Mans Bjorklund

Penny Dreadful; Seance
James Cooper, Bill Halliday, Sarah McMurdo, Lorne Kwechansky

Ripper Street; Whitechapel Terminus
Ed Bruce, Alan Collins, Joe Courtis, John O’Connell


Outstanding Real-Time Visuals in a Video Game

Alien: Isolation
Jude Bond, Al Hope, Howard Rayner, Oriol Sans Gomez

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Yi-chao, Sandy Lin-Chiang, Joseph Salud, Demetrius Leal,Dave Blizard

inFAMOUS: Second Son
Matt Vainio, Horia Dociu, Jason Connell, Bill Rockenbeck

Sunset Overdrive
Jacinda Chew, Bryan Intihar, Grant Hollis


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare; Discover Your Power
Paul O’Shea, Michael Wigart, Andy Boyd, Jacob Montgomery, Benoit Mannequin

Destiny; Become Legend
Eric Barba, Carla Attanasio, Greg Teegarden, Dan Akers

ESA; Ambition
Jakub Knapik, Tomasz Wachnik, Lukasz Sobisz, Michal Skrzypiec

General Electric; Childlike Imagination
Benjamin Walsh, Jennie Burnett, Brian Burke, Dominik Bauch

SSE; Maya
Neil Davies, Alex Hammond, Jorge Montiel, Beth Vander


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

Hubei in the Air
Andrew Roberts, Claudia Lachnitt, Yas Takata, Boris Schmidt, Sebastian Butenberg

Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Torquee de Remy
Tony Apodaca, Marianne McLean, Gilles Martin, Edwin Chang, Mark Mine

Star Journey
Adam Watkins, Viktorija Ogureckaja, Thilo Ewers, Omid Arzhang, Yas Takata

The Hogwarts Express
Chris Shaw, Rich Yeomans, Steven Godfrey, Peter Jopling, John Richardson

The Lost Temple
John Hughes, Walt Jones, Brent Young, Michael Smith


Outstanding Performance of an Animated Character in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; Caesar
Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Andrea Merlo, Emiliano Padovani

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; Koba
Daniel Barrett, Alessandro Bonora, Mark Edward Allen, Masaya Suzuki

Guardians of the Galaxy; Rocket
Kevin Spruce, Rachel Williams, Laurie Brugger, Mark Wilson

Maleficent; Thistlewit
Darren Hendler, Matthias Wittmann, Jeremy Buttell, Elliot Rosenstein


Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Big Hero 6; Baymax
Colin Eckart, John Kahwaty, Zach Parrish, Zack Petroc

How to Train Your Dragon 2; Hiccup
Jakob Hjort Jensen, Fabio Lignini, Stephen Candell, Hongseo Park

Rio 2; Gabi
Jason Sadler, Ignacio Barrios, Drew Winey, Diana Diriwaechter

The Boxtrolls; Archibald Snatcher
Travis Knight, Jason Stalman, Michael Laubach, Kyle Williams


Outstanding Performance of an Animated Character in a Commercial, Broadcast Program, or Video Game

Freesat Freetime; Sheldon
Russell Dodgson, Grant Walker, Juan Sebastian Nino, Amar Chundavadra

Game of Thrones; Drogon
Philip Meyer, Thomas Kutschera, Igor Majdandzic, Mark Spindler

John Lewis; Monty the Penguin
Diarmid Harrison Murray, Tim Van Hussen, Amir Bazazi, Georgios Kyparissous

SSE; Maya
Jorge Montiel, Alex Hammond, Daniel Kmet, Philippe Moine


Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Triskelion Headquarters
Johan Thorngren, Greg Kegel, Quentin Marmier, Luis Calero

Interstellar; Tesseract
Tom Bracht, Graham Page, Thomas Døhlen, Kirsty Clark

Lucy; Times Square
Richard Bluff, Steve Bevins, Steve DeLuca, Tiffany Yung

Noah; Antediluvian Earth
Grady Cofer, Dan Wheaton, Susumu Yukuhiro, Ben O’Brien


Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Big Hero 6; Into the Portal
Ralf Habel, David Hutchins, Michael Kaschalk, Olun Riley

How to Train Your Dragon 2; Oasis
Sun Yoon, Liang-Yuan Wang, Ted Davis, Shannon Thomas

The Book of Life; Magical Land of the Remembered
Glo Minaya, Amy Chen, Sean McEwan, Jeff Masters

The Boxtrolls; Boxtroll Cavern
Curt Enderle, Rob DeSue, Emily Greene, Jesse Gregg


Outstanding Created Environment in a Commercial, Broadcast Program, or Video Game

Coca-Cola; Snowy Forest
Tom Bardwell, Kevin Ives, Kyle Cody, Jimmy Gass

Game of Thrones; Braavos Establisher
Rene Borst, Christian Zilliken, Jan Burda, Steffen Metzner

Penny Dreadful; Seance
Mathew Borrett, Lorne Kwechansky, Graham Day, Jason Gougeon

War Thunder; Battlefield
Andrey Bogdanov, Mikhail Datcik, Dmitriy Ovcharenko, Ekaterina Bogdanova


Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal/Live Action Motion Media Project

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Keith Miller, Jonathan Paquin, Alessandro Saponi, David Houghton Williams

Edge of Tomorrow; Beach and Paris Attacks
Albert Cheng, Jose Enrique Astacio Jr., Michael Havart, Dion Beebe

Interstellar; Tesseract
Faraz Hameed, Stephen Painter, Hoyte van Hoytema, Dorian Knapp

X-Men: Days of Future Past; Kitchen Scene
Austin Bonang, Casey Schatz, Dennis Jones, Newton Thomas Sigel


Outstanding Models in any Motion Media Project

Big Hero 6; City of San Fransokyo
Brett Achorn, Minh Duong, Scott Watanabe, Larry Wu

The Boxtrolls; Mecha-Drill
Tom McClure, Oliver Jones, Raul Martinez

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies; Laketown
Leslie Chan, Alastair Mayer, Niklas Preston, Justin Stockton

Transformers: Age of Extinction; Knightship

Landis Fields, John Goodson, Anthony Rispoli, Dae Han


Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Helicarrier Broadside and Crash
Dan Pearson, Sheldon Serrao, Jose Burgos, Eric Jennings

Edge of Tomorrow; Destruction and Sand
Steve Avoujageli, Pawel Grochola, Atsushi Ikarashi, Paul Waggoner

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Jon Allitt, David Caeiro, Ronnie Menahem

X-Men: Days of Future Past; Quicksilver Pentagon Kitchen
Adam Paschke, Premamurti Paetsch, Sam Hancock, Timmy Lundin


Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Big Hero 6
Henrik Falt, David Hutchins, Michael Kaschalk, John Kosnik

How to Train Your Dragon 2; The Battle
Spencer Knapp, Baptiste Van Opstal, Lucas Janin, Jason Mayer

The Boxtrolls
Kent Estep, Peter Stuart, Ralph Procida, Timur Khodzhaev

The Lego Movie
Carsten Kolve, Jayandera Danappal, Matt Ebb, Miles Green


Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Commercial, Broadcast Program, or Video Game

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Dominique Vidal, Isabelle Perin-Leduc, Sandrine Lurde, Alexandre Lerouge

DirecTV; Landing
Jeffrey Dates, Jimmy Gass, Iwan Zwarts, Ryan Coster

SSE; Maya
Alex Hammond, Peter Agg, Sam Driscoll, Jimmy Gass

Vikings; Invasion Storm Sequence
Jeremy Dineen, Eric Lacroix, Kyle Yoneda, Norman Ran


Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Christoph Salzmann, Florian Schroeder, Quentin Hema, Simone Riginelli

Edge of Tomorrow; Beach
Craig Wentworth, Matthew Welford, Marie Victoria Denoga, Frank Fieser

Interstellar; Water
Raphael Hamm, Isaac Layish, Sebastian Von Overheidt, Tristan Myles

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Simon Jung, Ben Roberts, Matthew Adams, Jordan Schilling


Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal/Live Action Broadcast Program

American Horror Story: Freak Show; Edward Mordrake, Part 2
Tommy Tran, JV Pike, Rob Lutz, Matt Lefferts

Game of Thrones; Wight Attack
Keegan Douglas, Okan Ataman, Brian Fortune, David Lopez

Game of Thrones; The Watchers on the Wall
Dan Breckwoldt, Martin Furman, Sophie Marfleet, Eric Andrusyszyn

The Knick; Abigail’s Nose
Vance Miller, Aaron Raff, John Bair, Rebecca Dunn

Vikings; Invasion
Ovidiu Cinazan, Gary Couto, Doug Cook, Angel Li


Outstanding Compositing in a in a Photoreal/Live Action Commercial
Destiny Become Legend
Dan Akers, Nitant Karnik, Matt Smith, Kym Olsen

Kia The Truth
Paul Lambert, Dan Akers, Carlos Morales, Holly Horter

Nike Hypervenom “Mirrors ft. Neymar Jr.”
Dan Williams, Daniel Morris, Ilia Mokhtareizadeh, Greg Spencer

SSE
Neil Davies, Leonardo Costa, Gianluca DiMarco


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

Deep Dance
Marco Erbrich, Christoph Westphal, Vincent Langer

Dragon Clan
Yahui Fan, Sheng Xu,

Murphy
Bruno LeVeque, Xavier Lafarge

Wrapped
Roman Kaelin, Falko Paeper, Florian Wittmann, Paolo Tamburrino


About the Visual Effects Society
The Visual Effects Society is a professional global honorary society dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences and applications of visual effects and to upholding the highest standards and procedures for the visual effects profession. It is the entertainment industry’s only official organization representing the extended global community of visual effects practitioners, including supervisors, artists, producers, technology developers, educators and studio executives. VES’ almost 3,000 members in 30+ countries worldwide contribute to all areas of entertainment – film, television, commercials, animation, music videos, games and new media. To learn more about the VES, visit www.visualeffectssociety.com. Go Social: follow us on Twitter @VFXSociety.