Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 15, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The Visual Effects Society (VES), the world’s largest association of professional visual-effects producers, has announced the nominations for the 5th VES Awards. Once again, they differ from the VFX nominations of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Oscars.
“Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man´s Chest” (German release title: “Pirates of the Caribbean 2”) leads the field of VES candidates with six nominations, including best VFX-heavy film, best single effect and animated characters in a live-action film. Also nominated in the “Outstanding Visual Effect in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture” category are “Charlotte´s Web” (three nominations in total) and “The Fountain”, neither of which even made it into the Oscar race.
“Casino Royale” and “Superman Returns”, both contenders for the Academy Award, were nominated by the VES only in the Special Effects (SFX) categories, meaning effects created in front of the camera. By contrast, the VES honours only computer-generated effects as Visual Effects (VFX). “X-Men III: The Last Stand”, which is highly regarded by the Academy, also received only a nomination for a single effect from the Visual Effects Society. In the “Supporting Visual Effects” category, “Blood Diamond”, “Children of Men”, “Flags of our Fathers” and “The Da Vinci Code” compete. The complete list of all nominations can be downloaded as a PDF from the VES website (see link).
Voting will again take place online this year among the approximately 1,700 members of the VES worldwide. The ceremonial announcement of the winners and presentation of the awards will take place on February 11 in the Kodak Grand Ballroom in Hollywood. It is already certain that VFX pioneer Dennis Muren will receive the VES Lifetime Achievement Award for his life’s work. As a leading figure at the effects studio ILM, Muren played a decisive role in shaping the development of digital film technology and holds a record among Oscar winners: he was honoured with the Academy Award eight times for his work. In 2003, he was guest of honour at the eDIT Filmmaker’s Festival in Frankfurt, where he was honoured with the Festival Honors. The eDIT FIlmmaker’s Festival is held in cooperation with the VES.
Further links:
- VES nominees (PDF file)
