For those who don’t know the topic: The Visual Effects Society published the VES On-Set VFX Data Collection and Usage Guide to align on set capture and handoffs between production-side VFX, production, facilities, and technology teams. Specific DCC application support is not specified in the sources.

Webinar first, PDF later

If you would rather hear a walkthrough than skim a document, a public webinar runs May 12, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm PDT, with registration via Zoom. The session explores the guide with some of its creators and keeps the conversation in the open, where on set data questions belong instead of buried in a frantic email chain. Join Here

The guide’s job: stop the “what did we shoot” spiral

The VES On-Set VFX Data Collection and Usage Guide is a practical on-set resource that maps key data sets and capture workflows. Its goal is a shared playbook for productions, vendors, and technology teams to use and capture on-set data more effectively.

It aims to establish a common language between on-set VFX, production, VFX facilities, and technology teams, with the intended outcome of clearer communication, smoother handoffs, and better-aligned expectations across departments. In teh real world, that translates to fewer “we thought you had it” moments when the truck already left.

What it actually contains

The guide explains major on-set data sets, their capture methods, their practical applications, and intended stakeholders. It also documents both current and emerging on set data capture workflows and the choices that can impact production pipelines, timelines, and budgets. Included is a sample structure for directories, Reference Docs, ToDo Lists, Scope Definitions and many more usefull bits.

It also frames modern filmmaking as a hybrid of real-time virtual production, AI, and traditional pipelines, and the VFX department these days as responsible not only for post, but also for on-set data capture, continuity, and asset integrity from pre-production through final delivery. It seems the VFX department has become the primary custodian for management and tracking of on-set data across a project’s lifecycle. You wouldn’t trust actors with that, would you?

The boring parts that save your schedule

But on-set data has value beyond VFX. It states that data can support better informed creative and operational decisions and argues for open access and visibility so that teams across a production can engage with and benefit from shared knowledge.

One example is the cross-department logic: LiDAR scans created by VFX can be repurposed for set construction, stunt planning, and other production needs. Obvious, you’d think, but… That is the wrokflow reality check that makes the guide feel like a crew document rather than a glossary, and now we just have to get everybody to read and, ideally, understand it.

Credits, licensing, and the fine print you can actually use

The guide was developed over the past year by the VES Technology Committee. Its lead author is Sheena Duggal, with contributions from Sam Richards, Jim Geduldick, and Jake Morrison, and technical support from Jean-Francois Panisset.

The guide is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which permits redistribution and adaptation in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, provided appropriate credit is given. So, no excuses for “Oh, we don’t have that, so we couldn’t follow it!”

Get the PDF here: On-Set VFX Data Collection and Usage Guide

And browse the Interactive Version here: On-set Data Specs

https://vesglobal.org/event/webinar-introduction-to-ves-on-set-vfx-data-collection-and-usage-guide-online/

https://ves-on-set-data.org/

The post VES releases On-Set VFX Data Guide first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Can a Visual Effects studio survive only on film work? “Absolutely not!”

Scott Ross is an important part of the history of Visual Effects. He was manager at ILM, Senior VP at Lucasfilm, Chairman & CEO of Digital Domain and one of the Founding Members of Visual Effects Society. He summarized his experiences and a part of the industry’s history in his book “Upstart”. In our episode we trace a line from the cloistered halls of ILM and Lucasfilm through the founding of Digital Domain, across the rise of digital pipelines and into today’s inflection point of Agentic AI.

Scott’s path into film wasn’t linear: Music studies, audio engineer, then Bay Area post with One Pass before Lucasfilm recruited him. When he arrived at ILM in the mid-1980s, the reality contradicted the Oscars on the shelf: ILM was losing money and morale was low. The corporate layer above him prized brakes and cost cutting over progress and acceleration.

Scott sketched ILM at a crossroads. The facility’s reputation masked cashflow issues and a flattening culture. His first months were spent earning the trust in a “Hell’s Angels”-tight shop that viewed him as a young “video” guy; an outsider. Once in, he ignored the brake pedal people and ran ILM as if it were his own: Buying new gear, fixing the org chart, restoring transparency and diversifying revenue to smooth the feature-film boom-bust cycle, opening up opportunities for commercial and location-based attractions.

Soon after he found himself on a crossroad to either stand behind his team and support their efforts for a fair compensations and bonuses that they were promised or accepting the games at play. Waging his job for what he believed was right he found himself looking for another job. The problem was that he was the general manager of one of the biggest visual effects studios on the planet, no one else wanted to replace their GM while Scott’s reputation wasn’t of someone who played the cooperate games.

“A fixed contract to do something that’s never been done before, giving the facility all of the responsibility and none of the authority, is a model of madness.”

Scott Ross

Three-legged stool

Over the years Scott defined the concept of the “three-legged stool” as the key ingredients of a successful business. Remove even one leg and the shop tips and the business fails. The three legs consists of:

• Technology: Technology is the key to staying relevant in quality and production speed. ILM’s analog-to-digital pivot foreshadowed today’s shift toward AI-assisted craft.
• Finance: A diversified revenue is key for any business but especially for visual effects as there are only a handful of production houses. From commercials, attractions, episodic productions to visualisations those had different field while often have better margins.
• Creativity: Keep the core creative decision-makers close to the tools, but align authority with responsibility. Scott’s ILM anecdotes reveal how often errors are organisational rather than technical.

“Follow your bliss, but be brutally honest about your lane, and plan your rent. You can’t survive without profit. If it doesn’t make money, it’s not a business.”

Takeaways

Scott’s stool test is still the fastest sanity check for any show or facility. If technology dazzles but cash burns, the shop tips. When finance is tight but creative authority is outsourced, the frames suffer. If creativity is strong but tech lags deliverable specs, you ship compromise. The “fixed bid for the impossible” contract structure is as dangerous now as it was then. As AI moves from assistive to agentic, we need to write scopes, schedules, and authority trees that assume fewer hands on more decisions and still protect image integrity and human sanity.

Finally Scott warned against believing one’s own hype: if you want to be a core storyteller, develop those muscles; if not, your skills will be valuable across medicine, manuals, advertising, and beyond, especially as visual communication saturates every industry.

Do you want to read this for yourself? The Book “Upstart: The Digital Film Revolution. Managing the Unmanageable” by Scott Ross and Joanne O`Brien-Levin.

The post “A Model of Madness” Scott Ross Why VFX Fails as a Business first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Alexander Richter.

Visual Effects Society Awards, VES Awards 2025, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes VFX, Dune Part Two visual effects, The Wild Robot animation, Shōgun TV series VFX, VES, Awards, VFX, AnimationPreheader: The 23rd Annual VES Awards honor top visual effects in film, television, and animation, with notable wins for ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,’ ‘Dune: Part Two,’ and ‘The Wild Robot.’

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Swings to Victory

In a move that surprised absolutely no one, ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ clinched the award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature. The film’s exceptional digital characters and environments left the competition in the dust, showcasing the pinnacle of VFX artistry.

Dune: Part Two Sands Up Multiple Awards

Not to be outdone, ‘Dune: Part Two’ swept through several categories, demonstrating its mastery of visual storytelling. The film dominated in areas such as CG Cinematography, Effects Simulations, and Compositing & Lighting, proving that spice isn’t the only thing it controls.

The Wild Robot Animates Success

In the animation realm, ‘The Wild Robot’ made a significant impact, securing awards for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, Character Animation, Effects Simulations, and Environment. Its innovative approach and technical prowess set a new standard for animated storytelling.

Shōgun Commands the Episodic Arena

The episodic category saw ‘Shōgun’ making waves, earning accolades for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Episode, Environments, and Effects Simulations. The series’ commitment to visual excellence and immersive environments captivated audiences and critics alike.

The Penguin Marches to Recognition

‘The Penguin’ solidified its reputation as a visually striking series, receiving praise for its compositing and practical effects. The show’s meticulous attention to detail and seamless integration of visual elements garnered well-deserved acclaim.

And here is the full list of all 25 Categories

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

• Erik Winquist
• Julia Neighly
• Paul Story
• Danielle Immerman
• Rodney Burke

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature Civil War

• David Simpson
• Michelle Rose
• Freddy Salazar
• Chris Zeh
• J.D. Schwalm

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature The Wild Robot

• Chris Sanders
• Jeff Hermann
• Jeff Budsberg
• Jakob Hjort Jensen

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode Shōgun; Anjin

• Michael Cliett
• Melody Mead
• Philip Engström
• Ed Bruce
• Cameron Waldbauer

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode The Penguin; Bliss

• Johnny Han
• Michelle Rose
• Goran Pavles
• Ed Bruce
• Devin Maggio

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project Star Wars Outlaws

• Stephen Hawes
• Lionel Le Dain
• Benedikt Podlesnigg
• Andi-Bogdan Draghici

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial Coca-Cola; The Heroes

• Greg McKneally
• Antonia Vlasto
• Ryan Knowles
• Fabrice Fiteni

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project D23; Real-Time Rocket

• Evan Goldberg
• Alyssa Finley
• Jason Breneman
• Alice Taylor

Outstanding Character in a Photoreal Feature Better Man; Robbie Williams

• Milton Ramirez
• Andrea Merlo
• Seoungseok Charlie Kim
• Eteuati Tema

Outstanding Character in an Animated Feature The Wild Robot; Roz

• Fabio Lignini
• Yukinori Inagaki
• Owen Demers
• Hyun Huh

Outstanding Character in an Episode, Commercial, Game Cinematic, or Real-Time Project Ronja the Robber’s Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen Harpy

• Nicklas Andersson
• David Allan
• Gustav Åhren
• Niklas Wallén

Outstanding Environment in a Photoreal Feature Dune: Part Two; The Arrakeen Basin

• Daniel Rhein
• Daniel Anton Fernandez
• Marc James Austin
• Christopher Anciaume

Outstanding Environment in an Animated Feature The Wild Robot; The Forest

• John Wake
• He Jung Park
• Woojin Choi
• Shane Glading

Outstanding Environment in an Episode, Commercial, Game Cinematic, or Real-Time Project Shōgun; Osaka

• Manuel Martinez
• Phil Hannigan
• Keith Malone
• Francesco Corvino

Outstanding CG Cinematography Dune: Part Two; Arrakis

• Greig Fraser
• Xin Steve Guo
• Sandra Murta
• Ben Wiggs

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project Alien: Romulus; Renaissance Space Station

• Waldemar Bartkowiak
• Trevor Wide
• Matt Middleton
• Ben Shearman

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature Dune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and Wormriding

• Nicholas Papworth
• Sandy la Tourelle
• Lisa Nolan
• Christopher Phillips

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature The Wild Robot

• Derek Cheung
• Michael Losure
• David Chow
• Nyoung Kim

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, Game Cinematic, or Real-Time Project Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide

• Dominic Tiedeken
• Heinrich Löwe
• Charles Guerton
• Timmy Lundin

Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature Dune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final Battle

• Christopher Rickard
• Francesco Dell’Anna
• Paul Chapman
• Ryan Wing

Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in an Episode The Penguin; After Hours

• Jonas Stuckenbrock
• Karen Cheng
• Eugene Bondar
• Miky Girón

Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Commercial Coca-Cola; The Heroes

• Ryan Knowles
• Alex Gabucci
• Jack Powell
• Dan Yargici

Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Project The Penguin; Safe Guns

• Devin Maggio
• Johnny Han
• Cory Candrilli
• Alexandre Prod’homme

Emerging Technology Award Here; Neural Performance Toolset

• Jo Plaete
• Oriel Frigo
• Tomas Koutsky
• Matteo Olivieri-Dancey

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project Pittura (entry from ARTFX – Schools of Digital Arts, France)

Helloïs Marre

Adam Lauriol

Titouan Lassère

Rémi Vivenza

The post VES Awards 2025: Apes Ascend, Dune Dazzles, Robots Rule first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Günter Hagedorn.

The event will showcase innovative approaches to virtual production workflows with practical case studies – (The Raytracing FTW – Movie) and software demonstrations. Notable speakers include representatives from leading VFX studios, the director and vfx-head.
VES Germany is thrilled to present a unique hands-on experience with the Project Arena Virtual Production solution, followed by a Q&A session with Daniel Thron, the director of the hilarious and engaging comedy short film “Ray Tracing | FTW,” created using this innovative technology and workflow.

This event is also open for Non-Members!

Event Details:

• Location: Berlin, Germany, Event Space @ XYZ Studios, Alexanderplatz 4, 10178 Berlin
• Date: October 25, 2024
• Cost: FREE
• Website: Official Event Page
• Full Program: View Program

Speakers include Christopher Nichols (Director of Special Projects – Chaos) and Daniel Thron (Director). Additionally, we are giving away signed copies of the following books to three lucky attendees:

The VES Handbook of Virtual Production by Susan Zwerman and Jeffrey Okun, Color Management Handbook for Visual Effects by Victor Perez and 20 Things You Should Know About Virtual Production by Frank Govaere

Links:

View Program

Official Event Page

Register to attend for free here: Eventbrite

The post Event: Project Arena – Redefining Virtual Production Workflow first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

In nuce: The Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced its Board of Directors Officers for 2023. This is according to a press release published on vesglobal.org on 18 January this year. The members of the Board of Directors thus include Lisa Cooke as Chair, Susan O’Neal as First Vice Chair, David H. Tanaka as Second Vice Chair, Rita Cahill as VES Secretary and Jeffrey A. Okun as VES Treasurer. The previous Chair, Lisa Cooke, was therefore re-elected. The members were elected at the Board meeting in the current month of January, thus forming the so-called VES Board Executive Committee.

Chair Lisa Cooke: As a VFX producer at Tippett Studio ( e.g. The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and executive producer at Tippett Productions, Cooke has worked as an animation/VFX producer, story consultant, screenwriter and actress. Prior to joining Tippett, she founded Green Ray Media, where she produced animation and VFX and created scientific, medical and environmental media for a wide audience. In the past, Cooke has worked with Lucasfilm, Fox, Universal, Nickelodeon Films and Pixar.

Click to continue: To the press release on vesglobal.org- where background information on the careers of the respective board members is also available. Just last Wednesday, on 18 January 2023, Digital Production reported on the Visual Effects Society – at the time, filmmaker James Cameron broke his own record with a total of 14 nominations for his Avatar sequel; the creative minds behind film and series productions such as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Jurassic World: Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick were also delighted to receive nominations.

Sources: awn.com ( news from Whitney Whitener), vesglobal.org ( press release)

The post Elected: Board members 2023 of the Visual Effects Society! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

In nuce: The nominees for the 21st VES Awards (Visual Effects Society) were recently announced. This is according to an announcement published yesterday, 17 January, on fxguide.com by editor Mike Seymour. The prestigious visual effects industry award is presented in a total of 25 categories.

In toto: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water leads the list with a total of 14 nominations. As Jazz Tangcay writes on variety.com, the second Avatar film thus breaks a record for the most nominations for a feature film at the VES Awards. It goes on to say that the first Avatar film – back in 2010 – was the previous frontrunner (with a total of eight nominations).

Other notable nominees include the streaming series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (seven nominations), the Pinocchio film by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson (six nominations), the dinosaur sequel Jurassic World: Dominion (two nominations), the Harry Potter film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (two nominations), the Batman remake from director Matt Reeves (three nominations) and the surprise box office success Top Gun: Maverick (three nominations).

New award category: This year, the VES Emerging Technology Award will be presented for the first time. This new award recognises inventors of new technologies, tools or software. Avatar 2 is nominated three times (for Depth Comp, Facial System and Water Toolset) – along with Pinocchio (3D Printed Metal Armature) and the Pixar-slash-Disney animation film Turning Red (3D Printed Metal Armature).

Click further: The announcement on fxguide.com lists all the nominated films in their respective award categories, naming the key contributors. The same report states that the VES is made up of almost 4,500 members from 45 countries. The members are active in a wide variety of functions within the entertainment industry – for example: Film, television, animated film, gaming or music videos. Visit the official website of the Visual Effects Society.

Sources: fxguide.com ( report by Mike Seymour), variety.com ( report by Jazz Tangcay), deadline.com ( report by Erik Pedersen)

The post Visual Effects Society announces nominees! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

In nuce: The Visual Effects Society (VES) has renewed its award categories – and announced the current submission deadline: 30 November 2022. The subsequent VES awards ceremony is scheduled for 15 February 2023. The submission fees remain unchanged (460 US dollars per submission).

Changes due to the spirit of the times: The adjusted award categories are intended to reflect changes that have taken place within the visual effects industry. The VES has also updated its Rules and Procedures. The amended rules affect award categories 7, 15, 19 and 22, i.e. those that honour the following achievements: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial, Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project, Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project and Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Commercial.

New and merged award categories: The newly established award category is Emerging Technology, which is designed to recognise the individuals behind the visual effects – including: Production Associates, Technical Directors, Software Developers and similar personnel. Award categories 11 & 12 have been merged into: Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project.

Click to continue: everything else about the 21st VES Awards and the newly established award category 25. On 14 March 2022 , Digital Production reported on the winners of the 20th VES Awards – at that time it was the sci-fi hit Dune and the animation gem Encanto that won over the jurors.

The post The Visual Effects Society adjusts its regulations first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

In nuce: On 8 March, the Visual Effects Society (VES for short) announced the winners of the 20th edition of the VES. The awards were presented in a total of 25 categories, ranging from “Outstanding Visual Effects in Photoreal Feature” to “Outstanding Animated Character in Animated Feature”. The award ceremony took place at the Beverly Hilton. Among the presenters were prominent faces such as director Denis Villeneuve, actor Alfred Molina and many others – as well as Eric Bourque, Senior Director of Engineering, Media & Entertainment at Autodesk, who presented the Autodesk Student Awards.

Who are the winners? One of the main winners was definitely the remake of the sci-fi classic Dune, which picked up four award trophies. The Disney film Encanto was honoured as best animated feature film and also picked up a total of four award trophies.

Awards for industry veterans: Jim Morris, President of Pixar Animation and Chairman of the VES, honoured Lynwen Brennan, Executive Vice President and General Manager at Lucasfilm, with a VES Lifetime Achievement Award. Oscar-winning VFX veteran Phil Tippett presented the VES Award for Creative Excellence to legendary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.

The full list of winners: The list below contains all the winners of this year’s VES. For the official announcement, click over to visualeffectssociety.com . There you will also find the names of the award-winning minds behind each winning film.

• OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN PHOTOREAL FEATURE: Dune
• OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE: Last Night in Soho
• OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE: Encanto
• OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE: Foundation; Episode: The Emperor’s Peace
• OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE: See; Episode: Rock-A-Bye
• OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT: Call of Duty: Vanguard
• OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL: Sheba; Hope Reef
• OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT: Jurassic World Adventure
• OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE: Finch; Jeff
• OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE: Encanto; Mirabel Madrigal
• OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE OR REAL-TIME PROJECT: The Witcher; Nivellen the Cursed Man
• OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A COMMERCIAL: Smart Energy; Einstein Knows Best; Einstein
• OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE: Spider-Man: No Way Home; The Mirror Dimension
• OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE: Encanto; Antonio’s Room
• OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT: Sheba; Hope Reef
• OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT: Encanto; We Don’t Talk about Bruno
• OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT: Dune; Royal Ornithopter
• OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE: Dune; Dunes of Arrakis
• OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE: Raya and the Last Dragon
• OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT: Foundation; Collapse of the Galactic Empire
• OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE: Dune; Attack on Arrakeen
• OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE: Loki; Lamentis; Shuroo City Destruction
• OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL: Verizon; The Reset
• OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT: Jungle Cruise
• OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT: Green

The post These are the winners of the 20th VES Awards! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

• The Visual Effects Society (VES) announces the nominees for the 20th annual VES Awards
• The overview: The scifi film Dune and the Disney film Encanto are the frontrunners
• The background: Whether the 20th VES Awards will be accepted by the winners in person this year remains unclear for the time being
• Spoiler alert: Some of our 2021 film and series highlights are among the nominees

In nuce: The Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced the nominees for the 20th annual VES Awards. The award is presented annually for outstanding artistic achievements in the field of visual effects – more precisely: the award goes to exceptional achievements in the entertainment genres, live-action film, animated film, television, advertising and gaming.

The overview: The remake of the scifi classic “Dune” leads the list of nominees with six entries. Among the animated films, “Encanto” is the frontrunner, also with six nominations. The Marvel series “Loki” leads the television category with four nominations.

The background: The nominees in the 25 categories were decided at 27 virtual events. Whether the 20th VES awards will be accepted by the winners in person this year is still unclear – thanks to the pandemic. However, we are already excited to see who among the nominees will win the most coveted prize in the animation industry at the awards ceremony on 8 March.

Spoiler alert: The nominees also include some of our 2021 film highlights. These include (of course) “Dune”, (even more naturally) “Godzilla vs. Kong”, “Matrix Resurrections”, “No Time To Die” and… but enough spoilers. Browse through the list of nominees yourself and find out whether your cinema and series favourites are among those now vying for the coveted trophy with the jurors.

Click further: The complete list of nominees ( see below)

The complete list of nominees

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

DUNE
Paul Lambert
Brice Parker
Tristan Myles
Brian Connor
Gerd Nefzer

GODZILLA VS. KONG
John “D.J.” Des Jardin
Tamara Kent
Bryan Hirota
Kevin Smith
Mike Meinardus

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
Dan Glass
Nina Fallon
Tom Debenham
Huw J Evans
James Schwalm

NO TIME TO DIE
Charlie Noble
Mara Bryan
Joel Green
Jonathan Fawkner
Chris Corbould

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
Christopher Townsend
Damien Carr
Joe Farrell
Sean Walker
Dan Oliver

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Kelly Port
Julia Neighly
Chris Waegner
Scott Edelstein
Dan Sudick

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

CANDYMAN
Andrew Zink
James McQuaide
Josh Simmonds
Drew Dir
Ryan Evans

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
Tom Proctor
Gavin Gregory
Julian Gnass
Fabricio Baessa

NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Dennis Berardi
Ryan MacDuff
Mark Hammond
David Roby
Geoff Hill

THE LAST DUEL
Gary Brozenich
Helen Judd
Jessica Norman
Yann Blondel
Stefano Pepin

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Alex Lemke
Michael Huber
Michael Ralla
Benedikt Laubenthal

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

ENCANTO
Scott Kersavage
Bradford Simonsen
Thaddeus P. Miller
Ian Gooding

LUCA
Enrico Casarosa
Andrea Warren
David Ryu
Jon Reisch

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
Kyle Odermatt
Osnat Shurer
Kelsey Hurley
Paul Felix

SING 2
Patrick Delage
Nathalie Vancauwenberghe
Christophe Lourdelet
Boris Jacq

THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES
Alan Hawkins
Carey A. Smith
Mike Lasker
Nicola Lavender

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

FOUNDATION; The Emperor’s Peace
Chris MacLean
Addie Manis
Mike Enriquez
Chris Keller
Paul Byrne

LOKI; Journey Into Mystery
Dan DeLeeuw
Allison Paul
Sandra Balej
David Seager

LOST IN SPACE; Trust
Jabbar Raisani
Terron Pratt
Yuri Stanossek
Niklas Jacobson
Paul Benjamin

THE NEVERS; Ignition
Johnny Han
Jack Geist
Justin Mitchell
Emanuel Fuchs
Michael Dawson

THE STAND
Jake Braver
Phillip Hoffman
Laurent Hugueniot
Vincent Papaix

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

9-1-1 LONE STAR; Hold the Line
Brigitte Bourque
Tyler Deck
Jason Gottlieb
Josephine Noh
Elia Popov

SEE; Rock-A-Bye
Chris Wright
Parker Chehak
Javier Roca
Tristan Zerafa
Tony Kenny

SQUID GAME; VIPS
Jaihoon Jung
Hyejin Kim
Hyungrok Kim
Sungman Jun

SWEET TOOTH; Sorry About All the Dead People
Rob Price
Danica Tsang
Matt Bramante
Jayme Vandusen

THE HANDMAID’S TALE; Chicago
Brendan Taylor
Stephen Lebed
Kayla Cabral
Brannek Gaudet

THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY; A Bunch of Smart Orphans
Philippe Thibault
Marie-Pierre Boucher
Alexis Belanger
Gabriel Beauvais

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project

BATTLEFIELD 2042
Anders Egleus
Jeremy Chubb
Gray Horsfield
Sean Ellis

CALL OF DUTY: VANGUARD
Sandy Lin-Chiang
Joseph Knox
Gareth Richards
Shane Daley

FORZA HORIZON 5
Don Arceta
Valentyn Minytskyi
Conar Cross
George Ilenei

RATCHET & CLANK: RIFT APART
Grant Hollis
Yancy Young
Steven Russell
Sean Applegate

RETURNAL; Playstation 5
Harry Krueger
Tony Salkovuo
Risto Jankkila
Sharman Jagadeesan

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

Far Cry 6; Chicharrón Run
Niklas Ström
Kajsa Kurtén
Nicklas Andersson
Adrian Tsang

Lego; Rebuild the World
Fabian Frank
Anandi Peiris
Kiril Mirkov
Platon Filimonov

Lexus; Parking Spot
Alex Thomas
Andrew McLintock
JD Yepes
Clement Renaudin

Sheba; Hope Reef
Grant Walker
Sophie Harrison
Hernan Llano
Michael Baker

Zillow; The Journey
Ben Kwok
Ashley Goodwin
Oliver Varteressian
Yebin Ahn
Tom Bussell

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

Hôtel de la Marine
Franck Lambertz
Hugues Allart
Olivier Jarry
Pierre Jury

JURASSIC WORLD ADVENTURE
Eugénie von Tunzelmann
Maximilian McNair MacEwan
Stephen Goalby
Brad Silby

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature

FINCH; Jeff
Harinarayan Rajeev
Matthias Schoenegger
Simon Allen
Paul Nelson

FLORA & ULYSSES; Ulysses
Pierre-Loïc Hamon
Sachin Tyagi
Nandini Nambiar
Loïc Mireault

JUNGLE CRUISE; Aguirre
Alexander Lee
Claus Pedersen
Rasely Ma
Gary Wu

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE; Carnage
Richard Spriggs
Ricardo Silva
Lucas Cuenca
Federico Frassinelli

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature

ENCANTO; Mirabel Madrigal
Kelly McClanahan
Sergi Caballer
Mary Twohig
Jose Luis “Weecho” Velasquez

LUCA; Luca
Gwendelyn Enderoglu
Laurie Nguyen Kim
Tanja Krampfert
Maria Lee

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON; Tuk Tuk
Brian Menz
Punn Wiantrakoon
Erik Hansen
Vicky YuTzu Lin

THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES; Katie Mitchell
Lindsey Olivares
Kurt Judson
Soh-I Jeong
Rohini Kumar

Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project

LISEY’S STORY; The Long Boy
Mohsen Mousavi
Salauddin “Sallu” Kazi
Mattias Brunosson
Pablovsky Ramos-Nieves

LOVE, DEATH & ROBOTS; SNOW IN THE DESERT; Hirald
Maxime Luere
Zoé Pelegrin-Bomel
Laura Guerreiro
Florent Duport

THE WITCHER; Leshy Eskel; Tree Branch Creature
Hannes Faupel
Stéphane Paccolat
Ivan Cadena Ayala
Laurent Fortin

THE WITCHER; Nivellen the Cursed Man
Marko Chulev
Rasely Ma
Mike Beaulieu
Robin Witzsche

Y: THE LAST MAN; Ampersand
Mike Beaulieu
Michael Dharney
Peter Pi
Aidana Sakhvaliyeva

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial

Avanti West Coast; Feel Good Travel; Terri
Tom Raynor
Chloe Dawe
Suvi Jokiniemi
Alex Doyle

FAR CRY 6; Chicharrón
Elin Laven
Gustav Ahren
Anton Stattin
Simon Decombel

France Télévision; Sumo
Geoffroy Barbet-Massin
Vincent Venchiarutti
Antoine Antin
Mathias Lachal

ING; Do Your Thing; Roary the Lion
Chris Welsby
Clementine Supiot
Kiril Mirkov
Arnau Gilabert

Smart Energy; Einstein Knows Best; Einstein
Alex Hammond
Harsh Borah
Clare Williams
Andreas Graichen

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature

DUNE; Arrakeen City
Rhys Salcombe
Seungjin Woo
Jeremie Touzery
Marc Austin

JUNGLE CRUISE; Waterfall Canyon
Mark McNicholl
Frédéric Valleur
Hamish Beachman
Mark Wainwright

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME; The Mirror Dimension
Eric Le Dieu de Ville
Thomas Dotheij
Ryan Olliffe
Claire Le Teuff

THE SUICIDE SQUAD; Valle Del Marre
Nick Cattell
Jason Desjarlais
Matt Fitzgerald
Jerome Moo

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

ENCANTO; Antonio’s Room
Camille Andre
Andrew Finley
Chris Patrick O’Connell
Amol Sathe

LUCA; Portorosso Piazza
Airton Dittz, Jr.
Jack Hattori
Michael Rutter
Joshua West

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON; Talon
Mingjue Helen Chen
Chaiwon Kim
Virgilio John Aquino
Diana Jiang LeVangie

SING 2; Crystal Theatre
Ludovic Ramière
Théo Rivoalen
Henri Deruer
Frédéric Mainil

VIVO; Mambo Cabana
Bertrand Bry-Marfaing
Josef “Dylan” Swift
Geeta Basantani
Jeremy Kim

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

FOUNDATION; Trantor Cityscape
Samuel Simanjuntak
Melaina Mace
Benjamin Ruiz
Alessandro Vastalegna

HAWKEYE; Echoes; Manhattan Bridge
Nicholas Hodgson
David Abbott
Nick Cattell
Jin Choi

HAWKEYE; Season 1, Episode 6; Rockefeller Centre
John O’Connell
Tiffany Yung
Orion Terry
Ho Kyung Ahn

SHEBA; Hope Reef
Henrique Campanha
Baptiste Roy
Luca Veronese
Timothee Maron

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project

ENCANTO; We Don’t Talk about Bruno
Nathan Detroit Warner
Dorian Bustamante
Tyler Kupferer
Michael Woodside

GODZILLA VS. KONG; Ocean Battle
Shawn Hull
Robert Wiese
Steven Tom
Eric Petey

LOKI; LAMENTIS; Race to the Ark
Jesse Lewis-Evans
Luke Avery
Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Scott Inkster

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
Rob Dressel
Adolph Lusinsky
Paul Felix

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
Sebastian Trujillo
Louis-Daniel Poulin
Nathan Abbot
Shannon Justison

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project

BLACK WIDOW; The Red Room
Tristan John Connors
Bo Kwon
James Stuart
Ryan Duhaime

DUNE; Royal Ornithopter
Marc Austin
Anna Yamazoe
Michael Chang
Rachael Dunk

ENCANTO; Casita Madrigal
Jonathan Lin
Chris Patrick O’Connell
Christoffer Pedersen
Alberto Abril

THE SUICIDE SQUAD; Jotunheim
Simon Dean Morley
Cedric Enriquez Canlas
Layne Howe
Alberto R. S. Hernandez

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

DUNE; Dunes of Arrakis
Gero Grimm
Ivan Larinin
Hideki Okano
Zuny An

GODZILLA VS. KONG; Ocean Water & Battle Destruction
Jonathan Freisler
Nahuel Alberto Letizia
Eloi Andaluz Fullà
Saysana Rintharamy

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS; Water, Bubbles & Magic
Simone Riginelli
Claude Schitter
Teck Chee Koi
Arthur Graff

THE SUICIDE SQUAD; Corto Maltese City Destruction
David R. Davies
Rogier Fransen
Sandy Sutherland
Brandon James Fleet

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature

ENCANTO
Francisco Rodriguez
Christopher Hendryx
Brent Burley
David Hutchins

LUCA
Amit Baadkar
Greg Gladstone
Emron Grover
Tim Speltz

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
Le Joyce Tong
Henrik Fält
Rattanin Sirinaruemarn
Jacob Rice

SING 2
Richard Adenot
Guillaume Gay
Frédéric Valz-Gris
Antoine Brémont

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

FOUNDATION; Collapse of the Galactic Empire
Giovanni Casadei
Mikel Zuloaga
Steven Moor
Louis Manjarres

LOKI; Journey Into Mystery; Alioth Cloud
George Kuruvilla
Menno Dijkstra
Matthew Hanger
Jiyong Shin

THE NEVERS
David Stopford
Michele Stocco
Mike Hsu
Justin Mitchell

WANDAVISION; Vision’s Destruction
Sylvain Nouveau
Hakim Harrouche
Omar Meradi
Laurent Meste

Outstanding Compositing & Lighting In a Feature

BLACK WIDOW; Red Room Crashing Back to Earth
Michael Melchiorre
Simon Twine
Daniel Harkness
Tim Crowson

DUNE; Attack on Arrakeen
Gregory Haas
Francesco Dell’Anna
Abhishek Chaturvedi
Cleve Zhu

DUNE; Hologram & Hunter Seeker
Patrick Heinen
Jacob Maymudes
Tj Burke
James Jooyoung Lee

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS; Macau City
Jeremie Maheu
Mathieu Dupuis
Karthic Ramesh
Jiri Kilevnik

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME; Liberty Island Battle & Christmas Swing Finale
Zac Campbell
Frida Nerdal
Louis Corr
Kelvin Yee

Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in an Episode

LOKI; LAMENTIS; Shuroo City Destruction
Paul Chapman
Tom Truscott
Biagio Figliuzzi
Attila Szalma

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER; New World Order
Nathan Abbot
Beck Veitch
Markus Reithoffer
James Aldous

WANDAVISION; Goodbye, Vision
David Zaretti
Bimpe Alliu
Michael Duong
Mark Pascoe

WANDAVISION; The Hex
Charles Labbé
Xavier Fourmond
Reuben Barkataki
Vanessa Delarosbil

Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Commercial

Toyota – Never Stop
Michael Ralla
Alejandro Villabon
Alexander Osvaldsson
Paul Krist

Toyota – Upstream
JD Yepes
Paul Krist
Carlos Adarraga Gomez
Minsang Lee

Verizon; The Reset
David Piombino
Rajesh Kaushik
Manideep Sanisetty
Tim Crean

Zillow; The Journey
Ben Kwok
Yebin Ahn
Robert Bruce
Tuna Unalan

Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Project

ETERNALS
Neil Corbould
Keith Dawson
Ray Ferguson
Chris Motjuoadi

JUNGLE CRUISE
JD Schwalm
Nick Rand
Robert Spurlock
Nick Byrd

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
JD Schwalm
Brendon O’Dell
Michael Kay
Pau Costa Moeller

THE TOMORROW WAR
JD Schwalm
Wayne Rowe
Jim Schwalm
Haukur Karlsson

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

GREEN
Camille Poiriez
Arielle Cohen
Eloise Thibaut
Louis Florean

LE SOUFFLEUR DE RÊVES
Lea Desrozier
Paul Denis
Gregoire Hoarau
Lisa Ripper

NEOSHIN EPISODE 01: COLD BLOOD
Sebastian Selg
Ramon Schauer
Jiayan Chen
Bea Hoeller

RELATIVITY
Hugo Astesano
Loïc Ciaux
Guillaume Hulot
Loïc Remy

The post Visual Effects Society announces the nominees first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

Student Academy Award

From the Animago Awards 2019, to the VES Awards 2020 – and now to the Student Academy Award? Causality or just correlation? In any case, the success story of the diploma film The Beauty is pornographic. Created at the Animation Institute of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, The Beauty has now won the Student Academy Award 2020 in the international competition in the animation category. The winners will be honoured in a virtual ceremony on 21 October in Los Angeles.

The Beauty

Topic of the diploma film: The pollution of the world’s oceans by plastic waste. The short film dives into an underwater world in which plastic and nature come together. For a breath, worries and feelings of guilt dissolve between coral reefs and the deep sea. Then the viewer is fished out of escapist images – and man’s ecological responsibility forces its way to the surface…

Baden-Württemberg Film Academy

The Beauty is the sixth time that the Student Academy Award has gone to a production from the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. The previous winning years: 1998 (Rochade), 2007 (NimmerMeer), 2012 (Von Hunden und Pferden), 2015 (Erledigung einer Sache) and 2017 (Galamsey – Für eine Handvoll Gold) – and now 2021 (The Beauty). In total, seventeen student projects have made it to the final round of the young talent competition since the Film Academy was founded.

Teaser trailer and making-of below:

The post The Beauty | Student Academy Award first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.

In addition to our own animago “Jury’s Prize” 2019, the diploma film The Beauty , created at the Animation Institute of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, is going on a trophy dive: The short film was recently honoured in Los Angeles with a VES Award in the category “Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project”. The team directed by Pascal Schelbli(VFX Supervisor: Marc Angele, Animation: Noel Winzen, Producers: Tina Vest, Aleksandra Todorovic) beat three other nominated student productions. You can findall the winners of this year’s VES Awards here.

The Beauty Making-Of in the DP 19 : 06

In The Beauty, the Animationsinstitut team takes us on a ‘deep dive’ into a rather uncomfortable part of the world. However, beautiful images and sounds from the depths of the oceans can be seen and heard – consisting of shoals of flip-flops, coral reefs made of plastic cutlery and straws, plastic jellyfish and bottled whales. You can read all the details about the realisation in our article from DP 19 : 06 here for free.

Further information: To the website of the animation institute

The post The Beauty wins VES Award first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.

After a previous beta phase, Foundry has now released the new version of the Nuke product family. Nuke, NukeX and Nuke Studio are now available in version 11.0. The new Hiero Player is also included in this release and comes with timeline disc caching – findout more here.

What’s new in Nuke 11.0?

LiveGroup Node

The new LiveGroup system makes it possible for several users to work on the same scene at the same time. LiveGroups offer all the functions of Precomps, Groups and Gizmos. Similar to Precomps, LiveGroups can save independent open source nk files. More information on the use and workflow of LiveGroups can be found here.

Lens Distortion and Smart Vector

NukeX gets a revised LensDistortion node, with support for fisheye and wide-angle lenses, as well as better import of data from other lens packages. In addition, the Smart Vector tool introduced in Nuke 10.0 can now also calculate in the background.

Pipeline and standards

New in Nuke 11.0 is the support of the VFX Reference Platform 2017. The platform, under the direction of the Visual Effects Society, specifies tool and library versions for use in VFX software to avoid compatibility issues and promote Linux support. It includes specifications for gcc, glibc, Python and open standards such as Alembic, ACES, OpenEXR, OpenSubdiv, OpenVDB, OpenColorIO and more. An overview of Foundry’s supported third-party libaries and fonts can be found here.

Further innovations

In addition to improvements to the Denoise functions, the frame server from Nuke Studio is now also available for Nuke and NukeX. Foundry has also extended Nuke’s OpenCL support on Windows and Linux operating systems, so that various AMD GPUs are now compatible with Nuke. You can find a list here.

You can read the entire release notes, including the long bug-fix list, here.

Price and availability

The software is available in the three versions Nuke, NukeX and NukeStudio and starts at 3685 €. However, you also have the option of renting the tool quarterly from €1035. You can find an overview of the prices here. You can also download a free non-commercial version here.

The post Nuke and Hiero 11.0 are here! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

As in every VES year, “Game of Thrones” is nominated in numerous categories, while “Rogue One”, “Doctor Strange”, “Jungle Book” and “Deepwater Horizon” could win a number of awards in the film categories.

In the student category, three projects from the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy have been nominated: “BreakingPoint” (making-of in the upcoming DP issue 02 : 17), “Shine”(DP issue 06 :15) and “Elemental”. animago young talent winner “Garden Party” from the MOPA University of Applied Sciences also received a nomination in this category.

Here is the complete overview of all nominees:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

• Doctor Strange
  Stephane Ceretti, Susan Pickett, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, Paul Corbould
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  Christian Manz,Olly Young, Tim Burke, Pablo Grillo, David Watkins
• Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children
  Frazer Churchill, Hal Couzens, Andrew Lockley, Jelmer Boskma, Hayley Williams
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  John Knoll, Erin Dusseault, Hal Hickel, Nigel Sumner, Neil Corbould
• The Jungle Book
  Robert Legato, Joyce Cox, Andrew R. Jones, Adam Valdez, JD Schwalm

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

• Allied
  Kevin Baillie, Sandra Scott, Brennan Doyle, Viktor Muller, Richard Van Den Bergh
• Deepwater Horizon
  Craig Hammack, Petra Holtorf-Stratton, Jason Snell
  John Galloway
  Burt Dalton
• Jason Bourne
  Charlie Noble, Dan Barrow, Julian Gnass, Huw Evans, Steve Warner
• Silence
  Pablo Helman, Brian Barlettani, Ivan Busquets, Juan Garcia, R. Bruce Steinheimer
• Sully
  Michael Owen,Tyler Kehl, Mark Curtis, Bryan Litson, Steven Riley

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

• Finding Dory
  Angus MacLane, Lindsey Collins- p.g.a., John Halstead, Chris J. Chapman
• Kubo and the Two Strings
  Travis Knight, Arianne Sutner, Steve Emerson, Brad Schiff
• Moana
  Kyle Odermatt, Nicole P. Hearon, Hank Driskill, Ian Gooding
• The Little Prince
  Mark Osborne, Jinko Gotoh, Pascal Bertrand, Jamie Caliri
• Zootopia
  Scott Kersavage, Bradford S. Simonsen, David Goetz, Ernest J. Petti

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

• Black Mirror; Playtest
  Justin Hutchinson-Chatburn, Russell McLean, Grant Walker, Christopher Gray
• Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards
  Joe Bauer, Steve Kullback, Glenn Melenhorst, Matthew Rouleau, Sam Conway
• Stranger Things; Demogorgon
  Marc Kolbe, Aaron Sims, Olcun Tan
• The Expanse; Salvage
  Robert Munroe, Clint Green, Kyle Menzies, Tom Turnbull
• Westworld; The Bicameral Mind
  Jay Worth, Elizabeth Castro, Bobo Skipper, Gustav Ahrén

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

• Black Sails; XX
  Erik Henry, Terron Pratt, Aladino Debert, Yafei Wu, Paul Stephenson
• Penny Dreadful; The Day Tennyson Died
  James Cooper, Bill Halliday, Sarah McMurdo, Mai-Ling Lee
• Roots; Night One
  Simon Hansen, Paul Kalil, Theo le Roux Preist, Wicus Labuschagne, Max Poolman
• The Man in the High Castle; Volkshalle
  Lawson Deming, Cory Jamieson, Casi Blume, Nick Chamberlain
• Vikings; The Last Ship
  Dominic Remane, Mike Borrett, Ovidiu Cinazan, Paul Wishart, Paul Byrne

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project

• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
  Brian Horton, Keith Pope, David Johnson, Tobias Stromvall
• Dishonored 2; Crack in the Slab
  Sebastien Mitton, Guillaume Curt, Damien Laurent, Jean-Luc Monnet
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; Virtual Reality
  Andy Rowans-Robinson, Karen Czukerberg, John Montefusco, Corrina Wilson, Resh Sidhu
• Gears of War 4
  Kirk Gibbons, Zoe Curnoe, Aryan Hanbeck, Colin Penty
• Quantum Break
  Janne Pulkkinen, Elmeri Raitanen, Matti Hamalainen, Ville Assinen
• Uncharted 4
  Bruce Straley, Eben Cook, Iki Ikram

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

• Coke Mini; A Mini Marvel
  Vincent Cirelli, Michael Perdew, Brendan Seals, Jared Simeth
• For Honour
  Maxime Luern, Leon Berelle, Dominique Boidin, Remi Kozyra
• John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
  Diarmid Harrison-Murray, Hannah Ruddleston, Fabian Frank, William Laban
• Titanfall 2; Become One
  Dan Akers, Tiffany Webber, Chris Bedrosian
• Waitrose; Coming Home
  Jonathan Westley-Wes, Alex Fitzgerald, Jorge Montiel, Adam Droy

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

• Dream of Anhui
  Chris Morley, Lee Hahn, Alex Hessler, Kent Matheson
• Pirates of the Caribbean; Battle for the Sunken Treasure
  Bill George, Amy Jupiter, Hayden Landis, David Lester
• Soarin’ Over the Horizon
  Marianne McLean, Bill George, Hayden Landis, Dorne Huebler, Thomas Tait
• Skull Island: Reign of Kong
  John Gibson, Arish Fyzee, Sachin Shrestha, Anshul Mathuria
• Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience
  Dan Glass, Brett Harding, Tom Debenham, Brian Delmonico, Matt Pulliam

Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; Niffler
  Laurent Laban, Gabriel Beauvais-Tremblay, Luc Girard, Romain Rico
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Grand Moff Tarkin
  Sven Jensen, Jee Young Park, Steve Walton, Cyrus Jam
• The Jungle Book; King Louie
  Paul Story, Dennis Yoo, Jack Tema, Andrei Coval
• The Jungle Book; Shere Khan
  Benjamin Jones, Julio Del Rio Hernandez, Jake Harrell, James Hood
• Warcraft; Durotan
  Sunny Wei, Brian Cantwell, Brian Paik, Jee Young Park

Outstanding Animated Performance in an Animated Feature

• Finding Dory; Hank
  Jonathan Hoffman, Steven Clay Hunter, Mark Piretti, Audrey Wong
• Kubo and the Two Strings; Kubo
  Jeff Riley, Ian Whitlock, Adam Lawthers, Jeremy Spake
• Kubo and the Two Strings; Monkey
  Andy Bailey, Dobrin Yanev, Kim Slate, Jessica Lynn
• Moana; The Mighty Maui
  Mack Kablan, Nikki Mull, Matthew Schiller, Marc Thyng

Outstanding Animated Performance in an Episode or Real-Time Project

• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare; Omar
  Bernardo Antoniazzi, Aaron Beck, Jason Greenberg, Chris Barnes
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  John Montefusco, Michael Cable, Shayne Ryan, Andy Rowan-Robinson
• Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Drogon
  James Kinnings, Michael Holzl, Matt Derksen, Joeseph Hoback
• Game of Thrones; Home; Emaciated Dragon
  Sebastian Lauer, Jonathan Symmonds, Thomas Kutschera, Anthony Sieben

Outstanding Animated Performance in a Commercial

• John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
  Tim van Hussen, David Bryan, Chloe Dawe, Maximillian Mallman
• Opel Motorsport; Racing Faces; Lion
  Jorge Montiel, Jacob Gonzales, Sauce Vilas, Alberto Lara
• SSE; Neon House; Baby Pixel
  Jorge Montiel, Daniel Kmet, Sauce Vilas, Peter Agg
• Waitrose; Coming Home
  Jorge Montiel, Nick Smalley, Andreas Graichen, Alberto Lara

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature

• Deadpool; Freeway Assault
  Seth Hill, Jedediah Smith, Laurent Taillefer, Marc-Antoine Paquin
• Doctor Strange; London
  Brendan Seals, Raphael A. Pimentel, Andrew Zink, Gregory Ng
• Doctor Strange; New York City
  Adam Watkins, Martijn van Herk, Tim Belsher, Jon Mitchell
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Scarif Complex
  Enrico Damm, Kevin George, Olivier Vernay-Kim, Yanick Dusseault

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

• Finding Dory; Open Ocean Exhibit
  Stephen Gustafson, Jack Hattori, Jesse Hollander, Michael Rutter
• Kubo and the Two Strings; Hanzo’s Fortress
  Phil Brotherton, Nick Mariana, Emily Greene, Joe Strasser
• Kubo and the Two Strings; Waves
  David Horsley, Eric Wachtman, Daniel Leatherdale, Takashi Kuboto
• Moana; Motonui Island
  Rob Dressel, Andy Harkness, Brien Hindman, Larry Wu

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

• Black Sails; XXVIII; Maroon Island
  Thomas Montminy-Brodeur, Deak Ferrand, Pierre Rousseau, Mathieu Lapierre
• Dishonored 2; Clockwork Mansion
  Sebastien Mitton,Guillaume Curt, Damien Laurent, Jean-Luc Monnet
• Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Meereen City
  Deak Ferrand, Dominic Daigle, François Croteau, Alexandru Banuta
• Game of Thrones; The Winds of Winter; Citadel
  Edmond Engelbrecht, Tomoka Matsumura, Edwin Holdsworth, Cheri Fojtik
• The Man in the High Castle; Volkshalle
  Casi Blume, David Andrade, Nick Chamberlain, Lawson Deming

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project

• Doctor Strange; New York Mirror Dimension
  Landis Fields, Mathew Cowie, Frederic Medioni, Faraz Hameed
• Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards
  Patrick Tiberius Gehlen, Michelle Blok, Christopher Baird, Drew Wood-Davies
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Space Battle
  John Levin, Euisung Lee, Steve Ellis, Barry Howell
• The Jungle Book
  Bill Pope, Robert Legato, Gary Roberts, John Brennan

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project

• Deepwater Horizon; Deepwater Horizon Rig
  Kelvin Lau, Jean Bolte, Kevin Sprout, Kim Vongbunyong
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Princess Leia
  Paul Giacoppo, Gareth Jensen, Todd Vaziri, James Tooley
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Star Destroyer
  Jay Machado, Marko Chulev, Akira Orikasa, Steven Knipping
• Star Trek Beyond; Enterprise
  Daniel Nicholson, Rhys Salcombe, Chris Elmer, Andreas Maaninka

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

• Alice Through the Looking Glass; Rust
  Klaus Seitschek, Joseph Pepper, Jacob Clark, Cosku Turhan
• Doctor Strange; Hong Kong Reverse Destruction
  Florian Witzel, Georges Nakhle, Azhul Mohamed, David Kirchner
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Jedha Destruction
  Miguel Perez Senent, Matt Puchala, Ciaran Moloney, Luca Mignardi
• The Jungle Book; Nature Effects
  Oliver Winwood, Fabian Nowak, David Schneider, Ludovic Ramisandraina

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature

• Finding Dory
  Stephen Gustafson, Allen Hemberger, Joshua Jenny, Matthew Kiyoshi Wong
• Kubo and the Two Strings; Water
  David Horsley, Peter Stuart, Timur Khodzhaev, Terrance Tornberg
• Moana
  Marc Henry Bryant, David Hutchins, John M. Kosnik, Dale Mayeda
• Zootopia
  Nicholas Burkard, Moe El-Ali, Claudia Chung Sanii, Thom Wickes

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

• Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards
  Kevin Blom, Sasmit Ranadive, Wanghua Huang, Ben Andersen
• Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Meereen City
  Thomas Hullin, Dominik Kirouac, James Dong, Xavier Fourmond
• John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
  Diarmid Harrison-Murray, Tushar Kewlani, Radu Ciubotariu, Ben Thomas
• Sky; Q
  Michael Hunault, Gareth Bell, Paul Donnellan, Joshua Curtis

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature

• Doctor Strange; New York City
  Matthew Lane, Jose Fernandez, Ziad Shureih, Amy Shepard
• Independence Day: Resurgence; Under The Mothership
  Mathew Giampa, Adrian Sutherland, Daniel Lee, Ed Wilkie
• The Jungle Book
  Christoph Salzmann, Masaki Mitchell, Matthew Adams, Max Stummer
• X-Men: Apocalypse; Quicksilver Rescue
  Jess Burnheim, Alana Newell, Andy Peel, Matthew Shaw

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode

• Black Sails; XX; Sailing Ships
  Michael Melchiorre, Kevin Bouchez, Heather Hoyland, John Brennick
• Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Meereen City
  Thomas Montminy-Brodeur, Patrick Davids, Michael Crane, Joe Salazar
• Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Retaking Winterfell
  Dominic Hellier, Morgan Jones, Thijs Noij, Caleb Thompson
• Game of Thrones; The Door; Land of Always Winter
  Eduardo Díaz, Aníbal Del Busto, Angel Rico, Sonsoles López-Aranguren

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Commercial

• Canal; Kitchen
  Dominique Boidin, Leon Berelle, Maxime Luere, Remi Kozyra
• John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
  Tom Harding, Alex Snookes, David Filipe, Andreas Feix
• Kenzo; Kenzo World
  Evan Langley, Benjamin Nowak, Rob Fitzsimmons, Phylicia Feldman
• LG; World of Play
  Jay Bandlish, Udesh Chetty, Carl Norton
• Waitrose; Coming Home
  Jonathan Westley -Wes, Gary Driver, Milo Paterson, Nina Mosand

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

• BreakingPoint
  Johannes Franz, Nicole Rothermel, Thomas Sali, Alexander Richter
• Elemental
  Adrian Meyer, Lena-Carolin Lohfink, Denis Krez, David Bellenbaum
• Garden Party
  Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon, Théophile Dufresne, Lucas Navarro
• Shine
  Mareike Keller, Dennis Mueller, Meike Mueller

All further information on the Visual Effects Society can be found at: www.visualeffectssociety.com

The post VES Nominees 2017 first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Mirja Fürst.