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Lights, Camera, Nominations!

The Visual Effects Society (VES) has rolled out the red carpet for the 23rd Annual VES Awards, revealing the contenders vying for top honors in visual effects. The winners will be crowned on February 11, 2025, at The Beverly Hilton hotel. Let’s dive into the categories and nominees, shall we?

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Better Man
Luke Millar, Andy Taylor, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs

Dune: Part Two
Paul Lambert, Brice Parker, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Erik Winquist, Julia Neighly, Paul Story, Danielle Immerman, Rodney Burke

Mufasa: The Lion King
Adam Valdez, Barry St. John, Audrey Ferrara, Daniel Fotheringham

Twisters
Ben Snow, Mark Soper, Florian Witzel, Susan Greenhow, Scott Fisher

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Blitz
Andrew Whitehurst, Sona Pak, Theo Demiris, Vincent Poitras, Hayley Williams

Civil War
David Simpson, Michelle Rose, Freddy Salazar, Chris Zeh, J.D. Schwalm

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Jason Neese, Armen Fetulagian, Jamie Neese, J.P. Jaramillo

Nosferatu
Angela Barson ,Lisa Renney, David Scott, Dave Cook, Pavel Ságner

Young Woman and the Sea
Richard Briscoe ,Carrie Rishel ,Jeremy Robert ,Stéphane Dittoo ,Ivo Jivkov

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Inside Out 2
Kelsey Mann ,Mark Nielsen ,Sudeep Rangaswamy ,Bill Watral ,

Moana 2
Carlos Cabral ,Tucker Gilmore ,Ian Gooding, Gabriela Hernandez

The Wild Robot
Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann, Jeff Budsberg,Jacob Hjort Jensen

Transformers One
Frazer Churchill, Fiona Chilton, Josh Cooley, Stephen King

Ultraman: Rising
Hayden Jones ,Sean M. Murphy, Shannon Tindle ,Mathieu Vig

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

Fallout; The Head
Jay Worth, Andrea Knoll, Grant Everett, Joao Sita ,Devin Maggio

House of the Dragon; Season 2; The Red Dragon and the Gold
Daði Einarsson, Tom Horton ,Sven Martin ,Wayne Stables, Mike Dawson

Shōgun; Anjin
Michael Cliett , Melody Mead, Philip Engström, Ed Bruce, Cameron Waldbauer

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Episode 5
John Knoll, Pablo Molles ,Jhon Alvarado ,Jeff Capogreco

The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Eldest
Jason Smith, Tim Keene, Ann Podlozny, Ara Khanikian, Ryan Conder

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

Expats: Home
Robert Bock, Glorivette Somoza, Charles Labbé, Tim Emeis

Lady in the Lake; It Has to Do With the Search for the Marvelous
Jay Worth, Eddie Bonin, Joe Wehmeyer, Eric Levin-Hatz, Mike Myers

Masters of the Air; Part Three; The Regensburg-Schweinfurt Mission
Stephen Rosenbaum, Bruce Franklin, Xavier Matia Bernasconi, David Andrews, Neil Corbould

The Penguin; Bliss
Johnny Han, Michelle Rose, Goran Pavles ,Ed Bruce, Devin Maggio

The Tattooist of Auschwitz; Pilot
Simon Giles ,Alan Church, David Schneider ,James Hattsmith

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT

[REDACTED]
Fabio Silva, Matthew Sherman, Caleb Essex , Bob Kopinsky

Destiny 2: The Final Shape
Dave Samuel, Ben Fabric ,Eric Greenlief ,Glenn Gamble

Star Wars Outlaws
Stephen Hawes, Lionel Le Dain, Benedikt Podlesnigg, Bogdan Draghici

What If…? – An Immersive Story
Patrick N.P. Conran , Shereif Fattouh, Zain Homer, Jax Lee

Until Dawn
Nicholas Chambers, Jack Hidde Glavimans, Alex Gabor

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL

YouTube TV NFL Sunday Ticket: The Magic of Sunday
Chris Bayol, Jeremy Brooks, Lane Jolly ,Jacob Bergman

Disney; Holidays 2024
Adam Droy, Helen Tang ,Christian Baker-Steele ,David Fleet

Virgin Media; Walrus Whizzer
Sebastian Caldwell, Ian Berry, Ben Cronin, Alex Grey

Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Greg McKneally ,Antonia Vlasto ,Ryan Knowles ,Fabrice Fiteni

Six Kings Slam; Call of the Kings
Ryan Knowles, Joe Billington, Dean Robinson ,George Savvas

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT

D23; Real-Time Rocket
Evan Goldberg, Alyssa Finley ,Jason Breneman ,Alice Taylor

The Goldau Landslide Experience
Roman Kaelin ,Gianluca Ravioli ,Florian Baumann

MTV Video Music Awards; Slim Shady Live
Jo Plaete ,Sara Mustafa ,Cameron Jackson ,Andries Courteaux

Tokyo DisneySea; Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure
Michael Sean Foley, Kirk Bodyfelt, Darin Hollings, Bert Klein, Maya Vyas

Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony; Run
Benjamin Le Ster, Gilles De Lusigman, Gerome Viavant, Romain Tinturier

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Better Man; Robbie Williams
Milton Ramirez, Andrea Merlo, Seoungseok Charlie Kim, Eteuati Tema

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Noa
Rachael Dunk, Andrei Coval ,John Sore ,Niels Peter Kaagaard

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Raka
Seoungseok Charlie Kim ,Giorgio Lafratta, Tim Teramoto ,Aidan Martin

Mufasa: The Lion King; Taka
Klaus Skovbo, ,Valentina Rosselli, Eli De Koninck, Amelie Talarmain

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Inside Out 2; Anxiety
Alexander Alvarado, Brianne Francisco , Amanda Wagner, Brenda Lin Zhang

The Wild Robot; Roz
Fabio Lignini ,Yukinori Inagaki, Owen Demers ,Hyun Huh

Thelma The Unicorn; Vic Diamond
Guillaume Arantes ,Adrien Montero ,Anne-Claire Leroux ,Gaspard Roche

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Gromit
Jo Fenton, Alison Evans ,Andy Symanowski ,Emanuel Nevado

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

Secret Level; Armored Core: Asset Management; Mech Pilot
Zsolt Vida, Péter Krucsai, Ágnes Vona ,Enric Nebleza Pañella

Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred; Neyrelle
Chris Bostjanick ,James Ma ,Yeon-Ho Lee ,Atsushi Ikarashi

Disney; Holidays 2024; Octopus
Alex Doyle, Philippe Moine ,Lewis Pickston, Andrea Lacedelli

Ronja the Robber’s Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen Harpy
Nicklas Andersson, David Allan, Gustav Åhren ,Niklas Wallén

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Civil War; Washington, D.C.
Matthew Chandler ,James Harmer, Robert Moore ,Adrien Zeppieri

Dune: Part Two; The Arrakeen Basin
Daniel Rhein, Daniel Anton Fernandez ,Marc James Austin, Christopher Anciaume

Gladiator II; Rome
Oliver Kane ,Stefano Farci ,John Seru ,Frederick Vallee

Wicked; The Emerald City
Alan Lam ,Steve Bevins ,Deepali Negi ,Miguel Sanchez López-Ruíz

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Kung Fu Panda 4; Juniper City
Benjamin Lippert, Ryan Prestridge, Sarah Vawter, Peter Maynez

The Wild Robot; The Forest
John Wake ,He Jung Park, Woojin Choi ,Shane Glading

Transformers One; Iacon City
Alex Popescu, Geoffrey Lebreton, Ryan Kirby, Hussein Nabeel

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Aqueduct
Matt Perry ,Dave Alex Riddett ,Matt Sanders ,Howard Jones

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

Dune: Prophecy; Pilot; The Imperial Palace
Scott Coates ,Sam Besseau ,Vincent l’Heureux ,Lourenco Abreu

Dune: Prophecy; Two Wolves; Zimia Spaceport
Nils Weisbrod, David Anastacio, Rene Borst ,Ruben Valente

Shōgun; Osaka
Manuel Martinez ,Phil Hannigan, Keith Malone, Francesco Corvino

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Doomed to Die; Eregion
Yordan Petrov, Bertrand Cabrol, Lea Desrozier , Karan Dhandha

OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY

Better Man
Blair Burke, Shweta Bhatnagar ,Tim Walker, Craig Young

Dune: Part Two; Arrakis
Greig Fraser, Xin Steve Guo ,Sandra Murta ,Ben Wiggs

House of the Dragon; Season 2; The Red Dragon and the Gold; Battle at Rook’s Rest
Matt Perrin, James Thompson ,Jacob Doehner, P.J. Dillon

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ; Egg Climb
Dennis Yoo, Angelo Perrotta, Samantha Erickstad ,Miae Kang

OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT

Alien: Romulus; Renaissance Space Station
Waldemar Bartkowiak, Trevor Wide, Matt Middleton ,Ben Shearman

Deadpool & Wolverine; Ant-Man Arena
Carlos Flores Gomez ,Corinne Dy ,Chris Byrnes, Gerald Blaise

Dune: Part Two; The Harkonnen Harvester
Andrew Hodgson, Timothy Russell ,Erik Lehmann, Louie Cho

Gladiator II; The Colosseum
Oliver Kane, Marnie Pitts, Charlotte Fargier ,Laurie Priest

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Dune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and Wormriding
Nicholas Papworth, Sandy la Tourelle ,Lisa Nolan, Christopher Phillips

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Burning Village, Rapids and Floods
Alex Nowotny, Claude Schitter, Frédéric Valleur ,Kevin Kelm

Twisters
Matthew Hanger ,Joakim Arnesson ,Laurent Kermel, Zheng Yong Oh

Venom: The Last Dance; Water, Fire & Symbiote Effects
Xavi Martin Ramirez ,Oscar Dahlen ,Hedi Namar, Yuri Yang

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Kung Fu Panda 4
Jinguang Huang, Zhao Wang, Hamid Shahsavari ,Joshua LaBrot ,

Moana 2
Zoran Stojanoski, Jesse Erickson, Shamintha Kalamba Arachchi ,Erin V. Ramos

The Wild Robot
Derek Cheung ,Michael Losure ,David Chow ,Nyoung Kim

Ultraman: Rising
Goncalo Cabaca ,Zheng Yong Oh ,Nicholas Yoon Joo Kuang, Praveen Boppana

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

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Legends; Koizilla
Ioan Boieriu ,David Stopford ,Per Balay ,Saysana Rintharamy

Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Dominic Tiedeken ,Heinrich Löwe ,Charles Guerton, Timmy Lundin

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Pilot; Spaceship Hillside Takeoff
Travis Harkleroad, Xiaolong Peng ,Marcella Brown ,Mickael Riciotti

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Shadow and Flame; Balrog Fire and Collapsing Cliff
Koenraad Hofmeester ,Miguel Perez Senent ,Miguel Santana Da Silva ,Billy Copley

Three Body Problem; Judgement Day
Yves D’Incau ,Gavin Templer ,Martin Chabannes ,Eloi Andaluz Fullà

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE

Better Man
Mark McNicholl, Gordon Spencer de Haseth ,Eva Snyder ,Markus Reithoffer

Dune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final Battle
Christopher Rickard, Francesco Dell’Anna, Paul Chapman, Ryan Wing

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Joerg Bruemmer, Zachary Brake ,Tim Walker, Kaustubh A. Patil

The Wild Robot
Sondra L. Verlander, Baptiste Van Opstal, Eszter Offertaler, Austin Casale

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE

Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Benjamin Bernon, Douglas Roshamn ,Victor Kirsch, Charlie Raud

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Episode 6; Jaws
Rich Grande ,Tomas Lefebvre ,Ian Dodman
Rey Reynolds,

The Boys; Season 4; Life Among the Septics
Tristan Zerafa ,Mike Stadnyckyj, Toshi Kosaka, Rajeev BR

The Penguin; After Hours
Jonas Stuckenbrock, Karen Chang ,Eugene Bondar ,Miky Girón

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL

Virgin Media; Walrus Whizzer
Sebastian Caldwell, Alex Grey ,Kanishk Chouhan, Shubham Mehta

Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Ryan Knowles, Alex Gabucci ,Jack Powell ,Dan Yarcigi

Corcept; Marionette
Yongchan Kim, Arman Matin ,Yoon Bae, Rajesh Kaushik

Disney; Holidays 2024
Christian Baker-Steele ,Luke Warpus, Pritesh Kotian ,Jack Harris

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT

Blitz
Hayley Williams ,David Eves, Alex Freeman, David Watson

Constellation
Martin Goeres, Johara Raukamp ,Lion David Bogus, Leon Mark

The Penguin; Safe Guns
Devin Maggio, Johnny Han, Cory Candrilli, Alexandre Prod’homme

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Dune: Part Two; Nuke CopyCat
Ben Kent, Guillaume Gales, Mairead Grogan, Johanna Barbier

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga; Artist-driven Machine Learning Character
John Bastian, Ben Ward, Thomas Rowntree, Robert Beveridge

Here; Neural Performance Toolset
Jo Plaete, Oriel Frigo, Tomas Koutsky, Matteo Oliviero Dancy

Mufasa: The Lion King; Real-Time Interactive Filmmaking, From Stage To Post
Callum James, James Hood, Lloyd Bishop, Bruno Pedrinha

The Penguin; Phase Synced Flash-Gun System
Johnny Han, Jefferson Han, Joseph Menafra, Michael Pynn

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT

Dawn (entry from ESMA – École Supérieure Des Métiers Artistiques)
Noah Mercier, Apolline Royer, Lorys Stora, Marie Pradeilles

Student Accomplice (entry from Brigham Young University)
Spencer Blanchard, Lisa Bird, Anson Savage, Kiara Spencer

Pittura (entry from ARTFX – Schools of Digital Arts)
Lauriol Adam, Lassère Titouan, Vivenza Rémi, Marre Helloïs

Courage (entry from Supinfocom – Rubika)
Salomé Cognon, Margot Jacquet, Nathan Baudry, Lise Delcroix

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The post VES Awards 2025: Nominees Unveiled—Prepare Your Applause (and Renders)! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.