VES nominees 2020 VES nominees 2020

Nominations have been announced for the 18th annual VES Awards, recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials, and video games.

Disney’s The Lion King and Pixar’s Toy Story 4 lead the animation pack with five nominations apiece. Disney’s Frozen 2 and Laika’s Missing Link have four each, while 20th Century Fox’s hybrid Alita: Battle Angel also has five. In the broadcast categories, Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian — the Disney+ streaming service’s flagship series — and HBO’s Game of Thrones lead with six nominations each.

The nominees for best overall vfx in a photoreal (i.e. hybrid or live action) film are Alita: Battle Angel, Avengers: Endgame, Gemini Man, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and The Lion King. (All of those bar Gemini Man are Disney properties.) The equivalent category for animated films consists of Frozen 2, Klaus, Missing Link, The Lego Movie 2, and Toy Story 4.

Predictably, The Lion King has been classed as a photoreal entry. With the exception of the Golden Globes, major awards have consistently gone along with Disney’s campaign to present the film as a vfx contender, not the work of animation it really is. The ploy by Disney to falsely label The Lion King as not animated enables The Lion King to compete for awards separately from the company’s two other animated big hitters, Frozen 2 and Toy Story 4.

As of this year, animation productions were eligible in the three compositing categories, although none ended up being nominated. The VES committee also opened up the award for outstanding virtual cinematography to animation works, stating: “This decision reflects industry trends where live action and animation production are blending.” The Lion King and Toy Story 4 are both nominated in the category.

Interestingly, the hybrid reboot of Lady and the Tramp — the first Disney remake to be released exclusively on Disney+ — has been classed in the broadcast categories. It is a standalone feature film.

The winners in the 25 categories will be determined by members of the Visual Effects Society, which hosts the awards, and will be announced on January 29 at the Beverly Hilton in L.A. In addition, Martin Scorsese, whose The Irishman has two nominations, will be presented with the VES Lifetime Achievement Award. The VES Visionary Award will go to Roland Emmerich, and the VES Award for Creative Excellence will be presented to vfx supervisor Sheena Duggal.

The nominees for the 18th VES Awards are as follows:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

Alita: Battle Angel
Richard Hollander
Kevin Sherwood
Eric Saindon
Richard Baneham
Bob Trevino

Avengers: Endgame
Daniel DeLeeuw
Jen Underdahl
Russell Earl
Matt Aitken
Daniel Sudick

Gemini Man
Bill Westenhofer
Karen Murphy-Mundell
Guy Williams
Sheldon Stopsack
Mark Hawker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Roger Guyett
Stacy Bissell
Patrick Tubach
Neal Scanlan
Dominic Tuohy

The Lion King
Robert Legato
Tom Peitzman
Adam Valdez
Andrew R. Jones

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

1917
Guillaume Rocheron
Sona Pak
Greg Butler
Vijay Selvam
Dominic Tuohy

Ford v Ferrari
Olivier Dumont
Kathy Siegel
Dave Morley
Malte Sarnes
Mark Byers

Joker
Edwin Rivera
Brice Parker
Mathew Giampa
Bryan Godwin
Jeff Brink

The Aeronauts
Louis Morin
Annie Godin
Christian Kaestner
Ara Khanikian
Mike Dawson

The Irishman
Pablo Helman
Mitchell Ferm
Jill Brooks
Leandro Estebecorena
Jeff Brink

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

Frozen 2
Steve Goldberg
Peter Del Vecho
Mark Hammel
Michael Giaimo

Klaus
Sergio Pablos
Matthew Teevan
Marcin Jakubowski
Szymon Biernack

Missing Link
Brad Schiff
Travis Knight
Steve Emerson
Benoit Dubuc

The Lego Movie 2
David Burgess
Tim Smith
Mark Theriault
John Rix

Toy Story 4
Josh Cooley
Mark Nielsen
Bob Moyer
Gary Bruins

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

Game of Thrones; “The Bells”
Joe Bauer
Steve Kullback
Ted Rae
Mohsen Mousavi
Sam Conway

His Dark Materials; “The Fight to the Death”
Russell Dodgson
James Whitlam
Shawn Hillier
Robert Harrington

Lady and the Tramp
Robert Weaver
Christopher Raimo
Arslan Elver
Michael Cozens
Bruno Van Zeebroeck

Lost in Space; “Ninety-Seven”
Jabbar Raisani
Terron Pratt
Niklas Jacobson
Juri Stanossek
Paul Benjamin

Stranger Things; “Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum”
Paul Graff
Tom Ford
Michael Maher Jr.
Martin Pelletier
Andy Sowers

The Mandalorian; “The Child”
Richard Bluff
Abbigail Keller
Jason Porter
Hayden Jones
Roy K. Cancion

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

Chernobyl; “1:23:45”
Max Dennison
Lindsay McFarlane
Clare Cheetham
Paul Jones
Claudius Christian Rauch

Living with Yourself; “Nice Knowing You”
Jay Worth
Jacqueline VandenBussche
Chris Wright
Tristan Zerafa

See; “Godflame”
Adrian de Wet
Eve Fizzinoglia
Matthew Welford
Pedro Sabrosa
Tom Blacklock

The Crown; “Aberfan”
Ben Turner
Reece Ewing
David Fleet
Jonathan Wood

Vikings; “What Happens in the Cave”
Dominic Remane
Mike Borrett
Ovidiu Cinazan
Tom Morrison
Paul Byrne

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project

Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Charles Chabert
Chris Parise
Attila Zalanyi
Patrick Hagar

Control
Janne Pulkkinen
Elmeri Raitanen
Matti Hämäläinen
James Tottman

Gears 5
Aryan Hanbeck
Laura Kippax
Greg Mitchell
Stu Maxwell

Myth: A Frozen Tale
Jeff Gipson
Nicholas Russell
Brittney Lee
Jose Luis Gomez Diaz

Vader Immortal: Episode I
Ben Snow
Mike Doran
Aaron McBride
Steve Henricks

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

“Anthem Conviction”
Viktor Muller
Lenka Likarova
Chris Harvey
Petr Marek

“BMW Legend”
Michael Gregory
Christian Downes
Tim Kafka
Toya Drechsler

“Hennessy: The Seven Worlds”
Carsten Keller
Selcuk Ergen
Kiril Mirkov
William Laban

“PlayStation: Feel The Power of Pro”
Sam Driscoll
Clare Melia
Gary Driver
Stefan Susemihl

“Purdey’s: Hummingbird”
Jules Janaud
Emma Cook
Matthew Thomas
Philip Child

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

Avengers: Damage Control
Michael Koperwas
Shereif Fattouh
Ian Bowie
Kishore Vijay
Curtis Hickman

Jurassic World: The Ride
Hayden Landis
Friend Wells
Heath Kraynak
Ellen Coss

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Asa Kalama
Rob Huebner
Khatsho Orfali
Susan Greenhow

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Jason Bayever
Patrick Kearney
Carol Norton
Bill George

Universal Sphere
James Healy
Morgan MacCuish
Ben West
Charlie Bayliss

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature

Alita: Battle Angel; Alita
Michael Cozens
Mark Haenga
Olivier Lesaint
Dejan Momcilovic

Avengers: Endgame; Smart Hulk
Kevin Martel
Ebrahim Jahromi
Sven Jensen
Robert Allman

Gemini Man; Junior
Paul Story
Stuart Adcock
Emiliano Padovani
Marco Revelant

The Lion King; Scar
Gabriel Arnold
James Hood
Julia Friedl
Daniel Fortheringham

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature

Frozen 2; The Water Nøkk
Svetla Radivoeva
Marc Bryant
Richard E. Lehmann
Cameron Black

Klaus; Jesper
Yoshimichi Tamura
Alfredo Cassano
Maxime Delalande
Jason Schwartzman

Missing Link; Susan
Rachelle Lambden
Brenda Baumgarten
Morgan Hay
Benoit Dubuc

Toy Story 4; Bo Peep
Radford Hurn
Tanja Krampfert
George Nguyen
Becki Rocha Tower

Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project

Lady and the Tramp; Tramp
Thiago Martins
Arslan Elver
Stanislas Paillereau
Martine Chartrand

Stranger Things 3; Tom/Bruce Monster
Joseph Dubé-Arsenault
Antoine Barthod
Frederick Gagnon
Xavier Lafarge

The Mandalorian; The Child; Mudhorn
Terry Bannon
Rudy Massar
Hugo Leygnac

The Umbrella Academy; Pilot; Pogo
Aidan Martin
Craig Young
Olivier Beierlein
Laurent Herveic

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial

“Apex Legends”; Meltdown; Mirage
Chris Bayol
John Fielding
Derrick Sesson
Nole Murphy

“Churchill”; Churchie
Martino Madeddu
Philippe Moine
Clement Granjon
Jon Wood

“Cyberpunk 2077”; Dex
Jonas Ekman
Jonas Skoog
Marek Madej
Grzegorz Chojnacki

“John Lewis”; Excitable Edgar; Edgar
Tim van Hussen
Diarmid Harrison-Murray
Amir Bazzazi
Michael Diprose

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature

Aladdin; Agrabah
Daniel Schmid
Falk Boje
Stanislaw Marek
Kevin George

Alita: Battle Angel; Iron City
John Stevenson-Galvin
Ryan Arcus
Mathias Larserud
Mark Tait

Motherless Brooklyn; Penn Station
John Bair
Vance Miller
Sebastian Romero
Steve Sullivan

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; Pasaana Desert
Daniele Bigi
Steve Hardy
John Seru
Steven Denyer

The Lion King; The Pridelands
Marco Rolandi
Luca Bonatti
Jules Bodenstein
Filippo Preti

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

Frozen 2; Giants’ Gorge
Samy Segura
Jay V. Jackson
Justin Cram
Scott Townsend

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World; The Hidden World
Chris Grun
Ronnie Cleland
Ariel Chisholm
Philippe Brochu

Missing Link; Passage to India Jungle
Oliver Jones
Phil Brotherton
Nick Mariana
Ralph Procida

Toy Story 4; Antiques Mall
Hosuk Chang
Andrew Finley
Alison Leaf
Philip Shoebottom

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

Game of Thrones; The Iron Throne; Red Keep Plaza
Carlos Patrick DeLeon
Alonso Bocanegra Martinez
Marcela Silva
Benjamin Ross

Lost in Space; Precipice; The Trench
Philip Engström
Benjamin Bernon
Martin Bergquist
Xuan Prada

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance; The Endless Forest
Sulé Bryan
Charles Chorein
Christian Waite
Martyn Hawkins

The Mandalorian; Nevarro Town
Alex Murtaza
Yanick Gaudreau
Marco Tremblay
Maryse Bouchard

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project

Alita: Battle Angel
Emile Ghorayeb
Simon Jung
Nick Epstein
Mike Perry

The Lion King
Robert Legato
Caleb Deschanel
Ben Grossmann
AJ Sciutto

The Mandalorian; The Prisoner; The Roost
Richard Bluff
Jason Porter
Landis Fields IV
Baz Idione

Toy Story 4
Jean-Claude Kalache
Patrick Lin

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project

Lost in Space; The Resolute
Xuan Prada
Jason Martin
Jonathan Vårdstedt
Eric Andersson

Missing Link; The Manchuria
Todd Alan Harvey
Dan Casey
Katy Hughes

The Man in the High Castle; Rocket Train
Neil Taylor
Casi Blume
Ben McDougal
Chris Kuhn

The Mandalorian; The Sin; The Razorcrest
Doug Chiang
Jay Machado
John Goodson
Landis Fields IV

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

Dumbo; Bubble Elephants
Sam Hancock
Victor Glushchenko
Andrew Savchenko
Arthur Moody

Spider-Man: Far from Home; Molten Man
Adam Gailey
Jacob Santamaria
Jacob Clark
Stephanie Molk

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Don Wong
Thibault Gauriau
Goncalo Cababca
François-Maxence Desplanques

The Lion King
David Schneider
Samantha Hiscock
Andy Feery
Kostas Strevlos

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature

Abominable
Alex Timchenko
Domin Lee
Michael Losure
Eric Warren

Frozen 2
Erin V. Ramos
Scott Townsend
Thomas Wickes
Rattanin Sirinaruemarn

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World; Water and Waterfalls
Derek Cheung
Baptiste Van Opstal
Youxi Woo
Jason Mayer

Toy Story 4
Alexis Angelidis
Amit Baadkar
Lyon Liew
Michael Lorenzen

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

Game of Thrones; “The Bells”
Marcel Kern
Paul Fuller
Ryo Sakaguchi
Thomas Hartmann

“Hennessy: The Seven Worlds”
Selcuk Ergen
Radu Ciubotariu
Andreu Lucio
Vincent Ullmann

Lost in Space; “Precipice”; “Water Planet”
Juri Bryan
Hugo Medda
Kristian Olsson
John Perrigo

Stranger Things 3; “Melting Tom/Bruce”
Nathan Arbuckle
Christian Gaumond
James Dong
Aleksandr Starkov

The Mandalorian; “The Child”; “Mudhorn”
Xavier Martin Ramirez
Ian Baxter
Fabio Siino
Andrea Rosa

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature

Alita: Battle Angel
Adam Bradley
Carlo Scaduto
Hirofumi Takeda
Ben Roberts

Avengers: Endgame
Tim Walker
Blake Winder
Tobias Wiesner
Joerg Bruemmer

Captain Marvel; Young Nick Fury
Trent Claus
David Moreno Hernandez
Jeremiah Sweeney
Yuki Uehara

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Jeff Sutherland
John Galloway
Sam Bassett
Charles Lai

The Irishman
Nelson Sepulveda
Vincent Papaix
Benjamin O’Brien
Christopher Doerhoff

Outstanding Compositing in an Episode

Game of Thrones; “The Bells”
Sean Heuston
Scott Joseph
James Elster
Corinne Teo

Game of Thrones; “The Long Night”; “Dragon Ground Battle”
Mark Richardson
Darren Christie
Nathan Abbot
Owen Longstaff

Stranger Things 3; “Starcourt Mall Battle”
Simon Lehembre
Andrew Kowbell
Karim El-Masry
Miklos Mesterhazy

Watchmen; “Pilot”; “Looking Glass”
Nathaniel Larouche
Iyi Tubi
Perunika Yorgova
Mitchell Beaton

Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial

“BMW Legend”
Toya Drechsler
Vivek Tekale
Guillaume Weiss
Alexander Kulikov

“Feeding America: I Am Hunger in America”
Dan Giraldo
Marcelo Pasqualino
Alexander Koester

“Hennessy: The Seven Worlds”
Rod Norman
Guillaume Weiss
Alexander Kulikov
Alessandro Granella

“PlayStation: Feel the Power of Pro”
Gary Driver
Stefan Susemihl
Greg Spencer
Theajo Dharan

Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project

Aladdin; Magic Carpet
Mark Holt
Jay Mallet
Will Wyatt
Dickon Mitchell

Game of Thrones; “The Bells”
Sam Conway
Terry Palmer
Laurence Harvey
Alastair Vardy

Terminator: Dark Fate
Neil Corbould
David Brighton
Ray Ferguson
Keith Dawson

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance; “She Knows All the Secrets”
Sean Mathiesen
Jon Savage
Toby Froud
Phil Harvey

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

Downfall
Matias Heker
Stephen Moroz
Bradley Cocksedge

Love and Fifty Megatons
Denis Krez
Josephine Roß
Paulo Scatena
Lukas Löffler

Oeil pour Oeil
Alan Guimont
Thomas Boileau
Malcom Hunt
Robin Courtoise

The Beauty
Marc Angele
Aleksandra Todorovic
Pascal Schelbli
Noel Winzen