‘Dune: Part Two,’ ‘The Wild Robot,’ ‘Shōgun’ and ‘The Penguin’ Lead VES Award Nominations

Dune: Part Two, The Wild Robot, Shōgun and The Penguin lead all nominees for the 23nd Annual VES Awards, the yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in features, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists responsible for its creation. The awards ceremony is set for February 11, 2024 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

In feature films, Dune: Part Two garnered seven nominations. The Wild Robot leads all animation category contenders with five nominations, while Shōgun and The Penguin each garnered four nominations to lead in the episodic categories.

Nominees in 25 categories were selected by VES members at 39 in-person and virtual nomination events conducted worldwide over a 36-hour continuous process.  The distinctive and thoughtful VES Awards nominations protocol included a review of each awards submission including “Befores and Afters” by a minimum of three different judging panels.  Participating VES members on the panels represented 25 countries, highlighting the full breadth of the Society’s diverse global membership.  

“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create remarkable imagery,” said Kim Davidson, VES Chair.  “We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of innovation.  The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of our nominees.”

Nominees in 25 categories were selected by VES members at 49 in-person and virtual nomination panels conducted around the world over a 30-hour continuous process.  The distinctive and thoughtful VES Awards nominations protocol included a review of each awards submission including “Befores and Afters” by a minimum of three different judging panels.  Participating VES members on the panels represented 307 cities in 24 countries, highlighting the full breadth of the Society’s diverse global membership. 

“Whether it’s through a fully immersive environment, realistic characters, or jaw-dropping action sequences, visual effects artists continue to push the boundaries of creativity and transform the way stories are told,” said Diana Colella, Executive Vice President of Media & Entertainment at Autodesk, sponsor of the VES-Autodesk Student Award. “This year’s student film submissions celebrate the technical talent and creativity of up-and-coming visual effects artists. Congratulations to all the student nominees.”

This year’s nominees are as follows:

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

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• 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

As previously announced, special honorees at the 23^rd Annual VES Award include:  Golden Globe nominee and Emmy Award-winning actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada, receiving the VES Award for Creative Excellence; Academy Award-winning director and Visual Effects Supervisor Takashi Yamazaki receiving the VES Visionary Award; and acclaimed Virtual Reality/Immersive Technology Pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie receiving the VES Georges Méliès Award.

Source: Visual Effects Society

Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.