Jan 10, 2017

VES Award: Kubo leads the animation Pack with 6 nominations

Nominations were announced today for the 15th annual VES Awards, recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials, and games.

Kubo and the Two Strings is the top animated film contender with six nominations, followed by four apiece for Moana and Finding Dory. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story received the most feature film nominations with seven; Doctor Strange and The Jungle Book follow with six each. Game of Thrones leads the broadcast field with 11 nods.

The VES Awards, despite leaning toward computer animation, couldn't ignore the masterful technical finesse of Kubo, a hybrid production that employs stop motion for its character performances. Kubo picked up a nomination for overall visual effects, as well as multiple character animation noms for both its title character and Monkey. The film earned two more nods in the 'created environment' category, and one for its effects simulation of water.

Before getting too excited though, remember that the most nominations received by any animated film last year was The Peanuts Movie, yet the Walt Disney Company swept the animation awards. Incredibly, no animation producer besides Disney has won an award in any VES animation category for the last four years running.

The nominees in the 24 categories were selected by Visual Effects Society members in ten different regions, including Australia, Bay Area, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Toronto, and Vancouver.

The VES Awards will be presented on February 7 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. In addition to the competitive awards, a lifetime achievement honor will be presented to vfx veteran Ken Ralston, and the Visionary Award will be given to Marvel Studios executive vice president of physical production Victoria Alonso, who was profiled on the Brew a few months ago.

The nominees for the 15th Annual VES Awards in 24 categories are as follows:

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 Owens 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 Honor Maxime Luere 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 David 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

Breaking Point 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