23rd Annual VES Awards

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Tuesday, February 11, 2025

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February 11, 2025, The Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s global professional honorary society, held the 23rd Annual VES Awards, the prestigious yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials, video games and special venues.

Industry guests gathered at The Beverly Hilton hotel to celebrate VFX talent in 25 awards categories and special honorees. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes receives the top photoreal feature award. Dune: Part Two garners the most photoreal feature wins, with four awards. The Wild Robot was named top animated film, winning four awards. Shōgun was named best photoreal episode, winning three awards; The Penguin also garnered three awards. Coca-Cola: The Heroes topped the commercial field.

Comedy duo The Sklar Brothers made their debut as VES Awards hosts. Acclaimed actor Keanu Reeves presented Golden Globe-winning actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada with the VES Award for Creative Excellence. Chief Research Officer of Eyeline Studios Paul Debevec, VES, presented Virtual Reality/Immersive Technology Pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie with the Georges Méliès Award. Writer-director Michael Dougherty presented Academy Award-winning filmmaker and VFX Supervisor Takashi Yamazaki with the Visionary Award. Award presenters included: Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Krys Marshall, Mary Mouser, Russell Hornsby, Tanner Buchanan, Eric Winter, Tia Carrere and Autodesk’s Senior Director, Business Strategy Rachael Appleton presented the VES-Autodesk Student Award.

Honorees

Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie JPG
Georges Méliès Award

Honoree: Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie

Recognizes an individual for pioneering significant and lasting contributions to the art and science of the visual effects industry by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work.

Hiroyuki Sanada jpg
VES Award for Creative Excellence

Honoree: Hiroyuki Sanada​

Recognizes individuals who’ve made significant and lasting contributions to the art and science of the visual effects industry by uniquely and consistently creating compelling and creative imagery in service to story.

Takashi Image for Press / Media Night Presentation End
VES Visionary Award

Honoree: Takashi Yamazaki

Recognizes individuals who’ve uniquely and consistently employed the art and science of visual effects to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work.

Winners & Nominees

Below is the complete list of Winners and Nominees for the 23rd Annual VES Awards. A sortable list for ALL years of VES Award winners / nominees can be found on the Previous VES Awards page.

View the category of the nominees and winners below.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

This award is to honor the overall achievement of the visual effects within a photoreal motion picture where the visual effects are a visible, essential, and integral part of the story and play a principal and active role in the motion picture. A rule of thumb for defining whether a motion picture would be considered effects-driven would be to ask if the story could be told without the active participation of extensive digital effects, Special Effects, effects-enhanced stunts, practical effects, or nonhuman CG characters. On the whole, effects-driven films may be “tent-pole” or “independent”, but they are not possible to make without effects and the general public would easily identify the VFX.

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 (Winner)

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

This award is to honor the overall achievement of the invisible or near-invisible visual effects within a photoreal (i.e., live action) feature motion picture wherein the visual effects, when taken as a whole, are not essential to the story. Supporting visual effects are generally used to help create the setting, environment, or mood of the film and may include extensive recreations of realistic historical settings. They may include set or lighting changes, CG or practical real vehicles, real-world alterations to actors, and limited surrealistic or expressionistic effects. Action sequences and destruction are allowed only if they are real-world and not critical to the story. Supporting visual effects do not consist of any non-human CG characters, science fiction or fantasy elements, extensive stunts and Special Effects, or other highly visible effects that one would expect to see in a visual-effects-driven or “tentpole” film. Supporting visual effects are generally the type of work that, when viewed by the general public, are not recognized by the untrained eye.

Blitz

Andrew Whitehurst
Sona Pak
Theo Demiris
Vincent Poitras
Hayley Williams


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


Civil War (Winner)

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


Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

This award considers all animation techniques to be a part of visual effects, and honors the overall technical achievement of the animation within an entire Animated Feature. This award recognizes the craftsmanship of the animation which best conveys the entirety of the setting, mood, and action, thereby defining the film’s overall visual and emotive effectiveness.

Inside Out 2

Kelsey Mann
Mark Nielsen
Sudeep Rangaswamy
Bill Watral


The Wild Robot (Winner)

Chris Sanders
Jeff Hermann
Jeff Budsberg
Jakob Hjort Jensen


Moana 2

Carlos Cabral
Tucker Gilmore
Ian Gooding
Gabriela Hernandez


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

This award is to honor the achievement of the visual effects within a single episode of a photoreal episodic broadcast series, a mini-series or Special where the visual effects are a visible, essential, and integral part of the story and play a principal and active role in the show. A rule of thumb for defining whether a series would be considered effects-driven would be to ask if the story could be told without the active participation of extensive digital effects, Special Effects, effects-enhanced stunts, practical effects, or nonhuman CG characters. The general public would easily identify the VFX in effects-driven series, whether they are made for pay cable, standard cable, broadcast, or streaming.

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


Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Episode 5

Richard Bluff
Jakris Smittant
Paul Kavanagh
Enrico Damm
Scott Fisher


Shōgun; Anjin (Winner)

Michael Cliett
Melody Mead
Philip Engström
Ed Bruce
Cameron Waldbauer


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

This award is to honor the overall achievement of the invisible, or near-invisible visual effects within a single episode of a photoreal episodic series, mini-series, movie or special where the visual effects, when taken as a whole, are not necessarily essential to the story. Supporting visual effects are generally used to help create the setting, environment, or mood of the series and may include extensive recreations of realistic historical settings. They may include set or lighting changes, CG or practical vehicles, real-world alterations to actors, and limited surrealistic or expressionistic effects. Action sequences and destruction are allowed only if they are real-world and not critical to the story. Supporting visual effects do not consist of any non-human CG characters, science fiction or fantasy elements, extensive stunts and Special Effects, or other highly visible effects that one would expect to see in a visual-effects-driven series. Supporting visual effects are generally the type of work that, when viewed by the general public, are not recognized by the untrained eye.

Effects-driven series may not enter their “invisible” effects in this category.

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
Culley Bunker
Eric Levin-Hatz
Mike Myers


The Penguin; Bliss (Winner)

Johnny Han
Michelle Rose
Goran Pavles
Ed Bruce
Devin Maggio


Masters of the Air; Part Three; The Regensburg-Schweinfurt Mission

Stephen Rosenbaum
Bruce Franklin
Xavier Matia Bernasconi
David Andrews
Neil Corbould


The Tattooist of Auschwitz; Pilot

Simon Giles
Alan Church
David Schneider
James Hattsmith


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project

This award is to honor the technical and artistic achievement of the animation and visual effects in a non-demonstration project rendered largely with a real-time engine. Only content that has been rendered in real time at a minimum of 24fps will be considered, and if requested the Submitter must be able to demonstrate the real-time rendering to the Committee; however, animation within the project may be captured, keyframed, interactive, or any combination thereof. Real-time visual effects and animation are defined as including, but not limited to, characters, effects, animation, environments, and lighting as long as they meet the criteria stated in the Glossary of these Rules & Procedures. All projects should reference the systems in the Before & Afters that generated the real-time renders shown in the Work To Be Considered.

Pre-rendered “cinematics” or other elements that are rendered outside a game engine are not eligible for this category, nor are real-time projects created for education or demonstration purposes. Stage productions should show the audience’s POV of the project in the Before & Afters.

Regardless of source, all submissions for the VES Awards must be in the appropriate specifications laid out below. No special facilities will be made available to nomination judges and members for interactivity, VR, 3D, or other setups.

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 (Winner)

Stephen Hawes
Lionel Le Dain
Benedikt Podlesnigg
Andi-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

This award is to honor the overall achievement of the visual effects within a Photoreal (i.e., live action) or Animated Commercial. Any commercial that is originated for broadcast, theater, or the Internet may be considered, including paid commercials and PSAs. Limited distribution promos and branding materials, such as trade show content, presentations, trailers, specs, and logos, are ineligible. Entries must be principally original content; promotional pieces largely recut from other sources are not allowed. Repurposed material, such as gameplay at the end of an otherwise original video game trailer, is allowed only as contextual video and should be minimized. Commercials as aired have no running time limit but they must clearly be demonstrated solely as an advertisement and should clearly appear to be one to the general public. The Work To Be Considered must be no more than two minutes, regardless of source length.

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


Coca-Cola; The Heroes (Winner)

Ryan Knowles
Antonia Vlasto
Gregory McKneally
Dan Yargici


Virgin Media; Walrus Whizzer

Sebastian Caldwell
Ian Berry
Ben Cronin
Alex Grey


Six Kings Slam; Call of the Kings

Ryan Knowles
Joe Billington
Dean Robinson
George Savvas


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

The award is to honor the overall achievement of the visual effects within an entire Special Venue project. Special Venues are defined as installations specifically set up to project large-format films (e.g. IMAX or OMNIMAX theaters), theme park theaters that may include a motion-based ride, museums, World Fairs, and similar venues.

To be eligible, a Special Venue project must have been exhibited publicly:

  • In a commercial venue for a paid admission, which may include the general admission to a theme park or special venue theater;
  • For a minimum period of one week on a regular daily schedule; and
  • Premiered in the current awards year in a Special Venue theater as defined above.

The following are not eligible in this category, regardless of the material’s original capture format:

  • Special purpose events such as trade shows and conventions;
  • Video material generally referred to as “pre-show” material;
  • Repurposed films, i.e. projects initially intended for the theatrical market but which have been blown up for exhibition in large-format Special Venue theaters;
  • Projects that were created as conventional 2D theatrical presentations but have been repurposed to stereographic 3D;
  • Any 2D or stereographic 3D feature motion picture that either premiered first, or simultaneously, in any regular movie theater or in any broadcast medium;
  • Any project that runs for an equal or greater amount of time in any regular movie theater or in any broadcast medium; and
  • Movies intended for simultaneous distribution in both Special Venue and normal movie theaters. The intent of this category is to honor those projects made specifically for the Special Venue market.

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


D23; Real-Time Rocket (Winner)

Evan Goldberg
Alyssa Finley
Jason Breneman
Alice Taylor


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 Lusignan
Gerome Viavant
Romain Tinturier


Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature

This award is to honor the overall performance and technical execution of a single animated character in a Photoreal Feature. All entrants must have contributed directly to the performance of the character itself (e.g. voicing, animating, rigging, texturing, or lighting, but not environment, compositing or layout). The character may not include live action elements unless they do not significantly affect the performance.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Raka

Seoungseok Charlie Kim
Giorgio Lafratta
Tim Teramoto
Aidan Martin


Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Noa

Rachael Dunk
Andrei Coval
John Sore
Niels Peter Kaagaard


Better Man; Robbie Williams (Winner)

Nathan McConnel
Andrea De Martis
Antony Magdalinidis
Rachel Williams


Mufasa: The Lion King; Taka

Klaus Skovbo
Valentina Rosselli
Eli De Koninck
Amelie Talarmain


Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature

This award is to honor the overall performance and technical execution of a single animated character in an Animated Feature. All entrants must have contributed directly to the performance of the character itself (e.g. voicing, animating, rigging, texturing, or lighting, but not environment, compositing or layout). The character may not include live action elements unless they do not significantly affect the performance.

Inside Out 2; Anxiety

Alexander Alvarado
Brianne Francisco
Amanda Wagner
Brenda Lin Zhang


The Wild Robot; Roz (Winner)

Fabio Lignini
Yukinori Inagaki
Owen Demers
Hyun Huh


Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Gromit

Jo Fenton
Alison Evans
Andy Symanowski
Emanuel Nevado


Thelma The Unicorn; Vic Diamond

Guillaume Arantes
Adrien Montero
Anne-Claire Leroux
Gaspard Roche


Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

This award is to honor the overall performance and technical execution of a single animated character in a Photoreal (i.e., live action) or Animated Commercial. All entrants must have contributed directly to the performance of the character itself (e.g. voicing, animating, rigging, texturing, or lighting, but not environment, compositing or layout). The character may not include live action elements unless they do not significantly affect the performance.

Secret Level; Armored Core: Asset Management; Mech Pilot

Zsolt Vida
Péter Krucsai
Ágnes Vona
Enric Nebleza


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 Robbers Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen Harpy (Winner)

Nicklas Andersson
David Allan
Gustav Åhren
Niklas Wallén


Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature

This award is to honor the overall achievement of a single created environment in a photoreal motion picture that best creates an illusion of setting for the story being told. Created environments are defined as either completely artificial environments, or the significant enhancement of an existing practical set or location through the addition of elements not present during photography. The environment may occur more than once in the project and under different conditions, but must be the same environment, created by the exact same team. This category judges not only the techniques for creating the environment, but also their integration with any practical plate photography. Before & Afters must show the integration of the multiple elements used to create the environment. All entries must focus on one contiguous environment and be consistent in scope by featuring either breadth or detail, but not both. For example, an entire city or large environment should be shown largely in flyovers and wide shots. Smaller, more intimate environments, such as a forest environment or building interior should be confined to a single setting of the immediate surroundings.

Civil War; Washington, D.C.

Matthew Chandler
James Harmer
Robert Moore
Adrien Zeppieri


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


Dune: Part Two; The Arrakeen Basin (Winner)

Daniel Rhein
Daniel Anton Fernandez
Marc James Austin
Christopher Anciaume


Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

This award is to honor the overall achievement of a single created environment in an Animated Feature that best creates an illusion of setting for the story being told. The environment may occur more than once in the project and under different conditions, but must be the same environment, created by the exact same team.

Kung Fu Panda 4; Juniper City

Benjamin Lippert
Ryan Prestridge
Sarah Vawter
Peter Maynez


Transformers One; Iacon City

Alex Popescu
Geoffrey Lebreton
Ryan Kirby
Hussein Nabeel


The Wild Robot; The Forest (Winner)

John Wake
He Jung Park
Woojin Choi
Shane Glading


Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Aqueduct

Matt Perry
Dave Alex Riddett
Matt Sanders
Howard Jones


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

This award is to honor the overall achievement of a single created environment in a photoreal (i.e., live action) or animated Program, Commercial, or Real-Time Project that best creates an illusion of setting for the story being told. Created environments are defined as either completely artificial environments, or the significant enhancement of an existing practical set or location through the addition of elements not present during photography. The environment may occur more than once in the project and under different conditions, but must be the same environment, created by the exact same team. This category judges not only the techniques for creating the environment, but also their integration with any practical plate photography. Before & Afters must show the integration of the multiple elements used to create the environment. If the project is animated, then the environment should clearly match the style and complexity of the rest of the elements. All entries must focus on one contiguous environment and be consistent in scope by featuring either breadth or detail, but not both. For example, an entire city or large environment should be shown largely in flyovers and wide shots. Smaller, more intimate environments, such as a forest environment or building interior should be confined to a single setting of the immediate surroundings.

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


The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Doomed to Die; Eregion

Yordan Petrov
Bertrand Cabrol
Lea Desrozier
Karan Dhandha


Shōgun; Osaka

Manuel Martinez
Phil Hannigan
Keith Malone
Francesco Corvino


Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project

This award is to honor the outstanding use of motion picture camera and lighting techniques in a CG project and recognizes the collaboration among traditional cinematographers and visual effects artists. The project itself may be entirely computer-generated (ie. animated/real-time) or photographed, but the shots being submitted must be mostly or fully CG. The Before & Afters must focus on the cinematography and also include the contributions of previs, mocap, layout and lighting.

Dune: Part Two; Arrakis (Winner)

Greig Fraser
Xin Steve Guo
Sandra Murta
Ben Wiggs


Better Man

Blair Burke
Shweta Bhatnagar
Tim Walker
Craig Young


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

This award honors an outstanding single physical or digital model in any photoreal or animated motion media project. Features, Programs, Commercials, Special Venue Projects, and Real-Time Projects are all eligible in this category. A model may be of a living thing, inanimate object, or animated vehicle, but may not also be entered in any Created Environment or Animated Character Category. The model may have been created virtually, physically, or any combination thereof, and may use any scale. Large environments such as cities may not be entered in this Category even if rendered as a single model. The model’s artistry, detail, textures, animation and lighting are to be considered. An entry may include multiples of the same model with minor variations, such as scale and features, but must have been created by the same team.

Deadpool & Wolverine; Ant-Man Arena

Carlos Flores Gomez
Corinne Dy
Chris Bynes
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


Alien: Romulus; Renaissance Space Station (Winner)

Waldemar Bartkowiak
Trevor Wide
Matt Middleton
Ben Shearman


Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

This award is to honor the achievement of visual effects created through simulation in a photoreal feature motion picture. The award is for a body of work, and all simulated effects in the project will be considered. Simulated effects are dynamic effects that generally include particle, dynamic, fluid, cloth, hair, and crowd simulations. The effects may interact with, or be elements that make up, the characters, set elements and environments with which they coexist. The Before & Afters must demonstrate the simulation processes used to create the effects presented for consideration. Multiple entries from the same project are eligible provided the artistic teams are 100% different and the shots being submitted are completely different. Title sequences are eligible as long as they are submitted in textless form so as not to conflict with any other awards rule, and they are part of the storytelling and are not a specially designed separate animated title sequence in a live action project.

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


Dune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and Wormriding (Winner)

Nicholas Papworth
Sandy la Tourelle
Lisa Nolan
Christopher Phillips


Venom: The Last Dance; Water, Fire & Symbiote Effects

Xavier Martin Ramirez
Oscar Dahlen
Hedi Namar
Hang Yang


Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature

This award is to honor the achievement of visual effects created through simulation in an Animated Feature. The award is for a body of work created by an individual artist or team of artists, and all simulated effects in the project will be considered. Simulated effects are dynamic effects that generally include particle, dynamic, fluid, cloth, hair, and crowd simulations. The effects may interact with, or be elements that make up, the characters, set elements and environments with which they coexist.

Kung Fu Panda 4

Jinguang Huang
Zhao Wang
Hamid Shahsavari
Joshua LaBrot


The Wild Robot (Winner)

Derek Cheung
Michael Losure
David Chow
Nyoung Kim


Moana 2

Zoran Stojanoski
Jesse Erickson
Shamintha Kalamba Arachchi
Erin V. Ramos


Ultraman: Rising

Goncalo Cabaca
Zheng Yong Oh
Nicholas Yoon
Praveen Boppana


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

This award is to honor the achievement of visual effects created through simulation in a photoreal or animated commercial, broadcast program, or video game. The award is for a body of work, and all simulated effects in the project will be considered. Simulated effects are dynamic effects that generally include particle, dynamic, fluid, cloth, hair, and crowd simulations. The effects may interact with, or be elements that make up, the characters, set elements and environments with which they coexist. The Before & Afters must demonstrate the simulation processes used to create the effects presented for consideration.

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Legends; Koizilla

Ioan Boieriu
David Stopford
Per Balay
Saysana Rintharamy


Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Pilot; Spaceship Hillside Takeoff

Travis Harkleroad
Xialong Peng
Marcella Brown
Mickael Riciotti


The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Shadow and Flame; Balrog Fire and Collapsing Cliff

Koen Hofmeester
Miguel Perez Senent
Miguel Santana da Silva
Billy Copley


Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide (Winner)

Dominic Tiedeken
Heinrich Löwe
Charles Guerton
Timmy Lundin


Three Body Problem; Judgment Day

Yves D’Incau
Gavin Templer
Martin Chabannes
Eloi Andaluz Fullà


Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature

This award is to honor outstanding achievement in compositing multiple elements into a final visual effect shot or group of shots in a Photoreal (i.e., live action) or Animated Feature. This category is for a body of work created by an individual artist or team of artists, and entrants are limited to disciplines which contribute significantly to the entry, such as compositors, lighters, trackers, and rotoscopers. The Before & Afters should demonstrate the rendered elements which show the breadth of the composite.

Better Man

Mark McNicholl
Gordon Spencer de Haseth
Eva Snyder
Markus Reithoffer


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


Dune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final Battle (Winner)

Christopher Rickard
Francesco Dell’Anna
Paul Chapman
Ryan Wing


Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in an Episode

This award is to honor outstanding achievement in compositing multiple elements into a final visual effect shot or group of shots in a single Episode of a Photoreal or Animated Series, Mini-Series, or Special. This category is for a body of work created by an individual artist or team of artists, and entrants are limited to disciplines which contribute significantly to the entry, such as compositors, lighters, trackers, and rotoscopers. The Before & Afters should demonstrate the rendered elements which show the breadth of the composite.

The Last of Us; Endure and Survive; Infected Horde Battle (Winner)

Matthew Lumb
Ben Roberts
Ben Campbell
Quentin Hema


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


Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Commercial

This award is to honor outstanding achievement in compositing multiple elements into a final visual effect shot or group of shots in a Photoreal (i.e., live action) or Animated Commercial. This category is for a body of work created by an individual artist or team of artists, and entrants are limited to disciplines which contribute significantly to the entry, such as compositors, lighters, trackers, and rotoscopers. The Before & Afters should demonstrate the rendered elements which show the breadth of the composite.

Virgin Media; Walrus Whizzer

Sebastian Caldwell
Alex Grey
Kanishk Chouhan
Shubham Mehta


Coca-Cola; The Heroes (Winner)

Ryan Knowles
Alex Gabucci
Jack Powell
Dan Yargici


Concept; 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

This award is to honor the overall achievement of the special, practical effects within a photoreal motion medium project. Special effects are defined as practical or floor effects that are photographed “live” as opposed to having been created by optical or digital means. This may include practical effects executed on or with models, but not the construction of the models. Design and construction of models are eligible in category 17, Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project. The effects may either stand alone or may subsequently be composited with other visual effects elements to make up a complete visual effects shot. The entrants in this category must be able to demonstrate the development of the effects using ‘Before and Afters.’ To be award-worthy, these effects must demonstrate skill, artistry and ingenuity and add to the storytelling of the project in a significant manner.

Blitz

Hayley Williams
David Eves
Alex Freeman
David Watson


Constellation

Martin Goeres
Johara Raukamp
Lion David Bogus
Leon Mark


The Penguin; Safe Guns (Winner)

Devin Maggio
Johnny Han
Cory Candrilli
Alexandre Prod’homme


Emerging Technology Award

This award is to honor outstanding achievement in visual effects through the creation or adaption of new technologies.

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


Mufasa: The Lion King; Real-Time Interactive Filmmaking, From Stage To Post

Callum James
James Hood
Lloyd Bishop
Bruno Pedrinha


Here; Neural Performance Toolset (Winner)

Jo Plaete
Oriel Frigo
Tomas Koutsky
Matteo Olivieri-Dancey


The Penguin; Phase Synced Flash-Gun System

Johnny Han
Jefferson Han
Joseph Menafra
Michael Pynn


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

This award is to honor outstanding achievement in visual effects in a Student Project. A Student Project is defined as any project that was created by a student or team of students while attending a recognized school and that was completed during the calendar year of 2024. It may be Animated or Photoreal; linear or interactive; 2D, or 3D; but it must be submitted according to the specifications below. Submissions may not contain crew credits or school logos or names, though acting credits are acceptable.

Dawn

Noah Mercier
Apolline Royer
Lorys Stora
Marie Pradeilles


Student Accomplice

Spencer Blanchard
Lisa Bird
Anson Savage
Kiara Spencer


Pittura (Winner)

Adam Lauriol
Titouan Lassère
Rémi Vivenza
Helloïs Marre


Courage

Salomé Cognon
Margot Jacquet
Nathan Baudry
Lise Delcroix