by: Patrick Hipes
The Visual Effects Society unveiled nominations Tuesday for its 20th annual VES Awards, with Warner Bros’ Dune and Disney’s animated Encanto leading all nominees with six apiece, followed by the Disney+ Marvel series Loki which has four noms to lead all broadcast series.
The group, celebrating its 25th anniversary, recognizes the year’s best in outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation across film, animation, television, commercials and video games. With the Omicron variant surging, the VES Awards ceremony does not have a date or format yet; those decisions are still to be made and tickets are not yet up for sale.
Last year, the VES Awards went virtual in a ceremony hosted as per usual by Patton Oswalt. Netflix’s The Midnight Sky, Disney/Pixar’s eventual Animated Feature Oscar winner Soul and Disney+’s The Mandalorian were among the marquee winners.
Overall, this year’s nominees in 25 categories were selected at 27 virtual nomination events by the more than 4,000 VES members worldwide. Notable noms include Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature mentions for Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong, The Matrix Resurrections, No Time to Die, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The category, which hews closest to the Visual Effect Oscar, was won last year by Midnight Sky; Tenet ended up taking the Academy Award.
Nominations revealed today also included the likes of the work on characters as varied as Jeff the robot in Finch, Carnage in Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Mirabel Madrigal in Encanto, and on created environments including the Trantor Cityscape from Foundation, the Mirror Dimension from Spider-Man and Arrakeen City from Dune.
Here’s the full list of nominees:
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dune
Paul Lambert
Brice Parker
Tristan Myles
Brian Connor
Gerd Nefzer
Godzilla vs. Kong
John “D.J.” Des Jardin
Tamara Kent
Bryan Hirota
Kevin Smith
Mike Meinardus
The Matrix Resurrections
Dan Glass
Nina Fallon
Tom Debenham
Huw J Evans
James Schwalm
No Time To Die
Charlie Noble
Mara Bryan
Joel Green
Jonathan Fawkner
Chris Courbold
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Christopher Townsend
Damien Carr
Joe Farrell
Sean Walker
Dan Oliver
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Kelly Port
Julia Neighly
Chris Waegner
Scott Edelstein
Dan Sudick
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Candyman
Andrew Zink
James McQuaide
Josh Simmonds
Drew Dir
Ryan Evans
Last Night in Soho
Tom Proctor
Gavin Gregory
Julian Gnass
Fabricio Baessa
Nightmare Alley
Dennis Berardi
Ryan MacDuff
Mark Hammond
David Roby
Geoff Hill
The Last Duel
Gary Brozenich
Helen Judd
Jessica Norman
Yann Blondel
Stefano Pepin
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Alex Lemke
Michael Huber
Michael Ralla
Benedikt Laubenthal
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto
Scott Kersavage
Bradford Simonsen
Thaddeus P. Miller
Ian Gooding
Luca
Enrico Casarosa
Andrea Warren
David Ryu
Jon Reisch
Raya and the Last Dragon
Kyle Odermatt
Osnat Shurer
Kelsey Hurley
Paul Felix
Sing 2
Patrick Delage
Nathalie Vancauwenberghe
Christophe Lourdelet
Boris Jacq
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Alan Hawkins
Carey A. Smith
Mike Lasker
Nicola Lavender
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Foundation; The Emperor’s Peace
Chris MacLean
Addie Manis
Mike Enriquez
Chris Keller
Paul Byrne
Loki; Journey Into Mystery
Dan DeLeeuw
Allison Paul
Sandra Balej
David Seager
Lost in Space; Trust
Jabbar Raisani
Terron Pratt
Juri Stanossek
Niklas Jacobson
Paul Benjamin
The Nevers; Ignition
Johnny Han
Jack Geist
Justin Mitchell
Emanuel Fuchs
Michael Dawson
The Stand
Jake Braver
Phillip Hoffman
Laurent Hugueniot
Vincent Papaix
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
9-1-1 Lone Star; Hold the Line
Brigitte Bourque
Tyler Deck
Jason Gottlieb
Josephine Noh
Elia Popov
See; Rock-A-Bye
Chris Wright
Parker Chehak
Javier Roca
Tristan Zerafa
Tony Kenny
Squid Game; VIPS
Jaihoon Jung
Hyejin Kim
Hyungrok Kim
Sungman Jun
Sweet Tooth; Sorry About All the Dead People
Rob Price
Danica Tsang
Matt Bramante
Jayme Vandusen
The Handmaid’s Tale; Chicago
Brendan Taylor
Stephen Lebed
Kayla Cabral
Brannek Gaudet
The Mysterious Benedict Society; A Bunch of Smart Orphans
Philippe Thibault
Marie-Pierre Boucher
Alexis Belanger
Gabriel Beauvais
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
Battlefield 2042
Anders Egleus
Jeremy Chubb
Gray Horsfield
Sean Ellis
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Sandy Lin-Chiang
Joseph Knox
Gareth Richards
Shane Daley
Forza Horizon 5
Don Arceta
Valentyn Minytskyi
Conar Cross
George Ilenei
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Grant Hollis
Yancy Young
Steven Russell
Sean Applegate
Returnal; Playstation 5
Harry Krueger
Tony Salkovuo
Risto Jankkila
Sharman Jagadeesan
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
Far Cry 6; Chicharrón Run
Niklas Ström
Kajsa Kurtén
Nicklas Andersson
Adrian Tsang
Lego; Rebuild the World
Fabian Frank
Anandi Peiris
Kiril Mirkov
Platon Filimonov
Lexus; Parking Spot
Alex Thomas
Andrew McLintock
JD Yepes
Clement Renaudin
Sheba; Hope Reef
Grant Walker
Sophie Harrison
Hernan Llano
Michael Baker
Zillow; The Journey
Ben Kwok
Ashley Goodwin
Oliver Varteressian
Yebin Ahn
Tom Bussell
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
Hôtel de la Marine
Franck Lambertz
Hugues Allart
Olivier Jarry
Pierre Jury
Jurassic World Adventure
Eugénie von Tunzelmann
Maximilian McNair MacEwan
Stephen Goalby
Brad Silby
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Finch; Jeff
Harinarayan Rajeev
Matthias Schoenegger
Simon Allen
Paul Nelson
Flora & Ulysses; Ulysses
Pierre-Loïc Hamon
Sachin Tyagi
Nandini Nambiar
Loïc Mireault
Jungle Cruise; Aguirre
Alexander Lee
Claus Pedersen
Rasely Ma
Gary Wu
Venom: Let There Be Carnage; Carnage
Richard Spriggs
Ricardo Silva
Lucas Cuenca
Federico Frassinelli
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto; Mirabel Madrigal
Kelly McClanahan
Sergi Caballer
Mary Twohig
Jose Luis “Weecho” Velasquez
Luca; Luca
Gwendelyn Enderoglu
Laurie Nguyen Kim
Tanja Krampfert
Maria Lee
Raya and the Last Dragon; Tuk Tuk
Brian Menz
Punn Wiantrakoon
Erik Hansen
Vicky YuTzu Lin
The Mitchells vs. The Machines; Katie Mitchell
Lindsey Olivares
Kurt Judson
Soh-I Jeong
Rohini Kumar
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Lisey’s Story; The Long Boy
Mohsen Mousavi
Salauddin “Sallu” Kazi
Mattias Brunosson
Pablovsky Ramos-Nieves
Love, Death & Robots; Snow in the Desert; Hirald
Maxime Luere
Zoé Pelegrin-Bomel
Laura Guerreiro
Florent Duport
The Witcher; Leshy Eskel ; Tree Branch Creature
Hannes Faupel
Stéphane Paccolat
Ivan Cadena Ayala
Laurent Fortin
The Witcher; Nivellen the Cursed Man
Marko Chulev
Rasely Ma
Mike Beaulieu
Robin Witzsche
Y: The Last Man; Ampersand
Mike Beaulieu
Michael Dharney
Peter Pi
Aidana Sakhvaliyeva
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A COMMERCIAL
Avanti West Coast; Feel Good Travel; Terri
Tom Raynor
Chloe Dawe
Suvi Jokiniemi
Alex Doyle
Far Cry 6; Chicharrón
Elin Laven
Gustav Ahren
Anton Stattin
Simon Decombel
France Télévision; Sumo
Geoffroy Barbet-Massin
Vincent Venchiarutti
Antoine Antin
Mathias Lachal
ING; Do Your Thing; Roary the Lion
Chris Welsby
Clementine Supiot
Kiril Mirkov
Arnau Gilabert
Smart Energy; Einstein Knows Best; Einstein
Alex Hammond
Harsh Borah
Clare Williams
Andreas Graichen
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dune; Arrakeen City
Rhys Salcombe
Seungjin Woo
Jeremie Touzery
Marc Austin
Jungle Cruise; Waterfall Canyon
Mark McNicholl
Frédéric Valleur
Hamish Beachman
Mark Wainwright
Spider-Man: No Way Home; The Mirror Dimension
Eric Le Dieu de Ville
Thomas Dotheij
Ryan Olliffe
Claire Le Teuff
The Suicide Squad; Valle Del Marre
Nick Cattell
Jason Desjarlais
Matt Fitzgerald
Jerome Moo
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto; Antonio’s Room
Camille Andre
Andrew Finley
Chris Patrick O’Connell
Amol Sathe
Luca; Portorosso Piazza
Airton Dittz, Jr.
Jack Hattori
Michael Rutter
Joshua West
Raya and the Last Dragon; Talon
Mingjue Helen Chen
Chaiwon Kim
Virgilio John Aquino
Diana Jiang LeVangie
Sing 2; Crystal Theater
Ludovic Ramière
Théo Rivoalen
Henri Deruer
Frédéric Mainil
Vivo; Mambo Cabana
Bertrand Bry-Marfaing
Josef Dylan Swift
Geeta Basantani
Jeremy Kim
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Foundation; Trantor Cityscape
Samuel Simanjuntak
Melaina Mace
Benjamin Ruiz
Alessandro Vastalegna
Hawkeye; Echoes; Manhattan Bridge
Nicholas Hodgson
David Abbott
Nick Cattell
Jin Choi
Hawkeye; Season 1, Episode 6; Rockefeller Center
John O’Connell
Tiffany Yung
Orion Terry
Ho Kyung Ahn
Sheba; Hope Reef
Henrique Campanha
Baptiste Roy
Luca Veronese
Timothee Maron
OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT
Encanto; We Don’t Talk about Bruno
Nathan Detroit Warner
Dorian Bustamante
Tyler Kupferer
Michael Woodside
Godzilla vs. Kong; Ocean Battle
Shawn Hull
Robert Wiese
Steven Tom
Eric Petey
Loki; Lamentis; Race to the Ark
Jesse Lewis-Evans
Luke Avery
Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Scott Inkster
Raya and the Last Dragon
Rob Dressel
Adolph Lusinsky
Paul Felix
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Sebastian Trujillo
Louis-Daniel Poulin
Nathan Abbot
Shannon Justison
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
Black Widow; The Red Room
Tristan John Connors
Bo Kwon
James Stuart
Ryan Duhaime
Dune; Royal Ornithopter
Marc Austin
Anna Yamazoe
Michael Chang
Rachael Dunk
Encanto; Casita Madrigal
Jonathan Lin
Chris Patrick O’Connell
Christoffer Pedersen
Alberto Abril
The Suicide Squad; Jotunheim
Simon Dean Morley
Cedric Enriquez Canlas
Layne Howe
Alberto R. S. Hernandez
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dune; Dunes of Arrakis
Gero Grimm
Ivan Larinin
Hideki Okano
Zuny An
Godzilla vs. Kong; Ocean Water & Battle Destruction
Jonathan Freisler
Nahuel Alberto Letizia
Eloi Andaluz Fullà
Saysana Rintharamy
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; Water, Bubbles & Magic
Simone Riginelli
Claude Schitter
Teck Chee Koi
Arthur Graff
The Suicide Squad; Corto Maltese City Destruction
David R. Davies
Rogier Fransen
Sandy Sutherland
Brandon James Fleet
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto
Francisco Rodriguez
Christopher Hendryx
Brent Burley
David Hutchins
Luca
Amit Baadkar
Greg Gladstone
Emron Grover
Tim Speltz
Raya and the Last Dragon
Le Joyce Tong
Henrik Fält
Rattanin Sirinaruemarn
Jacob Rice
Sing 2
Richard Adenot
Guillaume Gay
Frédéric Valz-Gris
Antoine Brémont
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Foundation; Collapse of the Galactic Empire
Giovanni Casadei
Mikel Zuloaga
Steven Moor
Louis Manjarres
Loki; Journey Into Mystery; Alioth Cloud
George Kuruvilla
Menno Dijkstra
Matthew Hanger
Jiyong Shin
The Nevers
David Stopford
Michele Stocco
Mike Hsu
Justin Mitchell
WandaVision; Vision’s Destruction
Sylvain Nouveau
Hakim Harrouche
Omar Meradi
Laurent Meste
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
Black Widow; Red Room Crashing Back to Earth
Michael Melchiorre
Simon Twine
Daniel Harkness
Tim Crowson
Dune; Attack on Arrakeen
Gregory Haas
Francesco Dell’Anna
Abhishek Chaturvedi
Cleve Zhu
Dune; Hologram & Hunter Seeker
Patrick Heinen
Jacob Maymudes
Tj Burke
James Jooyoung Lee
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; Macau City
Jeremie Maheu
Mathieu Dupuis
Karthic Ramesh
Jiri Kilevnik
Spider-Man: No Way Home; Liberty Island Battle & Christmas Swing Finale
Zac Campbell
Frida Nerdal
Louis Corr
Kelvin Yee
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
Loki; Lamentis; Shuroo City Destruction
Paul Chapman
Tom Truscott
Biagio Figliuzzi
Attila Szalma
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier; New World Order
Nathan Abbot
Beck Veitch
Markus Reithoffer
James Aldous
WandaVision; Goodbye, Vision
David Zaretti
Bimpe Alliu
Michael Duong
Mark Pascoe
WandaVision; The Hex
Charles Labbé
Xavier Fourmond
Reuben Barkataki
Vanessa Delarosbil
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Toyota – Never Stop
Michael Ralla
Alejandro Villabon
Alexander Osvaldsson
Paul Krist
Toyota – Upstream
JD Yepes
Paul Krist
Carlos Adarraga Gomez
Minsang Lee
Verizon; The Reset
David Piombino
Rajesh Kaushik
Manideep Sanisetty
Tim Crean
Zillow; The Journey
Ben Kwok
Yebin Ahn
Robert Bruce
Tuna Unalan
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
Eternals
Neil Corbould
Keith Corbould
Ray Ferguson
Chris Motjuoadi
Jungle Cruise
JD Schwalm
Nick Rand
Robert Spurlock
Nick Byrd
The Matrix Resurrections
JD Schwalm
Brendon O’Dell
Michael Kay
Pau Costa Moeller
The Tomorrow War
JD Schwalm
Wayne Rowe
Jim Schwalm
Haukur Karlsson
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT
Green
Camille Poiriez
Arielle Cohen
Eloise Thibaut
Louis Florean
Le Souffleur de Rêves
Lea Desrozier
Paul Denis
Gregoire Hoarau
Lisa Ripper
Neoshin Episode 01: Cold Blood
Sebastian Selg
Ramon Schauer
Jiayan Chen
Bea Hoeller
Relativity
Hugo Astesano
Loïc Ciaux
Guillaume Hulot
Loïc Remy