“Dune: Part 2” leads the 23rd Visual Effects Society Awards feature competition with seven nominations including outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. It’s followed by “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” with six nominations, and “Better Man,” with four noms.
All three movies, along with “Mufasa: The Lion King” (three total VES noms) and “Twisters” (two noms) will compete in the top category for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature.
All five films are also shortlisted for the Oscar in VFX, along with “Civil War” (a VES outstanding supporting VFX contender) and “Gladiator II,” which received two VES noms apiece; and “Alien: Romulus,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Wicked,” which collected one VES nom apiece.
Several of the VFX contenders come from franchises with a history at the VES Awards and Academy Awards. Among them is “Dune: Part 2,” whose work, like 2021’s “Dune,” was led by three-time Oscar winning VFX supervisor Paul Lambert and VFX company DNEG. “Dune” won the top VES Award and the VFX Oscar.
The effects in “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” were led by Weta FX; all three prior “Apes” movies, which starred Andy Serkis and also featured Weta’s work, collected the top VES award and were VFX Oscar nominated. And Barry Jenkins’ “Mufasa” returned to VFX house MPC, the VFX studio for Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King” that claimed the top VES award and earned an Oscar nom in VFX.
Rounding out the top category, “Better Man” features VFX led by Weta and “Twisters,” by Industrial Light & Magic.
“Dune Part 2” is nominated for outstanding VFX, environment (the Arrakeen Basin), CG cinematography, model (the Harkonnen Harvester), effects simulation (including the wormriding), compositing and lighting and emerging tech (Nuke CopyCat). “Kingdom” is up for awards in the categories of outstanding VFX, character (doubled nominated for Noa and Raka), CG cinematography, effects simulation (including the rapids and floods) and compositing and lighting.
“Better Man” is a contender in the categories of outstanding VFX, character (Robbie Williams, who is portrayed as a chimp), CG cinematography, and composting and lighting. “Mufasa” is a contender for outstanding VFX, character (Taka) and emerging tech (real-time interactive filmmaking); and “Twisters,” for outstanding VFX and effects simulation (for the twisters).
“Civil War” is up for awards in the supporting VFX and environment (for Washington D.C.) categories; “Gladiator II,” for environment (Rome) and model (the Colosseum); “Alien: Romulus,” for model (Renaissance Space Station); “Deadpool & Wolverine,” for model (Ant-Man Arena); and “Wicked,” for environment (for the Emerald City).
The winner of the top category for outstanding VFX has gone on to claim the VFX Oscar three times during the past decade. Once during that time, that Academy Award went to the recipient of the VES outstanding supporting VFX award (2018’s “First Man.”)
Additional VES-nominated projects to watch include “The Wild Robot,” which leads the animated feature contenders with five nominations; and “Shogun” and “The Penguin,” which topped the episodic field with three nominations apiece.
Nominees were selected by VES members at judging events held in-person in various cities around the world, as well as virtually (scheduled Los Angeles judging was conducted virtually due to the L.A. fires.)
Winners are scheduled to be revealed Feb. 11 during an event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The complete list of nominees 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
“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” 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
