‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘Soul’ Lead the 19th Visual Effects Society Awards Nominations
It’s truly a measure of the pandemic that the 19th annual VES Awards (to be held virtually on April 6) was dominated by Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” with 13 nominations (topped by photoreal episode). Like the Oscar shortlist, there was an absence of big budget, VFX-intensive studio films. But, truth be told, Season 2 of Jon Favreau’s engaging “Star Wars” bounty hunter series offered the industry’s most innovative tech (wrapped around Industrial Light & Magic’s improved StageCraft virtual production system).
Pixar’s “Soul” was the top animation contender with five nominations, while the feature competition was split between “Project Power,” the Netflix superhero film, Robert Zemeckis’ “The Witches” (which streamed on HBO Max), and Disney’s live-action “Mulan” (which streamed on Disney+), each garnering three nominations.
Joining “Project Power” and “The Witches” in the top photoreal feature category were Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” and “The Midnight Sky” (the sci-fi directed by George Clooney), and Christopher Nolan’s time-inversion “Tenet.” Look for “Tenet” or “The Midnight Sky” to win, which will be the same race for the Oscar.
The supporting category nominees included a trio of Netflix contenders: “Da 5 Bloods” (directed by Spike Lee), “Mank” (David Fincher’s black-and-white ode to Hollywood’s Golden Age), and “Extraction” (the action-adventure produced by the Russo brothers). They were joined by “News of the World” (the Paul Greengrass-directed western) and “Welcome to Chechnya” (David France’s documentary about the government-led campaign to detain, torture, and execute LGBTQ Chechens using “deep fake” tech to protect their faces).
And joining “Soul” in the animated feature competition were Pixar’s “Onward,” Netflix’s “Over the Moon” (directed by Disney legend Glen Keane), and “DreamWorks’ “The Croods: A New Age” and “Trolls World Tour.”
Meanwhile, the VES will honor Peter Jackson with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The multiple Oscar winner and founder of Weta Digital revolutionized VFX with “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, beginning with the performance-captured Gollum (Andy Serkis), and earned best picture, directing, and adapted script for “The Return of the King.” In addition, three-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Rob Legato (“The Jungle Book, “Hugo,” “Titanic”) — a visionary in translating virtual production into a live-action methodology for directors James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, and Jon Favreau — will receive the VES Award for Creative Excellence.
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
Brad Parker
Roma Van Den Bergh
Eric Guaglione
Carlos Monzon
Stefano Pepin
PROJECT POWER
Ivan Moran
Leslie Hough
Joao Sita
Matthew Twyford
Yves Debono
TENET
Andrew Jackson
Mike Chambers
Andrew Lockley
David Lee
Scott Fisher
THE MIDNIGHT SKY
Matt Kasmir
Greg Baxter
Chris Lawrence
Max Solomon
David Watkins
THE WITCHES
Kevin Baillie
Sandra Scott
Sean Konrad
Glenn Melenhorst
Mark Holt
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
DA 5 BLOODS
Randall Balsmeyer
James Cooper
Watcharachai “Sam” Panichsuk
EXTRACTION
Marko Forker
Lynzi Grant
Craig Wentworth
Olivier Sarda
MANK
Wei Zheng
Peter Mavromates
Simon Carr
James Pastorius
NEWS OF THE WORLD
Roni Rodrigues
Dayaliyah Lopez
Ian Fellows
Andrew Morley
Brandon K. McLaughlin
WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Ryan Laney
Eugen Bräunig
Maxwell Anderson
Johnny Han
Piers Dennis
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
ONWARD
Dan Scanlon
Kori Rae
Sanjay Bakshi
Vincent Serritella
OVER THE MOON
Glen Keane
Gennie Rim
Céline Desrumaux
David Alexander Smith
SOUL
Pete Docter
Dana Murray
Michael Fong
Bill Watral
THE CROODS: A NEW AGE
Joel Crawford
Mark Swift, PGA
Betsy Nofsinger
Jakob Hjort Jensen
TROLLS WORLD TOUR
Walt Dohrn
Gina Shay, PGA
Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin
Matt Baer
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY; Jig-A-Bobo
Kevin Blank
Robin Griffin
Pietro Ponti
Francois Dumoulin
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY; Su’Kal
Jason Michael Zimmerman
Aleksandra Kochoska
Ante Dekovic
Ivan Kondrup Jensen
THE MANDALORIAN, The Marshal
Joe Bauer
Abbigail Keller
Hal Hickel
Richard Bluff
Roy Cancino
TIMMY FAILURE
Rich McBride
Leslie Lerman
Nicolas Chevallier
Anders Beer
Tony Lazarowich
WESTWORLD; Crisis Theory
Jay Worth
Elizabeth Castro
Bruce Branit
Joe Wehmeyer
Mark Byers
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE; Episode 1
Eric Pascarelli
Keith Kolder
Ariel Altman
MRS. AMERICA; Shirley
Janelle Croshaw
Kaylie Whitcher
Leonardo Silva
Zena Bielewicz
Michael Innanen
SURVIVE
Ariel Altman
Rae Welty
Caius Wong
Carl Fong
THE CROWN; Gold Stick
Ben Turner
Reece Ewing
Andrew Scrase
Jonathan Wood
VIKINGS; Best Laid Plans
Dominic Remane
Bill Halliday
Tom Morrison
Ovidiu Cinazan
Paul Byrne
WARRIOR; Learn to Endure, Or Hire a Bodyguard
Jonathan Alenskas
Leah Orsini
Nate Overstrom
David Eschrich
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project
ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA
Raphael Lacoste
Jean-Sebastien Guay
Virginie Cinq-Mars
Thierry Beaumont
CYBERPUNK 2077
Jakub Knapik
Małgorzata Mitręga
Piotr Suchodolski
Krzysztof Krzyścin
GHOST OF TSUSHIMA
Jason Connell
Matt Vainio
Jasmin Patry
Joanna Wang
SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES; REACTOR FINALE
Gavin Goulden
Jess Reed
Bryanna Lindsey
Mike Yosh
THE LAST OF US PART II
Neil Druckmann
Eben Cook
Erick Pangilinan
John Sweeney
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
ARM & HAMMER; Once Upon a Time
Kiril Mirkov
Solomon Tiigah
Vanessa Duquesnay
Prashanth Paramasivam
BURBERRY; Singin’ In The Rain
Fabian Frank
Ryan Hancocks
Rob Richardson
Alex Lovejoy
HORNBACH; It Seems Impossible Until You Do It
Ben Cronin
Tomek Zietkiewicz
Amir Bazzazi
Bruno Fukumothi
PLAYSTATION; The Edge
Diarmid Harrison-Murray
Tom Igglesden
Alex Gabucci
Tom Raynor
WALMART; Famous Visitors
Chris “Badger” Knight
Lori Talley
Yarin Mares
Matt Fuller
XBOX; Us Dreamers
Dan Seddon
Elexis Stearn
Fabian Frank
Zhenya Vladi
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
ASTEROID HUNTERS
Antoine Durr
Jini Durr
Bert Poole
Neishaw Ali
THE BOURNE STUNTACULAR
Salvador Zalvidea
Tracey Gibbons
George Allan
Matthías Bjarnason
Scott Smith
MICKEY & MINNIE’S RUNAWAY RAILWAY
Ryan Donoghue
Becky Train
Blaine Kennison
Nick da Silva
Corban Prim
THE MARCH
Aruna Inversin
Peter Nelson
Kevin Williams
Sean Kealey
Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature
DIE KÄNGURU-CHRONIKEN; Kangaroo
Claudius Urban
Sebastian Badea
Dorian Knapp
Ruth Wiegand
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY; Don Juan Diego
Eric Guaglione
Shuchi Singhal
Adrien Annesley
Mahmoud Ellithy
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN; Ivan
Valentina Rosselli
Thomas Huizer
Andrea De Martis
William Bell
THE WITCHES; Daisy
Jye Skinn
Sarah Fuller
Marco Iannaccone
Fredrik Sundqvist
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature
ONWARD; Dad Pants
Kristopher Campbell
Jonas Jarvers
Rob Jensen
Jacob Kuenzel
OVER THE MOON; Chang’e
Siggi Orri Thorhannesson
Hyesook Kim
Javier Solsona
Alan Chen
SOUL; Terry
Jonathan Hoffman
Jonathan Page
Peter Tieryas
Ron Zorman
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN; SpongeBob
Jacques Daigle
Guillaume Dufief
Adrien Montero
Liam Hill
Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project
THE CROWN; The Balmoral test; Imperial Stag
Ahmed Gharraph
Ross Burgess
Gabriela Ruch Salmeron
Joel Best
THE MANDALORIAN; The Jedi; The Child
John Rosengrant
Peter Clarke
Scott Patton
Hal Hickel
THE MANDALORIAN; The Marshal; Krayt Dragon
Paul Kavanagh
Zaini Mohamed Jalani
Michal Kriukow
Nihal Friedel
TIMMY FAILURE; Mistakes Were Made; Total
Maxime Masse
Hennadii Prykhodko
Luc Girard
Sophie Burie
Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial
AFK ARENA; Toilet; Uzgahk
Chloe Dawe
Brad Noble
Tim van Hussen
Simon Legrand
ARM & HAMMER; Once Upon a Time; Tuxedo Tom
Shiny Rajan
Silvia Bartoli
Matias Heker
Tiago Dias Mota
FAR CRY; Legacy; Anton
Maxime Luere
Leon Berelle
Rémi Kozyra
Dominique Boidin
LEGENDS OF RUNETERRA; Breathe; Darius
Maxime Luere
Leon Berelle
Rémi Kozyra
Dominique Boidin
TK MAXX; The Lil Goat
Kiril Mirkov
Silvia Bartoli
Chris Welsby
David Bryan
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature
BLOODSHOT: Neuralspace
Arnaud Brisebois
Patrick Bacon
Dawid Borkiewicz
Gérôme Viavant
MULAN; Imperial City
Jeremy Fort
Matt Fitzgerald
Ben Walker
Adrian Vercoe
THE EIGHT HUNDRED; 1937 Shanghai Downtown
Stefano Cieri
Aaron Auty
Simon Carlile
Patrick Zentis
THE EIGHT HUNDRED; Shanghai Warehouse District
Jamie Macdougall
Julian Hutchens
Mark Honer
David Pekarek
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature
ONWARD; Swamp Gas
Eric Andraos
Laura Grieve
Nick Pitera
Michael Rutter
SOUL; You Seminar
Hosuk Chang
Sungyeon Joh
Peter Roe
Frank Tai
TROLLS WORLD TOUR; Techno Reef
Luke Heathcock
Zachary Glynn
Marina Ilic
Michael Trull
TROLLS WORLD TOUR; Volcano Rock City
Brian LaFrance
Sara Cembalisty
Christopher Sprunger
Ruben Perez
Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
BRAVE NEW WORLD: New London
Guy Williams
Justin Gros-Désir
Markus Sterner
Ryan Clarke
CYBERPUNK 2077; Night City
Jakub Knapik
Lucjan Więcek
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY; Tulsa 1921
Patrice Poissant
Pauline Lavelle
Mohamed Abdou Elhakim
Alan Lam
THE MANDALORIAN; The Believer; Morak Jungle
Enrico Damm
Johanes Kurnia
Phi Tran
Tong Tran
THE MANDALORIAN; The Siege; Nevarro Canyon
Kevin George
Aaron Barr
Piotr Tatar
Abel Milanés Betancourt
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project
GHOST OF TSUSHIMA; A Storm is Coming
Aladino Debert
Matt Dougan
Eric Beaver
David Liu
SOUL
Matt Aspbury
Ian Megibben
THE MANDALORIAN; The Believer
Richard Bluff
Matt Jensen
Chris Williams
Landis Fields IV
THE MANDALORIAN; The Siege
Dave Crispino
Kyle Winkelman
Paul Kavanagh
Jose Burgos
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project
THE MANDALORIAN; Boba Fett’s Ship
Jay Machado
Enrico Damm
Gerald Blaise
Ryan Church
THE MANDALORIAN; The Rescue; Light Cruiser
John Knoll
John Goodson
Dan Patrascu
Rene Garcia
THE MIDNIGHT SKY; Aether
Michael Balthazart
Jonathan Opgenhaffen
John-Peter Li
Simon Aluze
THE WITCHES; Rollercoaster
Jared Michael
Peter Dominik
Sylvain Lesaint
Emily Tilson
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
BLOODSHOT
Omar Meradi
Jeremy Poupin
Sylvain Robert
Deak Ferrand
GREYHOUND
Mike Nixon
Nicholas Papworth
Jeremy Smith
Yashdeep Sawant
MONSTER HUNTER
Vimal Mallireddy
Warren Lawtey
Tom O’Bready
Dominik Haase
MULAN
Theo Vandernoot
Sandra Balej
James Carson
Yuri Rudakov
PROJECT POWER
Yin Lai Jimmy Leung
Jonathan Edward Lyddon-Towl
Pierpaolo Navarini
Michelle Lee
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature
ONWARD
Dave Hale
Jonah Blue Laird
Stephen Marshall
Ricardo Nadu
OVER THE MOON
Ian Farnsworth
Brian Casper
Reinhold Rittinger
Jennifer Lasrado
SOUL
Alexis Angelidis
Keith Daniel Klohn
Aimei Kutt
Melissa Tseng
TROLLS WORLD TOUR
Stephen Wood
Carl Hooper
Spencer Knapp
Nick Augello
THE WILLOUGHBYS
Helén Ahlberg
Kyle McQueen
Russell Smith
Raehyeon Kim
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY; Strange Case; Chrysalis
Federica Foresti
Johan Gabrielsson
Hugo Medda
Andreas Krieg
PLAYSTATION; The Edge
Tom Raynor
Andreu Lucio
Martin Aufinger
Platon Filimonov
TALES FROM THE LOOP; Loretta’s House
Dominik Kirouac
Gaël Chopin
Sylvain Nouveau
Laurent Pancaccini
THE MANDALORIAN; The Marshal; Krayt Dragon
HuaiYuan Teh
Don Wong
Mathieu Chardonnet
Prashanth Bhagavan
Outstanding Compositing in a Feature
GREYHOUND
Chris Gooch
Tiago Santos
Stu Bruzek
Sneha Amin
MULAN
Christoph Salzmann
Beck Veitch
Joerg Bruemmer
Indah Maretha
PROJECT POWER
Russell Horth
Matthew Patience
Julien Rousseau
UNDERWATER
Sreejith Venugopalan
Ruslan Borysov
Susil Sabat
Andreas Andersson
Outstanding Compositing in an Episode
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY; Strange Case; Chrysalis
Viktor Andersson
Linus Lindblom
Mattias Sandelius
Crawford Reilly
THE MANDALORIAN; The Believer
Peter Demarest
Christopher Balog
Shawn Mason
David Wahlberg
THE MANDALORIAN; The Marshal
Nicolas Caillier
Simon Rafin
SiangKee Poh
Simon Marinof
THE MANDALORIAN; The Passenger
TC Harrison
Tami Carter
Jaume Creus Costabella
Shane Davidson
Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial
BURBERRY; Singin’ In the Rain
Alex Lovejoy
Mithun Alex
David Filipe
Amresh Kumar
PERRIER; Heat
Stéphane Pivron
Franck Lambertz
Harry Bardak
Christophe Courgeau
PLAYSTATION; The Edge
Alex Gabucci
Rebecca Clay
Alex Grey
Alex Kulikov
WALMART; Famous Visitors
Chris “Badger” Knight
Ben Smith
Jake Albers
Franz Kol
Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD; Bury Her Next to Jasper’s Leg
Frank Iudica
Scott Roark
Daniel J. Yates
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
TIME’S DOWN
Valentin Soulard
François Brugalières
Nils Lemonnier
Yan Weitlauff
ARAL
Cédric Moens de Hase
Benoit Paya
Charles Morhain
Mathilde Dallamaggiore
STRANDS OF MIND
Adrian Meyer
Laura Messner
MIGRANTS
Antoine Dupriez
Hugo Caby
Lucas Lermytte
Zoé Devise
