As the Society noms continue to roll in, the latest comes from the Visual Effects Society as they announce their nominees for the 7th Annual VES Awards, a ceremony recognizing outstanding visual effects in over a dozen categories of film, animation, television, commercials and video games. Of course all I really care about are the film noms, but you can check out the full list of nominees by downloading the PDF press release right here.
Iron Man led the way with five nominations and is competing with The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Cloverfield in the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture category, the category probably deemed the highest profile of the bunch and it went to Transformers last year only to see The Golden Compass pull out a surprise win at the Oscars.
With Iron Man in the lead, The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Bolt didn’t do too poorly either scoring four nominations each.
Strangely enough, of the seven films that make up the Oscar short list for Visual Effects, The Mummy only scored one nom while films such as Australia and Journey to the Center of the Earth received none. Who’s right? Who knows. All I know is you can check out the film noms below.
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army
- Cloverfield
- Iron Man
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture
- Changeling
- Eagle Eye
- Valkyrie
- Nim’s Island
- Synecdoche, New York
Outstanding Animation in an Animated Motion Picture
- Bolt – The Chase
- Kung Fu Panda – Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting
- A Matter of Loaf and Death – Piella’s Mansion
- WALL•E
Best Single Visual Effect of the Year
- Cloverfield – Statue of Liberty Crash and Woolworth Tower Collapse
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Benjamin’s Secret
- The Day the Earth Stood Still – Newborn Klaatu
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – Valley Destruction
- Iron Man
Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Benjamin Button
Steve Preeg, Matthias Wittmann, Tom St. Amand, David McLean - Hellboy II: The Golden Army – Elemental Sequence
Colin McEvoy, Christoph Ammann - Iron Man
Hal Hickel, Bruce Holcomb, James Tooley, John Walker - The Spiderwick Chronicles – Hogsqueal
Todd Labonte, Michael Brunet, Nathan Fredenburg, Aharon Bourland
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture
- Bolt – Various Sequences – Bolt
Becky Bresee, Bob Davies, Renato Dos Anjos, Wayne Unten Jr. - Bolt – Various Sequences – Rhino
Adam Dykstra, Dave Gottlieb, Clay Kaytis, Hyrum Osmond - Kung Fu Panda – This Kung Fu Stuff is Hard Work – The Animation of Po
Jack Black, Dan Wagner, Nico Marlet, Peter Farson - WALL•E – WALL-E and Eve Truck Sequence
Ben Burtt, Victor Navone, Austin Lee, Jay Shuster
Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
- Bolt – Various Sequences
John Murrah, Michael Kaschalk, Dale Mayeda, Adolph Lusinsky - Kung Fu Panda – The Secret Ingredient – Visual Effects of Kung Fu Panda
Markus Manninen, Alex Parkinson, Amaury Aubel, Lawrence Lee - Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa – Effects in Africa
Scott Peterson, Laurent Kermel, Andrew Wheeler, Greg Gladstone - WALL•E – Effects in WALL•E
Jason Johnston, Keith Daniel Klohn, Enrique Vila, Bill Watral
Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture
- Changeling – 1928 Downtown L.A.
Romain Bayle, Abel Milanes, Allan Lee, Debor Dunphy - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Richard Bluff, Barry Williams, Yanick Dusseault, Yusei Uesugi - Synecdoche, New York – Matte Paintings
Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, Matthew Conner - Speed Racer – Overall Matte Painting Presentation
Lubo Hristov, Dennis Martin, Ron Crabb
Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture
- The Dark Knight – Garbage Truck Crash Models and Miniatures
Ian Hunter, Forest Fischer, Branden Seifert, Adam Gelbart - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
David Fogler, Craig Hammack, Brian Gernand, Geoff Heron - Iron Man – Suit Up Machine
Aaron McBride, Russell Paul, Gerald Gutschmidt, Keiji Yamaguchi - My Darling of the Mountains – Hot Springs
Taro Kiba, Kenji Nagatani, Yuki Minagawa, Hideo Udo
Outstanding Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture
- Cloverfield – Brooklyn Bridge Sequence
David Vickery, Phil Johnson, Victor Wade, Sean Stranks - The Dark Knight – IMAX Gotham City Scapes
Peter Bebb, David Vickery, Philippe Leprince, Andrew Lockley - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – Temple Heart
Michael Halsted, David Fogler, Steve Walton, David Weitzberg - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – Avalanche Sequence
Mike Meaker, Rich Mahon, Jason Iverson, Sho Hasegawa - Synecdoche, New York – Created Environment
Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, Matthew Conner
Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Stuart Lashley, Arundi Asregadoo, Mark Curtis, Richard Baker - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Benjamin Comes Together
Janelle Croshaw, Paul Lambert, Sonja Burchard, Sarahjane Javelo - Iron Man – Head Under Display – HUD Compositing
Jonathan Rothbart, Dav Rauch, Kyle McCulloch, Kent Seki - Quantum of Solace – Sienna Chase and Fight Sequence
Anthony Smith, Christian Kaestner, Adrian Metzelaar, Jon Thum
Outstanding Special Effects in a Motion Picture
- The Dark Knight
Chris Corbould, Peter Notley, Ian Lowe - The Dark Knight – Garbage Truck Crash Mechanical Effects
Scott Beverly, Robert Spurlock, Jon Warren, Brian Kelly Hahn - Defiance – Special Effects
Neil Corbould, Steve Warner, Anne Maria Walters, Alan Young
