The Visual Effects Society (VES) has revealed the nominees for the 23rd Annual VES Awards. The prestigious awards ceremony will take place on February 11, 2025, at The Beverly Hilton hotel. This year’s honorees include actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada, who will receive the VES Award for Creative Excellence; director and VFX supervisor Takashi Yamazaki, who will be honored with the VES Visionary Award; and VR/immersive tech pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie, who will be presented with the VES Georges Méliès Award.
The VES Online View and Vote System opens on January 20, 2025, and closes on February 2, 2025. Here is the full list of nominees for this year’s VES Awards:
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
- Dêði 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 Capogreco
- 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
- 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
This year’s nominees represent a stunning array of achievements in visual effects across various formats and genres. Stay tuned as we approach the awards ceremony to celebrate the incredible talents behind these visual spectacles.
