James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” swept the 21st annual VES Awards Wednesday night in an unprecedented wave of dominance in every category, winning nine of its record-breaking 14 nominations, including the top photoreal feature, and the newest category, The Emerging Technology Award, for its innovative water toolset.
Although the prestigious visual effects honorary society (comprised of 4,500 members in 45 countries worldwide) has not been a reliable Oscar bellwether in recent years — picking the VFX winner only twice in the last six years — this now looks like a lock for the “Avatar” sequel.
Hosted by Patton Oswalt at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (from Netflix) — the favorite to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar — won the top animation trophy and took home three awards; Amazon’s “Thirteen Lives” snagged the supporting prize, and Amazon Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” grabbed the episodic prize and also took home three awards.
“As we celebrate the 21st Annual VES Awards, we’re honored to keep shining a light on remarkable visual effects artistry and innovation,” said VES Chair Lisa Cooke. “In all of our colleagues honored tonight, we see best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of adaptation and ingenuity — talents that have kept audiences engaged and uplifted, now, more than ever. The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding global artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our winners and nominees!”
Oscar-winning director Cameron presented the VES Lifetime Achievement award to acclaimed producer and former wife Gale Anne Hurd (“The Terminator,” “Aliens,” “The Abyss,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “Armageddon,” and “The Walking Dead” series). And the society also presented the VES Board of Directors Award to former Executive Director Eric Roth.
See the full winners below.
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
Richard Baneham
Walter Garcia
Joe Letteri
Eric Saindon
JD Schwalm
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Thirteen Lives”
Jason Billington
Thomas Horton
Denis Baudin
Michael Harrison
Brian Cox
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
Aaron Weintraub
Jeffrey Schaper
Cameron Carson
Emma Gorbey
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”; Udûn
Jason Smith
Ron Ames
Nigel Sumner
Tom Proctor
Dean Clarke
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
“Five Days at Memorial”: “Day Two”
Eric Durst
Danny McNair
Matt Whelan
Goran Pavles
John MacGillivray
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
“The Last of Us” Part I
Erick Pangilinan
Evan Wells
Eben Cook
Mary Jane Whiting
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
Frito-Lay; Push It
Tom Raynor
Sophie Harrison
Ben Cronin
Martino Madeddu
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
“ABBA Voyage”
Ben Morris
Edward Randolph
Stephen Aplin
Ian Comley
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Kiri
Anneka Fris
Rebecca Louise Leybourne
Guillaume Francois
Jung Rock Hwang
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”: Pinocchio
Oliver Beale
Richard Pickersgill
Brian Leif Hansen
Kim Slate
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
“The Umbrella Academy”: Pogo
Aidan Martin
Hannah Dockerty
Olivier Beierlein
Miae Kang
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: The Reef
Jessica Cowley
Joe W. Churchill
Justin Stockton
Alex Nowotny
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”: In the Stomach of a Sea Monster
Warren Lawtey
Anjum Sakharkar
Javier Gonzalez Alonso
Quinn Carvalho
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”: Adar; Númenor City
Dan Wheaton
Nico Delbecq
Dan Letarte
Julien Gauthier
OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
Richard Baneham
Dan Cox
Eric Reynolds
AJ Briones
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: The Sea Dragon
Sam Sharplin
Stephan Skorepa
Ian Baker
Guillaume Francois
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Water Simulations
Johnathan Nixon
David Moraton
Nicolas James Illingworth
David Caeiro Cebrian
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
Derek Cheung
Michael Losure
Kiem Ching Ong
Jinguang Huang
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”: Udûn; Water and Magma
Rick Hankins
Aron Bonar
Branko Grujcic
Laurent Kermel
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Water Integration
Sam Cole
Francois Sugny
Florian Schroeder
Jean Matthews
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
“Love, Death and Robots”: “Night of the Mini Dead”
Tim Emeis
José Maximiano
Renaud Tissandié
Nacere Guerouaf
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Ladbrokes; Rocky
Greg Spencer
Theajo Dharan
Georgina Ford
Jonathan Westley
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Current Machine and Wave Pool
JD Schwalm
Richard Schwalm
Nick Rand
Robert Spurlock
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT (AWARD SPONSORED BY AUTODESK)
“A Calling. From the Desert. To the Sea”
Mario Bertsch
Max Pollmann
Lukas Löffler
Till Sander-Titgemeyer
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Water Toolset
Alexey Stomakhin
Steve Lesser
Sven Joel Wretborn
Douglas McHale
Although the prestigious visual effects honorary society (comprised of 4,500 members in 45 countries worldwide) has not been a reliable Oscar bellwether in recent years — picking the VFX winner only twice in the last six years — this now looks like a lock for the “Avatar” sequel.
Hosted by Patton Oswalt at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (from Netflix) — the favorite to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar — won the top animation trophy and took home three awards; Amazon’s “Thirteen Lives” snagged the supporting prize, and Amazon Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” grabbed the episodic prize and also took home three awards.
“As we celebrate the 21st Annual VES Awards, we’re honored to keep shining a light on remarkable visual effects artistry and innovation,” said VES Chair Lisa Cooke. “In all of our colleagues honored tonight, we see best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of adaptation and ingenuity — talents that have kept audiences engaged and uplifted, now, more than ever. The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding global artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our winners and nominees!”
Oscar-winning director Cameron presented the VES Lifetime Achievement award to acclaimed producer and former wife Gale Anne Hurd (“The Terminator,” “Aliens,” “The Abyss,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “Armageddon,” and “The Walking Dead” series). And the society also presented the VES Board of Directors Award to former Executive Director Eric Roth.
See the full winners below.
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
Richard Baneham
Walter Garcia
Joe Letteri
Eric Saindon
JD Schwalm
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Thirteen Lives”
Jason Billington
Thomas Horton
Denis Baudin
Michael Harrison
Brian Cox
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
Aaron Weintraub
Jeffrey Schaper
Cameron Carson
Emma Gorbey
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”; Udûn
Jason Smith
Ron Ames
Nigel Sumner
Tom Proctor
Dean Clarke
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
“Five Days at Memorial”: “Day Two”
Eric Durst
Danny McNair
Matt Whelan
Goran Pavles
John MacGillivray
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
“The Last of Us” Part I
Erick Pangilinan
Evan Wells
Eben Cook
Mary Jane Whiting
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
Frito-Lay; Push It
Tom Raynor
Sophie Harrison
Ben Cronin
Martino Madeddu
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
“ABBA Voyage”
Ben Morris
Edward Randolph
Stephen Aplin
Ian Comley
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Kiri
Anneka Fris
Rebecca Louise Leybourne
Guillaume Francois
Jung Rock Hwang
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”: Pinocchio
Oliver Beale
Richard Pickersgill
Brian Leif Hansen
Kim Slate
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
“The Umbrella Academy”: Pogo
Aidan Martin
Hannah Dockerty
Olivier Beierlein
Miae Kang
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: The Reef
Jessica Cowley
Joe W. Churchill
Justin Stockton
Alex Nowotny
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”: In the Stomach of a Sea Monster
Warren Lawtey
Anjum Sakharkar
Javier Gonzalez Alonso
Quinn Carvalho
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”: Adar; Númenor City
Dan Wheaton
Nico Delbecq
Dan Letarte
Julien Gauthier
OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
Richard Baneham
Dan Cox
Eric Reynolds
AJ Briones
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: The Sea Dragon
Sam Sharplin
Stephan Skorepa
Ian Baker
Guillaume Francois
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Water Simulations
Johnathan Nixon
David Moraton
Nicolas James Illingworth
David Caeiro Cebrian
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
Derek Cheung
Michael Losure
Kiem Ching Ong
Jinguang Huang
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”: Udûn; Water and Magma
Rick Hankins
Aron Bonar
Branko Grujcic
Laurent Kermel
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Water Integration
Sam Cole
Francois Sugny
Florian Schroeder
Jean Matthews
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
“Love, Death and Robots”: “Night of the Mini Dead”
Tim Emeis
José Maximiano
Renaud Tissandié
Nacere Guerouaf
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Ladbrokes; Rocky
Greg Spencer
Theajo Dharan
Georgina Ford
Jonathan Westley
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Current Machine and Wave Pool
JD Schwalm
Richard Schwalm
Nick Rand
Robert Spurlock
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT (AWARD SPONSORED BY AUTODESK)
“A Calling. From the Desert. To the Sea”
Mario Bertsch
Max Pollmann
Lukas Löffler
Till Sander-Titgemeyer
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Water Toolset
Alexey Stomakhin
Steve Lesser
Sven Joel Wretborn
Douglas McHale