The Creator // Spiderman Win Big at The VES Awards
Vanessa Torres-Khan
The Creator & Spiderman Dominate at the 22nd Annual VES Awards With Multiple Wins Across The Board // Credit: Victor Urrutia
Beverly Hills, CA, February 21, 2023 - (RYM)- The 22nd Annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards held at the Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, CA, recognizing the best in visual effects across film, television, and other media for the year 2023. T "The Creator" dominated the feature film competition with seven nominations.
Among the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award to Joyce Cox, a renowned talent whose career spans decades. William Shatner, the iconic actor best known for his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, was also honored receiving the VES Creative Excellence award.
"The Creator" emerged as a frontrunner in the feature film category, securing nominations in various visual effects categories and ultimately winning five awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature. This sci-fi thriller, impressed the VES with its innovative and immersive visual effects.. Notably, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" secured four awards in the television categories.
The ceremony paid tribute to the artistry and dedication of visual effects professionals, highlighting their crucial role in bringing imaginative stories to life. Here is a full list of the winners from the evening’s awards.
The nominees for the 22ndAnnual VES Awards in 25 categories are as follow:
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Loki; Season 2: 1983; World’s Fair White City
Christian Waite
Ben Aickin
Francesco Ferraresi
Pieter Warmington
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; The Broken Circle
Nathaniel Larouche
Owen Deveney
Mujia Liao
Alex Morin
The Last Of Us; Look for the Light; Salt Lake City
Pascal Raimbault
Nick Cattell
Jasper Hayward
Kris Jasper
The Last of Us: Post-Outbreak Boston
Melaina Mace
Adrien Lambert
Juan Carlos Barquet
Christopher Anciaume
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; Chicken Island
Charles Copping
Matthew Perry
Jim Lewis
Jon Biggins
Elemental; Element City
Chris Bernardi
Brandon Montell
David Shavers
Ting Zhang
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Mumbattan City
Taehyun Park
YJ Lee
Pepe Orozco
Kelly Han
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; Midtown Manhattan
Olivier Mitonneau
Eddy Frechou
Guillaume Chevet
Arnaud Philippe-Giraux
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Knowhere
Omar Alejandro Lavrador Ibanez
Fabien Julvécourt
Klaudio Ladavac
Benjamin Patterson
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny; Underwater Wreck Environment
Johan Gabrielsson
Adrian Tsang
Stefan Andersson
Martin Eneroth
John Wick: Chapter 4; Place de L’Étoile
Joelle Xin Zhow
Fabrice Vienne
Vignesh Ravi
Laurent Makowski
The Creator; Floating Village
John Seru
Guy Williams
Vincent Techer
Timothée Maron
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
Accenture; Changing Tree
Simon French
Vic Lovejoy
David Filipe
Matteo La Motta
Apple; Air Pods Pro; Quiet The Noise
Iain Murray
Oscar Wendt
Dean Robinson
Sergio Morales Paz
Coca-Cola; Masterpiece
Ryan Knowles
Antonia Vlasto
Gregory McKneally
Dan Yargici
Jean Paul Gaultier; Divine Perfume
Stéphane Pivron
Cécile Hubin
Guillaume Dadaglio
Mathias Barday
Virgin Media; Goat Glider
Ben Cronin
George Reid
Sam Driscoll
Christian Baker-Steele
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
Alan Wake 2
Janne Pulkkinen
Johannes Richter
Daniel Kończyk
Damian Olechowski
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Jakub Knapik
Paweł Mielniczuk
Maciej Włodarkiewicz
Kacper Niepokólczycki
Immortals of Aveum
Joseph Hall
Kevin Boyle
Dave Bogan
Julia Lichtblau
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Jacinda Chew
Jeannette Lee
Bryanna Lindsey
Alan Weider
Mortal Kombat 1
Christopher Chapman
Scott Quinn
James DeSousa
Jeffery Palmer
Matt Gilmore
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
Hypersphere 360; SeaWorld Abu Dhabi
Daren Ulmer
Cedar Connor
Lindsey Sprague
Ryan Kravetz
Postcard From Earth
Aruna Inversin
Eric Wilson
Corey Turner
William George
Rembrandt Immersive Artwork
Andrew McNamara
Sebastian Read
Andrew Kinnear
Sam Matthews
The Marvels: Goose the Flerken Cat
Tim Kafka
Mariana Suarez
Toya Drechsler
Sebastian Niño Florez
Zootopia: Hot Pursuit
Blaine Kennison
Jeanne Angel
Darin Hollings
Aaron Arendt
Winners of the VES Award For OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT Post Card From Earth: Aruna Iversin, Eric Wilson, Corey Turner, William George (No Particular) // Credit: Victor Urrutia
OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Joanna Davison
Cheyana Wilkinson
Michael Cozens
Jason Desjarlais
Migration
Guylo Homsy
Damien Bapst
Antoine Collet
David Dangin
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Richard Turner
Randolph Lizarda
Daniela Campos Little
Thomas Campos
The Creator
Roel Coucke
Christopher Potter
Amanda Johnstone-Batt
Jeremy Bloch
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Blue Beetle; Machine Learning Cloth
John-Mark Gibbons
Allen Ruilova
Momme Carl
David Minor
Elemental; Volumetric Neural Style Transfer
Vinicius C. Azevedo
Byungsoo Kim
Raphael Ortiz
Paul Kanyuk
The Flash; Volumetric Capture
Stephan Trojansky
Thomas Ganshorn
Oliver Pilarski
Lukas Lepicovsky
Wish; Dynamic Screen Space Textures for Coherent Stylization
Brent Burley
Daniel Teece
Brian J. Green
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT (AWARD SPONSORED BY AUTODESK)
Au 8ème Jour
Flavie Carin
Agathe Sénéchal
Alicia Massez
Elise Debruyne
L’Animal Sauce Ail
Aurélien Duchez
Ysaline Debut
Diane Mazella
Camille Rostan
Loup y es-tu ?
Célina Lebon
Louise Laurent
Emma Fessart
Annouck François
Silhouette
Alexis Lafuente
Antoni Nicolaï
Chloé Stricher
Elliot Dreuille
Winners of the VES Award for OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT (AWARD SPONSORED BY AUTODESK) - Silhouette
Alexis Lafuente, Antoni Nicolaï, Chloé Stricher, Elliot Dreuille (No Particular Order) // Credit: VIctor Urrutia
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; The Arête
Kenneth Johansson
Jason Galeon
Tim Civil
Artur Vill
Peter Pan & Wendy; Jolly Roger
Patrick Comtois
Thomas Gallardo
Harrison Stark
David Thibodeau
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Spider HQ
Dongick David Sheen
Mark JeongWoong Lee
Mikaela Bantog
René Völker
The Creator; Nomad
Oliver Kane
Mat Monro
Florence Green
Serban Ungureanu
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
I’m a Virgo
John McLeod
Scott Kirvan
Alec Gillis
Carl Miller
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Neil Corbould, VES
Ray Ferguson
Keith Alfred Dawson
Chris Motjuoadi
Oppenheimer
Scott Fisher
James Rollins
Mario Vanillo
Society of the Snow
Pau Costa
Carlos Laguna
Guillermo F. Aldunate
Eloy Cervera
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
The Last of Us; Endure and Survive; Infected Horde Battle
Matthew Lumb
Ben Roberts
Ben Campbell
Quentin Hema
The Last of Us; Infected; Boston
Casey Gorton
Francesco Dell’Anna
Vaclav Kubant
Natalia Valbuena
The Mandalorian; Season 3; The Return
Sam Wirch
Tory Mercer
Donny Rausch
Erich Ippen
Willow; Children of the Wyrm
Jeremy Sawyer
Steve Hardy
Martin Tardif
Miguel Macaya Ten
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Accenture; Changing Tree
David Filipe
Matteo La Motta
Jordan Dunstall
Taran Spear
Coca-Cola; Masterpiece
Ryan Knowles
Greg Mckneally
Taran Spear
Jordan Dunstall
Smirnoff; Cocktail
Vittorio Barabani
Peter Hodsman
Giacomo Verri
Marc Greyvenstein
Starfield
Jimmy Bullard
Ajit Menon
Ruairi Twohig
Karim Moussa
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Indah Maretha
Beck Veitch
Nathan Abbot
Steve McGillen
John Wick: Chapter 4; Apartment Massacre Videogame Style
Javier Roca
Julien Forest
Thomas Bourdis
Dominik Kirouac
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Bret St.Clair
Kieron Cheuk-Chi Lo
Kelly Christophers
Rowan Young
The Creator; Bar
Phil Prates
Min Kim
Nisarg Suthar
Toshiko Miura
The Creator; Spaceships
Ben O’Brien
Juan Espigares Enriquez
Wesley Roberts
Hayes Brien
Lifetime Achieve Award - Joyce Cox
Presenter Richard Hollander Introduced Joyce Cox as she received her Lifetime Achievement Award at the VES Awards. In his speech Ihe expressed his deep admiration for Joyce's work and extensive career in the visual effects industry. They highlight Joyce's natural talent, problem-solving skills, and collaborative spirit, crediting her as a major reason for their own positive experiences in the field. The speaker concludes by acknowledging Joyce's significant contributions to the industry.
““The specific projects that I worked on with Joyce, both as my producer, for some 5 years, and as my client - were some of the best experiences that I have encountered in my career. I think Joyce was very much the reason and I thank Joyce for that.””
VES Liftime Achievement Award Winner - Joyce Cox - Credit: Victor Urrutia
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Citadel; Secrets in Night Need Early Rains; Ocean Water
James Reid
Mathew Rotman
Filipp Elizarov
Nardeep Chander
Invasion; Season 2; A Voice from the Other Side
Zybrand Jacobs
Alex Marlow
Tim Jenkinson
Tobias Grønbeck Andersen
Loki; Season 2; Science/Fiction; Spaghettification
Rafael Rey Camacho
Jonathan Lyddon-Towl
Julien Legay
Benedikt Roettger
The Mandalorian; Season 3; Lake Monster Attack Water
Travis Harkleroad
Florian Witzel
Rick Hankins
Aron Bonar
Willow; Children of the Wyrm; Crone Duststorm and Magical Effects
Michael Cashmore
Robert Zeltsch
Jiyong Shin
Audun Ase
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Elemental
Kristopher Campbell
Greg Gladstone
Jon Reisch
Kylie Wijsmuller
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Pav Grochola
Filippo Maccari
Naoki Kato
Nicola Finizio
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Louis Marsaud
Paul-Etienne Bourde
Serge Martin
Marine Pommereul
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Simon Pate
Christophe Vazquez
Milo Riccarand
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Napoleon
Koen Hofmeester
Gianmichele Mariani
Clair Bellens
Hernan Llano Duque
Nyad; Stormy Waters
Korbinian Meier
Sindy Saalfeld
David Michielsen
Andreas Vrhovsek
The Creator
Ludovic Ramisandraina
Raul Essig
Mathieu Chardonnet
Lewis Taylor
The Nun 2
Laurent Creusot
Sebastien Podsiadlo
Michael Moercant
Benjamin Saurine
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom; Topo the Octopus
Thomas Ward
Andrew Butler
Felix Slinger-Thompson
Jacob Burstein
Godzilla Minus One; Godzilla
Kosuke Taguchi
Takashi Yamazaki
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Rocket
Nathan McConnel
Andrea De Martis
Antony Magdalinidis
Rachel Williams
Wonka; Oompa Loompa
Dale Newton
Kunal Ayer
Valentina Ercolani
Gabor Foner
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Diablo IV; Inarius and Lilith Cinematic; Lilith
Matt Onheiber
Kenny Huang
Maia Neubig
Jongha Baik
Shadow and Bone; Season 2; No Funerals; Nichevo’ya the Shadow Monster
José María del Fresno
Matthieu Poirey
Carlos Puigdollers
Guillermo Ramos
The Last of Us; Endure & Survive; Bloater
Gino Acevedo
Max Telfer
Dennis You
Fabio Leporelli
The Nevers; It’s a Good Day; Robot Dog
Christian Leitner
Bernd Nalbach
Sebastian Plank
Martin Wellstein
Virgin Media; Goat Glider; The Goat
Sam Driscoll
Kanishk Chouhan
Suvi Jokiniemi
Grace Davison
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Elemental; Ember
Gwendelyn Enderoglu
Jared Fong
Jonathan Hoffman
Patrick Witting
Elemental; Wade
Max Gilbert
Jacob Kuenzel
Dave Strick
Benjamin Su
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Spot
Christopher Mangnall
Craig Feifarek
Humberto Rosa
Nideep Varghese
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; Superfly
Gregory Coelho
Anne-Claire Leroux
Simon Cuisinier
Olivier Pierre
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
A Murder at The End of the World; Season 1; Crypt
Aaron Raff
Tavis Larkham
Douglas Stichbury
Mat Ellin
Citadel; Season 1; Secrets in Night Need Early Rains
Wesley Froud
Scott Shapiro
Aladino Debert
Greg Teegarden
Ted Lasso: Season 3; Mom City
Gretchen Bangs
Bill Parker
Lenny Wilson
James MacLachlan
The Crown; Season 6; Dis-Moi Oui
Ben Turner
Reece Ewing
Oliver Bersey
Joe Cork
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty; Season 2; BEAT LA
Raymond McIntyre Jr.
Victor DiMichina
Javier Menéndez Platas
Damien Stantina
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
John Wick: Chapter 4
Janelle Croshaw Ralla
Reina Sparks
Jonathan Rothbart
Javier Roca
Gerd Nefzer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Pablo Helman
Brian Barlettani
Sam Bassett
Brandon Keys McLaughlin
Napoleon
Charley Henley
Sarah Tulloch
Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet
Simone Coco
Neil Corbould, VES
Nyad
Jake Braver
Fiona Campbell Westgate
Christopher White
Mohsen Mousavi
Society of the Snow
Félix Bergés
Micaela Gagliano
Laura Pedro
Ezequiel Larrú
Pau Costa
Seth MacFarlane presents William Shatner with the VES Creative Excellence Award. Macfarlane praises Shatner's impact on the industry, stating that he has made a "permanent mark" and his work will "endure for as long as there IS an entertainment industry." He also highlights Shatner's talent and continued curiosity.
““The camera loves him, the stage loves him, the microphone loves him-He is a colossal talent: A great performer who has never lost his sense of curiosity, or adventure.””
In Shatner’s acceptance speech, he reflects on his experiences in the visual effects industry, describing moments where he was unsure whether what he was seeing was real or a visual effect. He highlights the advancements in visual effects technology and how they have become increasingly realistic. Shatner expresses his gratitude to the Visual Effects Society for the award and acknowledges the talented artists who work in the field. He emphasized their creativity and ability to bring imagination to life.
““I am falling out of an airplane. I am screaming. I know the end is near but then I realize it is a visual effect.””
"Thank you to the Visual Effects Society for bestowing me with this honor. I accept this award for those great artists - men and women - who work beyond the imagination.", stated shatner upon finishing his speech.
William Shatner posing on the red carpet following his acceptance speech at the VES Award / Credit: Victor Urruta
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Ahsoka; Season 1; Dreams and Madness
Richard Bluff
Jakris Smittant
Paul Kavanagh
Enrico Damm
Scott Fisher
Loki; Season 2; Glorious Purpose
Christopher Townsend
Allison Paul
Matthew Twyford
Christopher Smallfield
John William Van Der Pool
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Sean Konrad
Jessica Smith
Jed Glassford
Khalid Almeerani
Paul Benjamin
The Last of Us; Season 1; Infected
Alex Wang
Sean Nowlan
Stephen James
Simon Jung
Joel Whist
The Mandalorian; Season 3; The Return
Grady Cofer
Abbigail Keller
Victor Schutz IV
Cameron Neilson
Scott Fisher
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Jon Biggins
Jim Lewis
Charles Copping
Matthew Perry
Elemental
Peter Sohn
Denise Ream
Sanjay Bakshi
Stephen Marshall
Nimona
Archie Donato
Yancy Lindquist
Theodore Ty
Anthony Kemp
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Alan Hawkins
Christian Hejnal
Michael Lasker
Matt Hausman
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Matthieu Rouxel
Marie Balland
Jacques Daigle
Vincent Leroy
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Ben Snow
Diana Giorgiutti
Khalid Almeerani
Scott Benza
Sam Conway
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Stephane Ceretti
Susan Pickett
Alexis Wajsbrot
Guy Williams
Dan Sudick
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Andrew Whitehurst
Kathy Siegel
Robert Weaver
Julian Hutchens
Alistair Williams
Oppenheimer
Andrew Jackson
Mike Chambers, VES
Giacomo Mineo
Dave Drzewiecki
Scott Fisher
The Creator
Jay Cooper
Julian Levi
Ian Comley
Charmaine Chan
Neil Corbould, VES
Wiinners of OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE: The Creator Jay Cooper, Julian Levi, Ian Comley, Charmaine Chan, Neil Corbould, VES // Credit: Victor Urrutia