“Dune” additionally won VES awards for model (Royal Ornithopter), effects simulations (Dunes of Arrakis), and compositing & lighting (Attack on Arrakeen). “Encanto,” which bolstered its claim as the Oscar frontrunner for Best Animated Feature, also won prizes honoring its magical realism for animated character (Mirabel Madrigal), environment (Antonio’s Room), and virtual cinematography (“We Don’t Talk about Bruno”).
Disney
Now “Dune” is poised to win the VFX Oscar for DNEG (overseen by two-time Oscar-winning production VFX supervisor Paul Lambert and Oscar-winning SFX supervisor Gerd Nefzer). The work is both epic and intimate, from the wind blown sand, to the raging sandstorms to the flying insect-like ornithopters (requiring a special in-camera setup and backed by photoreal exteriors) to the iconic CG sandworms, which cause the entire desert to vibrate with the help of custom-built mechanics. However, the noteworthy innovation was the Sand Screen process for background environments in the desert, prioritizing accurate lighting over ease-of-compositing.
Related 2023 Oscars: How ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Could Make a Big Splash in the Craft Races How the Editors of ‘The Fabelmans’ Helped Spielberg Convey the Emotional Truth of His Personal Story Related Guillermo del Toro’s Favorite Movies: 45 Films the Director Wants You to See 23 Controversial Film and TV Book Adaptations That Rankled Their Audiences and Authors
Director Guillermo del Toro (“Nightmare Alley”) was honored with the VES Award for Creative Excellence, but was a last-minute no show because of illness. His longtime producing partner J. Miles Dale accepted on his behalf. “At best, we can make the implausible possible,” he read from a prepared statement. “I’ve possibly bankrupt some of you….We must stand together in these times.”
Lynwen Brennan, executive vice president and general manager of Lucasfilm, received the VES Lifetime Achievement Award. Brennan said she has fostered a culture “to take risks, to experiment, and to innovate.” But she also said the industry can do better to be more diverse in recruiting talent. She additionally told IndieWire that ILM will continue to innovate with the studio’s LED wall StageCraft volume tech on the upcoming “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Disney+ series, directed by Deborah Chow (“The Mandalorian”), and will contribute to the burgeoning metaverse with real time content to achieve new storytelling possibilities.
Winners of the 20th VES Awards are as follows:
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE “Dune” Paul Lambert Brice Parker Tristan Myles Brian Connor Gerd Nefzer
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE “Last Night in Soho” Tom Proctor Gavin Gregory Julian Gnass Fabricio Baessa OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE “Encanto” Scott Kersavage Bradford Simonsen Thaddeus P. Miller Ian Gooding OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE “Foundation: The Emperor’s Peace” Chris MacLean Addie Manis Mike Enriquez Chris Keller Paul Byrne OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE “See: Rock-A-Bye” Chris Wright Parker Chehak Javier Roca Tristan Zerafa Tony Kenny OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT “Call of Duty: Vanguard” Sandy Lin-Chiang Joseph Knox Gareth Richards Shane Daley OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL “Sheba: Hope Reef” Grant Walker Sophie Harrison Hernan Llano Michael Baker OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT “Jurassic World Adventure” Eugénie von Tunzelmann Maximilian McNair MacEwan Stephen Goalby Brad Silby OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE “Finch: Jeff” Harinarayan Rajeev Matthias Schoenegger Simon Allen Paul Nelson OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE “Encanto: Mirabel Madrigal” Kelly McClanahan Sergi Caballer Mary Twohig Jose Luis “Weecho” Velasquez OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE OR REAL-TIME PROJECT “The Witcher”: Nivellen the Cursed Man Marko Chulev Rasely Ma Mike Beaulieu Robin Witzsche OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A COMMERCIAL “Smart Energy”: Einstein Knows Best; Einstein Alex Hammond Harsh Borah Clare Williams Andreas Graichen OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE “Spider-Man: No Way Home”: The Mirror Dimension Eric Le Dieu de Ville Thomas Dotheij Ryan Olliffe Claire Le Teuff OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE “Encanto”: Antonio’s Room Camille Andre Andrew Finley Chris Patrick O’Connell Amol Sathe OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT “Sheba”: Hope Reef Henrique Campanha Baptiste Roy Luca Veronese Timothee Maron OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT “Encanto”: We Don’t Talk about Bruno Nathan Detroit Warner Dorian Bustamante Tyler Kupferer Michael Woodside OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT “Dune”: Royal Ornithopter Marc Austin Anna Yamazoe Michael Chang Rachael Dunk OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE “Dune”: Dunes of Arrakis Gero Grimm Ivan Larinin Hideki Okano Zuny An OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE “Raya and the Last Dragon” Le Joyce Tong Henrik Fält Rattanin Sirinaruemarn Jacob Rice OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT “Foundation”: Collapse of the Galactic Empire Giovanni Casadei Mikel Zuloaga Steven Moor Louis Manjarres
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE “Dune”: Attack on Arrakeen Gregory Haas Francesco Dell’Anna Abhishek Chaturvedi Cleve Zhu OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE “Loki”: Lamentis; Shuroo City Destruction Paul Chapman Tom Truscott Biagio Figliuzzi Attila Szalma OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL Verizon: “The Reset” David Piombino Rajesh Kaushik Manideep Sanisetty Tim Crean OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT “Jungle Cruise” JD Schwalm Nick Rand Robert Spurlock Nick Byrd OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT “Green” Camille Poiriez Arielle Cohen Eloise Thibaut Louis Florean Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
