"Button" Buttons Up VES Awards

The visual effects teams from "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" nabbed four VES Awards last week, with "The Dark Knight" earning three and "Changeling" earning two.

It wasn't easy to find coverage of the VES Awards from the Visual Effects Society itself. If you go to VESAwards.com, there is no information on the winners listed (only applications and nominees). No email went out to VES members, which is strange because VES is usually pretty good about disseminating information via email. I went to visualeffectssociety.com, and on the far right side is a tiny link to a hastily prepped PDF file, which contained the names of the winners. The site contained no photographs of the event, no video, no acceptance speeches, and no links to other press coverage of the event. Disappointing, to say the least, especially for VES' biggest night of the year.

One of the many elaborate matte paintings for Clint Eastwood's "Changeling"

As for the awards themselves, I heard that it was a fun show. They gave lifetime achievement awards to the one and only Phil Tippett, as well as the monster producing partners Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.

As for the awards themselves, I was, of course, rooting for my fellow ILMers for our nominations for "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones." I especially was hoping for an "Indiana Jones" win for Best Created Environment, since I contributed to the Temple Heart sequence (hopefully more on this in a future post). But "Button" and "Dark Knight" swooped up most of the awards, and for the most part, rightfully so.

An image from "The Science Behind Benjamin Button"

If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you visit the well-made The Science Behind Benjamin Button, which nicely highlights some of the visual effects challenges from the film.

Here are some press clippings that I was able to muster:

• Variety: 'Button' Tops Visual Effects Awards
• VFXWorld: Backstage at the VES Awards
• FXGuide: VES Awards Report and Photo Gallery

And here are all of the winners of the live-action feature film categories. (To see all the nominees, click here.)

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Eric Barba, Edson Williams, Nathan McGuinness, Lisa Beroud

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture
CHANGELING
Michael Owens, Geoffrey Hancock, Jinnie Pak, Dennis Hoffman

Best Single Visual Effect of the Year
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - Benjamin's Secret
Eric Barba, Lisa Beroud, Steve Preeg, Jonathan Litt

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

Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture
CHANGELING - 1928 Downtown L.A.
Romain Bayle, Abel Milanes, Allan Lee, Debor Dunphy

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

Outstanding Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture
THE DARK KNIGHT - IMAX Gotham City Scapes
Peter Bebb, David Vickery, Philippe Leprince, Andrew Lockley

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - Benjamin Comes Together
Janelle Croshaw, Paul Lambert, Sonja Burchard, Sarahjane Javelo

Outstanding Special Effects in a Motion Picture
THE DARK KNIGHT
Chris Corbould, Peter Notley, Ian Lowe

VES Announces Nominations for 7th VES Awards

Hi, all! Here's the press release sent out by the Visual Effects Society, announcing their nominees for the 7th Annual VES Awards. I'll provide some personal notes in a forthcoming post. What follows is an edited list of nominees, listing live-action feature film categories only.

-todd

VISUAL EFFECTS SOCIETY (VES) ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR 7th ANNUAL VES AWARDS
"Iron Man" Leads with 5 Noms, Awards Ceremony Scheduled for February 21, 2009

Los Angeles, January 19, 2009 - The Visual Effects Society (VES) today announced the nominees for the 7th Annual VES Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding visual effects in over a dozen categories of film, animation, television, commercials and video games. Nominees were chosen Saturday, January 17, 2009, by numerous panels of VES members who viewed submissions at the FotoKem screening facilities in Burbank.

In making the announcement, Jeffrey A. Okun, Chair of the Visual Effects Awards Committee said, "Because visual effects continue to grow in complexity and intensity, touching every aspect of the entertainment industry, we are proud to announce the nominees and their work, which have been deemed by the judges as the best of the best. I congratulate all the artists on their achievements."

The nominees for the 7th Annual VES Awards are the following:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, PRINCE CASPIAN
Wendy Rogers, Dean Wright, Andrew Fowler, Greg Butler
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Eric Barba, Edson Williams, Nathan McGuinness, Lisa Beroud
HELLBOY II THE GOLDEN ARMY
Michael J. Wassel, Lucy Killick, Adrian de Wet, Eamonn Butler
CLOVERFIELD
Kevin Blank, Chantal Feghali, Michael Ellis, Eric Leven
IRON MAN
Ben Snow, Hal Hickel, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture
CHANGELING
Michael Owens, Geoffrey Hancock, Jinnie Pak, Dennis Hoffman
EAGLE EYE
Jim Rygiel, Jim Berney, Crys Forsyth-Smith, David Smith
VALKYRIE
Richard R. Hoover, Maricel Pagulayan, Peter Nofz, Daniel Eaton
NIM'S ISLAND
Camille Cellucci, Scott Gordon, Fred Pienkos, James Straus
SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
Mark Russell, Richard Friedlander, Eric Robertson, Brett Miller

Best Single Visual Effect of the Year
CLOVERFIELD - Statue of Liberty Crash and Woolworth Tower Collapse
Michael Ellis, Chantal Feghali, David Vickery, Ben Taylor
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - Benjamin's Secret
Eric Barba, Lisa Beroud, Steve Preeg, Jonathan Litt
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL - Newborn Klaatu
Jeffrey A. Okun, R. Christopher White, Thomas M. Boland, Ben Thompson
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL - Valley Destruction
Stephanie Hornish, Pablo Helman, Jeff White, Craig Hammack
IRON MAN
Ben Snow, Wayne Billheimer, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson

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 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

This year the VES will present producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall with the VES Lifetime Achievement Award and Phil Tippett with the Georges Méliès Award.

For more information on the VES Awards, sponsorship and tickets, please visit www.visualeffectssociety.com.