RedShark News - Video technology news and analysis

‘The Creator’, ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’, and ‘The Last of Us’ win at the VES Awards

Written by Andy Stout | Feb 24, 2024 9:00:00 AM

The winners of the 22nd Annual VES Awards were announced last week, and to no one’s great surprise, Gareth Edwards’ The Creator did rather well.

The Visual Effects Society (VES) is the industry’s global professional honorary society and does some mighty fine work around the world. It’s perhaps most known outside dedicated VFX circles, though, for its VES Awards, and it just held the 22nd edition celebrating outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials, video games and special venues.

Gareth Edwards’ The Creator scooped the cinematic honours, well the photorealistic ones at least. It was named the photoreal feature winner and, all in all, garnered five awards (see below for the full list).

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was deservedly named top animated film, winning four awards. The Last of Us was named best photoreal episode, winning four awards, and Coca-Cola topped the commercial field. There was a historic tie in the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project category, with honors going to both Rembrandt Immersive Artwork and Postcard From Earth.

A special VES Award for Creative Excellence went to legendary actor-director William Shatner. Shatner is a frankly remarkable 92 years old and is still very much going strong. He is also, lest us not forget, currently the oldest person to genuinely go into space, having been given a ride on a Blue Origin vehicle at the age of 90.

“This room is probably filled with the most creative people in the industry. I mean every one of them is an artist and thinking ahead all the time,” Shatner said as per Variety. “In the beginning, it was a flashlight and a little cardboard enterprise, and that became reality. That’s quite amazing to be here with all these wonderful people.”

In her opening remarks, without being specific, VES executive director Nancy Ward pointed to a practice in which some productions promote a movie in a way that minimizes — or in some cases doesn’t acknowledge at all — the contributions of VFX artists. She noted that “at a time when some are discounting the pivotal role of visual effects,” the VES “proudly “salutes these “technical visionaries and creative risk takers.”

The Winners of the 22nd Annual VES Awards in 25 categories were as follows:

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

The Creator

Jay Cooper Julian Levi Ian Comley Charmaine Chan Neil Corbould, VES

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Nyad

Jake Braver Fiona Campbell Westgate R. Christopher White Mohsen Mousavi

 

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Alan Hawkins Christian Hejnal Michael Lasker Matt Hausman

 

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

The Last of Us; Season 1; Infected

Alex Wang Sean Nowlan Stephen James Simon Jung Joel Whist

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty; Season 2; BEAT LA

Raymond McIntyre Jr. Victor DiMichina Javier Menéndez Platas Damien Stantina

 

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT

Alan Wake 2

Janne Pulkkinen Johannes Richter Daniel Kończyk Damian Olechowski

 

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL

Coca-Cola; Masterpiece

Ryan Knowles Antonia Vlasto Gregory McKneally Dan Yargici

 

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT- TIE (two winners)

Postcard From Earth

Aruna Inversin Eric Wilson Corey Turner William George

 

Rembrandt Immersive Artwork

Andrew McNamara Sebastian Read Andrew Kinnear Sam Matthews

 

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Rocket

Nathan McConnel Andrea De Martis Antony Magdalinidis Rachel Williams

 

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Spot

Christopher Mangnall Craig Feifarek Humberto Rosa Nideep Varghese

 

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

The Last of Us; Endure and Survive; Bloater

Gino Acevedo Max Telfer Dennis You Fabio Leporelli

 

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

The Creator; Floating Village

John Seru Guy Williams Vincent Techer Timothée Maron

 

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Mumbattan City

Taehyun Park YJ Lee Pepe Orozco Kelly Han

 

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL- TIME PROJECT

The Last of Us: Post-Outbreak Boston

Melaina Mace Adrien Lambert Juan Carlos Barquet Christopher Anciaume

 

OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Joanna Davison Cheyana Wilkinson Michael Cozens Jason Desjarlais

 

OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT

The Creator; Nomad

Oliver Kane Mat Monro Florence Green Serban Ungureanu

 

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

The Creator

Ludovic Ramisandraina Raul Essig Mathieu Chardonnet Lewis Taylor

 

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Pav Grochola Filippo Maccari Naoki Kato Nicola Finizio

 

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

The Mandalorian; Season 3; Lake Monster Attack Water

Travis Harkleroad Florian Witzel Rick Hankins Aron Bonar

 

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE

The Creator; Bar

Phil Prates Min Kim Nisarg Suthar Toshiko Miura

 

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE

The Last of Us; Endure and Survive; Infected Horde Battle

Matthew Lumb Ben Roberts Ben Campbell Quentin Hema

 

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL

Coca-Cola; Masterpiece

Ryan Knowles Greg Mckneally Taran Spear Jordan Dunstall

 

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT

Oppenheimer

Scott Fisher James Rollins Mario Vanillo

 

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD

The Flash; Volumetric Capture

Stephan Trojansky Thomas Ganshorn Oliver Pilarski Lukas Lepicovsky

 

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT (AWARD SPONSORED BY AUTODESK)

Silhouette

Alexis Lafuente Antoni Nicolaï Chloé Stricher Elliot Dreuille