"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (photo courtesy of Disney/Lucasfilm)
"The Peanuts Movie" is top animated film contender with five nods; "Game of Thrones" tops TV, overall competition with 9 noms
LOS ANGELES --
The Visual Effects Society (VES) has unveiled the nominees for the 14th Annual VES Awards, the prestigious yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life.
Scoring the most nominations this year was "Game of Thrones" with nine across broadcast categories. Topping the feature film tally with seven was "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Leading the way among animated features was "The Peanuts Movie" with five nods.
Nominees were selected by VES members via events hosted by its nine sections – Australia, Bay Area, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, New Zealand, Toronto and Vancouver. The VES Awards will be held on February 2nd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
As previously announced, the Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to award-winning director-producer Sir Ridley Scott. The Visionary Award will be presented to acclaimed visual futurist and conceptual artist Syd Mead.
“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create truly remarkable imagery in a variety of media,” said Mike Chambers, VES chair. “We are seeing best in field work that elevates the art of storytelling and engages the audience in new and innovative ways. The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees.”
The nominees for the 14th Annual VES Awards in 23 categories are as follows:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
Furious 7
Mike Wassel, Karen Murphy, Martin Hill, Kevin McIlwain, Dan Sudick
San Andreas
Colin Strause, Randall Starr, Bryan Grill, Nordin Rahhali, Brian Cox
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Roger Guyett, Luke O’Byrne, Patrick Tubach, Paul Kavanagh, Chris Corbould
Mad Max: Fury Road
Andrew Jackson, Holly Radcliffe, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver, Andy Williams
The Martian
Richard Stammers, Barrie Hemsley, Matt Sloan, Chris Lawrence, Steven Warner
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
In The Heart of The Sea
Jody Johnson, Leslie Lerman, Sean Stranks, Bryan Hirota, Mark Holt
Bridge of Spies
Sven Martin, Jennifer Meislohn, Charlie Noble, Sean Stranks, Gerd Nefzer
The Walk
Kevin Baillie, Camille Cellucci, Viktor Muller, Sebastien Moreau
Everest
Dadi Einarsson, Roma O-Connor, Matthias Bjarnasson, Glen Pratt, Richard Van Den Bergh
The Revenant
Rich McBride, Ivy Agregan, Jason Smith, Nicolas Chevallier, Cameron Waldbauer
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
The Peanuts Movie
Steve Martino, Michael J. Travers, Nick Bruno, Scott Carroll
Inside Out
Michael Fong, Jonas Rivera, Victor Navone, Paul Mendoza
Anomalisa
Derek Smith, Rosa Tran, Joe Passarelli, John Joyce
Hotel Transylvania 2
Karl Herbst, Skye Lyons, Alan Hawkins, Genndy Tartakovsky
The Good Dinosaur
Sanjay Bakshi, Denise Ream, Michael Venturini, Jon Reisch
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project
The Order: 1886
Nathan Phail-Liff, Dana Jan, Anthony Vitale, Scot Andreason
Halo 5: Guardians
Nicolas Bouvier, Jon Wood, Brien Goodrich, Matt Aldridge
The Hobbit: A Thief in the Shadows
Alasdair Coull, Daniel Smith, Nick Donaldson, Tim Elek
Destiny: The Taken King
Michael Zak, Mark Noseworthy, Stephen Scott, Dave Matthews
Music, audio post and sonic branding house Barking Owl has taken on exclusive representation of Oscar and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers for advertising and branded content.
Bowers’ recent film scores include The Wild Robot and Bob Marley: One Love, alongside acclaimed past works such as The Color Purple (2023), King Richard and Green Book. His contributions to television are equally impressive, with scores for hit series like Bridgerton, When They See Us, Dear White People, and his Daytime Emmy Award-winning score for The Snowy Day.
In addition to his work as a composer, Bowers is a visionary director. He recently took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for his directorial work on The Last Repair Shop. The emotionally touching short film spotlights four of the people responsible for repairing the musical instruments used by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Last Repair Shop reflects the positive influence that musical instruments have on the youngsters who play them, and the adults in the LAUSD free repair service who keep them working and in tune.
Barking Owl CEO Kirkland Alexander Lynch said of Bowers, “His artistry, diversity of style and depth of storytelling bring an unparalleled edge to the work we create for global brands. His presence on our roster reflects our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound and music in advertising.”
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, Barking Owl, added, “Kris first caught my attention when he released his record ‘Heroes + Misfits’ where he fused together his jazz sensibility with a deeply ingrained aptitude for melody, so beautifully.... Read More
