The Visual Effects Society (VES) today announced the nominees for its 10th Annual VES Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry in 23 categories of film, animation, television, commercials, special venues and video games. Nominees were chosen Saturday, January 7 by distinguished panels of VES members who viewed submissions at the FotoKem screening facilities in Burbank and New York, FotoKem’s Spy in San Francisco, and other facilities in London, Sydney, Vancouver and Wellington, NZ.

“The standard of the creative work that is being considered this year is unbelievably high across all categories,” said Jeffrey A. Okun, Chair of the Visual Effects Society. “The judges faced a huge challenge because all of the work was so far above the norm. We’re honored to have the opportunity to focus the spotlight on the outstanding work that has contributed to some of the highest grossing films and broadcast projects of all time.”

As previously announced, Stan Lee will be honored with the VES 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award and Douglas Trumbull with the Georges M©liès Award.
The 10th Annual VES Awards will take place on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and will air exclusively on ReelzChannel.
The nominees for the 10th Annual VES Awards are as follows:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture

Captain America: The First Avenger
Charlie Noble
Mark Soper
Christopher Townsend
Edson Williams

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Tim Burke
Emma Norton
John Richardson
David Vickery

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Gary Brozenich
David Conley
Charlie Gibson
Ben Snow

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Dan Lemmon
Joe Letteri
Cyndi Ochs
Kurt Williams

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Scott Benza
Wayne Billheimer
Matthew Butler
Scott Farrar

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture

Anonymous
Andre Cantarel
Volker Engel
Rony Soussan
Marc Weigert

Hugo
Ben Grossmann
Alex Henning
Rob Legato
Karen Murphy

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Laya Armian
Chas Jarrett
Seth Maury
Sirio Quintavalle

Source Code
Annie Godin
Louis Morin

War Horse
Duncan Burbidge
Ben Morris
Mike Mulholland
Chris Zeh

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Arthur Christmas
Doug Ikeler
Chris Juen
Alan Short
Mandy Tankenson

Kung Fu Panda 2
Melissa Cobb
Alex Parkinson
Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Raymond Zibach

Puss In Boots
Joe Aguilar
Guillaume Aretos
Ken Bielenberg
Chris Miller

Rango
Tim Alexander
Hal Hickel
Jacqui Lopez
Katie Lynch

The Adventures of Tintin
Jamie Beard
Joe Letteri
Meredith Meyer-Nichols
Eileen Moran

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie, or Special

Finding Life Beyond Earth
Simon Clarke
Hasraf Dulull
Vikas Gandhi
Francisco Lima

Gettysburg
J. David Everhart
Kent Johnson
Jon Rhinehardt
Jon Rosenthal

Inside the Human Body
Phil Dobree
Sophie Orde
Dan Upton

Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
Kevin Deters
Dorothy McKim
John Murrah
Stevie Wermers

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series

Falling Skies
Rob Biagi
Curt Miller
Andrew Orloff
Sean Tompkins

Fringe
Robert Habros
Andrew Orloff
Jay Worth
Chris Wright

Planet Dinosaur
Phil Dobree
Luke Dodd
Haz Dulull
Mark Sherwood

Terra Nova
Kevin Blank
Colin Brady
Adica Manis
Jason Zimmerman

The Bomber
Igor Gotsulyak
Dmitriy Kolesnik
Egor Olesov
Dmitriy Ovcharenko

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

Boardwalk Empire – Georgia Peaches
Richard Friedlander
Robert Stromberg
David Taritero

Bones – Tornado Case
Christian Cardona
Buddy Gheen
Beau Janzen
Andy Simonson

Breaking Bad – Face Off
Bruce Branit
Werner Hahnlein
Gregory Nicotero
William Powloski

Game of Thrones – Winter is Coming
Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor
Angela Barson
Ed Bruce
Adam McInnes

Pan Am – Pilot
Tavis Larkham
Chris Martin
Sam Nicholson
Matt Robken

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Live Action Commercial

Dior J’adore
Pascal Giroux
Julien Meesters
Stephane Pivron
Manuel Souillac

Jameson: Fire
Chris Bankoff
Dan Glass
Sascha M. Flick
Jeff Willette

Johnnie Walker: Rock Giant
Vincent Baertsoen
Camila de Biagi
Angus Kneale
Rob Petrie

Kia: Share Some Soul
Charles Abou Aad
Andy Boyd
Nordin Rahhali
Mike Wigart

Volkswagen: Hedgehog
Mhamed Elmezoued
Stephane Montel
Emilie Nicodex

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Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Commercial or Video Game Trailer

Audi A6 Avant – Hummingbird
Tom Bussell
Hugo Guerra
Rahel Makonnen
Jorge Montiel

Coca-Cola Siege
Russell Dodgson
Simon French
Diarmid Harrison-Murray
Sarah Hiddlestone

Diablo III: The Black Soulstone
Nicholas S. Carpenter
Graham Cunningham
Chris Thunig
Taka Yasuda

Prey 2
Heikki Anttila
Brandon Riza
Al Shier
Dave Wilson

Sony: 2 Worlds
Melanie Larue
David Liu
Richard Morton

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

Amazin’
Marc Rienzo
Eric Sanford
Lisa Zusmer Delprete

Humbugged! Rockettes to the Rescue
Troy Griffin
Jasmine Johnson
Greg Lyons
Glo Minaya

Star Tours: The Adventure Continues
Bill George
Jeanie King
Glen McIntosh
Marianne McLean

Transformers the Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle
Lori Arnold
Yanick Dusseault
Delio Tramontozzi
Jeff White

Typhoon 360
Peter Crosman
Seungyong Lee
Michael “oz” Smith
Brent Young

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Ukranian Ironbelly
Yasunobu Arahori
Tom Bracht
Gavin Harrison
Chris Lentz

Paul – Paul
Anders Beer
Julian Foddy
Jody Johnson
David Lowry

Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Caesar
Daniel Barrett
Florian Fernandez
Matthew Muntean
Eric Reynolds

The Thing – Edvard/Adam
Lyndon Barrois
Fred Chapman
Greg Massie
Marco Menco

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Puss In Boots – Puss
Antonio Banderas
Ludovic Bouancheau
Laurent Caneiro
Olivier Staphylas

Rango – Rango
Frank Gravatt
Kevin Martel
Brian Paik
Steve Walton

Rio – Nigel
Diana Diriwaechter
Sang Jun Lee
Sergio Pablos
Aamir Tarin

The Adventures of Tintin – Tintin
Gino Acevedo
Gustav Ahren
Jamie Beard
Simon Clutterbuck

Outstanding Animated Character in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

Audi A6 Avant – Hummingbird
Tom Bussell
Jorge Montiel

Canal + – The Bear
Laurent Creusot
Guillaume Ho
Olivier Mitonneau
Michal Nauzin

Carls Jr. – Robot
Matt Heimlich
Fredd Hopp
Philip Ineno
Rob Ramsdell

Game of Thrones – Fire and Blood
Henry Badgett
Mark Brown
Rafael Morant
James Sutton

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Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Anonymous – London
Andre Cantarel
Robert Freitag
Rony Soussan
Greg Strasz

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Hogwarts
Keziah Bailey
Stephen Ellis
Clement Gerard
Pietro Ponti

Thor – Heimdall’s Observatory
Pierre Buffin
Audrey Ferrara
Yoel Godo
Dominique Vidal

Transformers: Dark of the Moon – 155 Wacker Drive
Giles Hancock
John Hanson
Tom Martinek
Scott Younkin

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Puss In Boots – The Cloud World
Guillaume Aretos
Greg Lev
Brett Miller
Peter Zaslav

Rango – Main Street Dirt
John Bell
Polly Ing
Martin Murphy
Russell Paul

The Adventures of Tintin – Bagghar
Hamish Beachman
Adam King
Wayne Stables
Mark Tait

The Adventures of Tintin – Docks
Matt Aitken
Jeff Capogreco
Jason Lazaroff
Alessandro Mozzato

The Adventures of Tintin – Pirate Battle
Phil Barrenger
Keith F. Miller
Alessandro Saponi
Christoph Sprenger

Outstanding Created Environment in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

Audi A6 Avant – Hummingbird
Amaan Akram
Tom Bussell
Alex Hammond

Boardwalk Empire – Two Boats and a Lifeguard
Matthew Conner
Robert Stromberg

Game of Thrones – The Icewall
Markus Kuha
Dante Harbridge Robinson
Damien Mac
Fani Vassiadi

Pan Am – Pilot Worldport Terminal
Bill Arance
Martin Hilke
Diego Galtieri
Anthony Ocampo

Terra Nova – Terra Nova
Michael Bozulich
Eric Hance
Kevin Kipper
David Morton

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Hugo
Martin Chamney
Rob Legato
Adam Watkins
Fabio Zangla

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Thelvin Cabezas
Mike Perry
R. Christopher White
Erik Winquist

Thor
Xavier Allard
Pierre Buffin
Nicolas Chevallier

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Michael Balog
Richard Bluff
Shawn Kelly
Jeff White

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Arthur Christmas
Michael Ford
David Morehead
Emi Tahira

Cars 2
Mahyar Abousaeedi
Sharon Calahan
Jeremy Lasky
Jonathan Pytko

Rango
Colin Benoit
Philippe Rebours
Nelson Sepulveda
Nick Walker

The Adventures of Tintin
Matt Aitken
Matthias Menz
Keith F. Miller
Wayne Stables

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

Gears of War 3 – Dust to Dust
Niles Heckman
Richard Morton
Vernon Wilbert Jr.

Ghost Recon – Future Soldier “Camo Up”
David Liu

Mattel: Hot Wheels
Steve Beck
Robert Sethi
Feliz Urquiza

Once Upon A Time – Cinderella’s Courtyard
Stephen Jackson
Salyanne Massimini
Nathan Matsuda
Kevin Struckman

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Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Hogwarts School Buildings
Steven Godfrey
Pietro Ponti
Tania Marie Richard
Andy Warren

Hugo – Train Crash
Scott Beverly
Allan Faucher
Forest P. Fischer
Matthew Gratzner

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol – Parking Garage
John Goodson
Russell Paul
Kristian Pedlow
Vick Schutz

Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Driller
Tim Brakensiek
Kelvin Chu
David Fogler
Rene Garcia

Outstanding Models in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

Arrowhead Nature’s Fix
Carl Horner
Ian Hunter
Miyo Nakamura
Hayley O’Neil

Boardwalk Empire
Matthew Conner
Eran Dinur
David Reynolds
Szymon Weglarski

Falling Skies
Jon Chesson
Steve Graves
Michael Kirylo
Renaud Talon

Once Upon A Time
Michael Kirylo
Jeremy Michael Melton
Jason O. Monroe
Chris Strauss

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture

Captain America: The First Avenger
Casey Allen
Trent Claus
Brian Hajek
Cliff Welsh

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Michele Benigna
Martin Ciastko
Thomas Dyg
Andy Robinson

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Jean Luc Azzis
Quentin Hema
Simon Jung
Christoph Salzmann

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Chris Balog
Ben O’Brien
Amy Shepard
Jeff Sutherland

Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

Any World: Jeep Call of Duty MWF3
Jason Bergman
Steve Meyer
Peter Sidoriak

Boardwalk Empire – Gimcrack & Bunkum
Anton Dawson
Eran Dinur
Austin Meyers
David Reynolds

Channel 4 – Street Summer
Stirling Archibald
Anthony Bloor
Michael Gregory
Giacomo Mineo

DirecTV – Hot House
Franck Lambertz

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

a.maize
Roman Kaelin
Falko Paeper
Florian Wittmann

Aquatic Bloom
Susie Hong
Bokyeong Kim

Defective Detective
Avner Geller
Stevie Lewis

Hai Hase
Florian Greth
Julia Reck

Renee the Movie
Syrena Edmonds
Zack Heimbegner
Brian Mullen
Nathaniel Skinner

We Miss You
Jann Doeppert Hannah
Tonio Freitag
Hannah Maria Heidrich
Sebastian Nozon

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

About the VES

The VES is a professional, honorary society, dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of visual effects and to upholding the highest uniform standards and procedures for the visual effects profession. The VES is the entertainment industry’s only official organization representing the extended community of visual effects practitioners including supervisors, artists, producers, technology developers, educators and studio executives.

Its over 2,500 global members contribute to all areas of entertainment from film, animation, television and commercials to music videos, games and new media. VES strives to enrich and educate its members and the entertainment community at large through many domestic and international events, screenings and programs. Visual effects professionals constitute a vital creative force in content creation and are literally shaping the future of entertainment.