Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2017
Sporting the gold, member’s only Visual Effects Society lapel pin, Patton Oswalt reprised his role as MC for the 15th Annual VES Awards held Tuesday, February 7th, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton. It’s the third time the Emmy-winning comic and producer has presided over the ceremony, and his wit was as sharp as ever.
VES Executive Director Eric Roth took the stage first to briefly welcome attendees and highlight initiatives the org is engaged in throughout 2017, its twentieth anniversary. In addition to the upcoming VES Magazine set to debut in April, Roth stated the VES is organizating an upcoming exhibition that will highlight the masterful creativity behind VES work through history. Oswalt then took the stage wearing an Oculas headset and cheerfully interacting with this year’s A-list Oscar nominees. Upon removing the gear, he stood silent in mock shock.
“Oh,” groaned Oswalt. “Hi nerds.”
Following the trend of all guild awards to date, political musings were sprinkled throughout the ceremony. While Oswalt took a humorous turn, equating President Donald’s trump running the White House to singer David Lee Roth heading the linguistic department at Yale, Visionary Award winner Victoria Alonso devoted some of her acceptance speech towards outlining the lack of diversity in the VES field, primarily highlighting the absence of women. Alonso pointed out only ten percent of the evenings’ nominees were women. “Why won’t you let us in?” Alonso asked.
Recognizing she is one of the few major female studio heads, Alonso noted she was willing to do the jobs no one wanted to do earlier in her career to make a difference. Born in Argentina at a time of political and social unrest, Alonso informed the crowd she would attend rallies as a banner carrier despite the fear of being imprisoned or killed as someone who spent their time in the front lines.
“Now, I will hold the banner for girls and fight to get more girls in the world of VFX,” said Alonso. “If she can see it, she can be it.”
Lifetime Achievement Award winner Ken Rolston also made a decree for tolerance and acceptance. Crediting his parents for encouraging him as a 14 year old who spent his free time making clay figures in the family’s garage, he dedicated his award to his mother and father.
“I am lucky to have had two people in my life that gave me such wonderful love and support,” said Rolston. “This is the greatest gift we can give kids who are acting peculiar, give them support.”
Oswald kept the evening running smoothly with light hearted jokes about the rock music that ushered the mild-mannered winners to the podium. Upon the ceremony’s efficient two and a half hour conclusion, nominees and guests flocked to the VES Awards after party which was hosted by Popular Mechanics and sponsored by Pelican.
Below is a complete list of the 2017 VES Winners:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
The Jungle Book
Robert Legato
Joyce Cox
Andrew R. Jones
Adam Valdez
JD Schwalm
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
Deepwater Horizon
Craig Hammack
Petra Holtorf-Stratton
Jason Snell
John Galloway
Burt Dalton
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
Kubo and the Two Strings
Travis Knight
Arianne Sutner
Steve Emerson
Brad Schiff
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards
Joe Bauer
Steve Kullback
Glenn Melenhorst
Matthew Rouleau
Sam Conway
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
Black Sails; XX
Erik Henry
Terron Pratt
Aladino Debert
Yafei Wu
Paul Stephenson
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project
Uncharted 4
Bruce Straley
Eben Cook
Iki Ikram
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
Diarmid Harrison-Murray
Hannah Ruddleston
Fabian Frank
William Laban
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
Pirates of the Caribbean; Battle for the Sunken Treasure
Bill George
Amy Jupiter
Hayden Landis
David Lester
Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature
The Jungle Book; King Louie
Paul Story
Dennis Yoo
Jack Tema
Andrei Coval
Outstanding Animated Performance in an Animated Feature
Finding Dory; Hank
Jonathan Hoffman
Steven Clay Hunter
Mark Piretti
Audrey Wong
Outstanding Animated Performance in an Episode or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Drogon
James Kinnings
Michael Holzl
Matt Derksen
Joseph Hoback
Outstanding Animated Performance in a Commercial
John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
Tim van Hussen
David Bryan
Chloe Dawe
Maximilian Mallmann
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature
Doctor Strange; New York City
Adam Watkins
Martijn van Herk
Tim Belsher
Jon Mitchell
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature
Moana; Motunui Island
Rob Dressel
Andy Harkness
Brien Hindman
Larry Wu
Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Meereen City
Deak Ferrand
Dominic Daigle
François Croteau
Alexandru Banuta
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project
The Jungle Book
Bill Pope
Robert Legato
Gary Roberts
John Brennan
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project
Deepwater Horizon; Deepwater Horizon Rig
Kelvin Lau
Jean Bolte
Kevin Sprout
Kim Vongbunyong
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
The Jungle Book; Nature Effects
Oliver Winwood
Fabian Nowak
David Schneider
Ludovic Ramisandraina
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature
Moana
Marc Henry Bryant
David Hutchins
Ben Frost
Dale Mayeda
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Meereen City
Thomas Hullin
Dominik Kirouac
James Dong
Xavier Fourmond
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature
The Jungle Book
Christoph Salzmann
Masaki Mitchell
Matthew Adams
Max Stummer
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Retaking Winterfell
Dominic Hellier
Morgan Jones
Thijs Noij
Caleb Thompson
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Commercial
John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
Tom Harding
Alex Snookes
David Filipe
Andreas Feix
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
Breaking Point
Johannes Franz
Nicole Rothermel
Thomas Sali
Alexander Richter
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