Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2017

Alonso, Ralston Encourage Outsiders, Women At 2017 VES Awards

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