At the 20th annual VES Awards, held on Tuesday (March 8) night at the Beverly Hilton, Warner Bros.' ‘Dune’ and Disney's ‘Encanto’ each took home four awards.
‘Dune’ starring actors Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, directed by Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, won the prestigious ‘Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature’ award, which was presented by Villeneuve himself. Trophies for Model, Effects Simulations, and Compositing & Lighting were also awarded to the film. Despite the fact that the film premiered on HBO Max on the same day, it was able to thrive in theatres, grossing $41 million in its first weekend, exceeding expectations and leading to a quick green light for a sequel weeks later.
‘Encanto’, directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, took home the top toon award for ‘Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature’, as well as awards for ‘Animated Character’, ‘Created Environment’, and ‘Virtual Cinematography’.
‘Dune’ and ‘Encanto’ both roped in six nominations each. ‘Last Night in Soho’ (Supporting Visual Effects), ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (Created Environment), ‘Jungle Cruise’ (Special [Practical] Effects), ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ (Simulation), and ‘Finch’ (Animated Character) were the other winners in the award show.
‘Foundation’, an Apple TV+ drama, was the only TV show to win multiple awards tonight, taking home trophies for VFX in a Photoreal Episode and Effects Simulations for various episodes.
‘Loki’, a Disney+ Marvel series, received the most nominations with four, but only took home one statuette for Compositing & Lighting. One trophy each went to ‘See’ and ‘The Witcher’.
‘Sheba; Hope Reef’ took home two awards in the commercials category, and Call of Duty: Vanguard won for Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project.
Guillermo del Toro, a two-time Oscar winner and current nominee, received the VES Award for Creative Excellence this year, but he was ill and unable to attend. J. Miles Dale, del Toro's longtime producing partner, accepted on his behalf.
Lynwen Brennan, EVP/GM of Lucasfilm, received a standing ovation as she accepted the VES Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound.
Eric Roth, Executive Director of the Visual Effects Society, kicked off the show, which was supposed to be hosted by Patton Oswalt, but he was out due to a broken leg. As a result, the organisation enlisted the help of Drew Carey. He, too, had an "emergency" and couldn't make it, according to Roth.
Here’s is a complete list of all the winners at the awards show.
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE - 'Dune'
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE - 'Last Night in Soho'
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE - 'Encanto'
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE - 'Foundation, “The Emperor’s Peace” '
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE - 'See, “Rock-A-Bye” '
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT - 'Call of Duty: Vanguard'
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL - 'Sheba; “Hope Reef” '
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT - 'Jurassic World Adventure'
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE - 'Finch; Jeff'
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE - 'Encanto; Mirabel Madrigal'
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE OR REAL-TIME PROJECT - 'The Witcher; Nivellen the Cursed Man'
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A COMMERCIAL - 'Smart Energy; “Einstein Knows Best”; Einstein'
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE - 'Spider-Man: No Way Home; The Mirror Dimension'
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE - 'Encanto; Antonio’s Room'
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT - 'Sheba; “Hope Reef” '
OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT - 'Encanto, “We Don’t Talk about Bruno” '
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT - 'Dune; Royal Ornithopter'
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE - 'Dune; Dunes of Arrakis'
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE - 'Raya and the Last Dragon'
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT - 'Foundation, “Collapse of the Galactic Empire” '
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE - 'Dune; Attack on Arrakeen'
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE - 'Loki, “Lamentis”; Shuroo City Destruction'
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL - 'Verizon; “The Reset” '
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT - 'Jungle Cruise'
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT - 'Green'
