The Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Picture is one of the annual awards given by the Visual Effects Society starting in 2002. While the award's title has changed several time within this period, the recipient has always been a visual effects-heavy feature film; film's with more background effects work have their own category, the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture.

Winners and nominees

2000s

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Motion Picture

Year Film Nominee(s)
2002
[1][2]		 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, Alex Funke
Men in Black II John Andrew Berton Jr., Tom Bertino, Bill Westenhofer, Erik Mattson
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones John Knoll, Ben Snow, Pablo Helman, Rob Coleman
2003
[3][4]		 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Jim Rygiel, Dean Wright, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook
The Matrix Revolutions John Gaeta, Kim Libreri, George Murphy, Craig Hayes
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl John Knoll, Patrick T. Myers, Hal Hickel, Jill Brooks
2004
[5]		 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, Theresa Corrao, Emma Norton
The Day After Tomorrow Karen E. Goulekas, Mike Chambers, Greg Strause, Remo Balcells
Spider-Man 2 John Dykstra, Lydia Bottegoni, Anthony LaMolinara, Scott Stokdyk
2005
[6][7]		 King Kong Joe Letteri, Eileen Moran, Christian Rivers, Eric Saindon
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Dean Wright, Randy Starr, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Jim Mitchell, Theresa Corrao, Tim Alexander, Tim Webber
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith John Knoll, Roger Guyett, Rob Coleman, Denise Ream
2006
[8][9]		 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest John Knoll, Jill Brooks, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson
Charlotte's Web Karin Joy, Blair Clark, John Dietz
The Fountain Jeremy Dawson, Dan Schrecker, Mark G. Soper, Peter Parks
2007
[10][11]		 Transformers Scott Farrar, Shari Hanson, Russell Earl, Scott Benza
The Golden Compass Michael L. Fink, Susan MacLeod, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris
I Am Legend Janek Sirrs, Mike Chambers, Jim Berney, Crys Forsyth-Smith
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End John Knoll, Jill Brooks, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson
Spider-Man 3 Scott Stokdyk, Terry Clotiaux, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook
2008
[12][13]		 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Eric Barba, Edson Williams, Nathan McGuinness, Lisa Beroud
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Wendy Rogers, Dean Wright, Andrew Fowler, Greg Butler
Cloverfield Kevin Blank, Chantal Feghali, Michael Ellis, Eric Leven
Hellboy II: The Golden Army Mike Wassel, Lucy Killick, Adrian De Wet, Eamonn Butler
Iron Man Ben Snow, Hal Hickel, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson
2009
[14][15]		 Avatar Joe Letteri (visual effects supervisor); Richard Baneham (animation supervisor); Joyce Cox, Eileen Moran (vfx producers)
2012 Volker Engel, Marc Weigert (visual effects supervisors); Josh R. Jaggars (vfx producer)
District 9 Dan Kaufman (vfx supervisor), Peter Muyzers (on-set vfx plate supervisor), James Stewart (creature supervisor), Stefanie Boose (vfx producer)
Star Trek Burt Dalton (special effects supervisor); Russell Earl, Roger Guyett (visual effects supervisors); Shari Hanson (visual effects producer)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Scott Farrar (visual effects supervisor), John Frazier (special effects supervisor), Scott Benza (animation director), Wayne Billheimer (visual effects producer)

2010s

Year Film Nominee(s)
2010
[16][17]		 Inception Paul Franklin (visual effects supervisor); Chris Corbould (special effects supervisor); Mike Chambers, Matthew Plummer (visual effects producers)
Alice in Wonderland Ken Ralston (senior visual effects supervisor), Carey Villegas (visual effects supervisor), David Schaub (animation supervisor), Tom Peitzman (visual effects producer)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Tim Burke (overall visual effects supervisor), John Richardson, Emma Norton (visual effects producer)
Iron Man 2 Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright (visual effects supervisors); Susan Pickett (visual effects producer)
Tron: Legacy Eric Barba (visual effects supervisor), Steve Preeg (animation director), Steve Gaub (sequence supervisor), Lisa Beroud (visual effects producer)
2011
[18][19]		 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri, Cyndi Ochs, Kurt Williams
Captain America: The First Avenger Charlie Noble, Mark G. 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, Charles Gibson, Ben Snow
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Scott Benza, Wayne Billheimer, Matthew E. Butler, Scott Farrar
2012
[20][21]		 Life of Pi Donald Elliott, Susan MacLeod, Guillaume Rocheron, Bill Westenhofer
The Avengers Susan Pickett, Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams
Battleship Grady Cofer, Pablo Helman, Kevin Elam, Glen McIntosh
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Joe Letteri, Eileen Moran, Eric Saindon, Kevin L. Sherwood
Prometheus Paul Butterworth, Charley Henley, Allen Maris, Richard Stammers
2013
[22][23]		 Gravity Tim Webber, Nikki Penny, Neil Corbould, Richard McBride
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, Kevin L. Sherwood, David Clayton
Iron Man 3 Christopher Townsend, Mark G. Soper, Guy Williams, Bryan Grill
Pacific Rim John Knoll, Susan Greenhow, Christopher Raimo, Hal Hickel
Star Trek Into Darkness Roger Guyett, Luke O'Byrne, Ron Ames, Ben Grossmann

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Year Film Nominee(s)
2014
[24][25]		 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Joe Letteri, Ryan Stafford, Matt Kutcher, Dan Lemmon, Hannah Bianchini
Guardians of the Galaxy Stephane Ceretti, Susan Pickett, Jonathan Fawkner, Nicolas Aithadi, Paul Corbould
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Joe Letteri, David Conley, Eric Saindon, Kevin L. Sherwood, Steve Ingram
Interstellar Paul Franklin, Kevin Elam, Ann Podlozny, Andrew Lockley, Scott R. Fisher
Maleficent Carey Villegas, Barrie Hemsley, Adam Valdez, Kelly Port, Michael Dawson
X-Men: Days of Future Past Richard Stammers, Blondel Aidoo, Lou Pecora, Anders Langlands, Cameron Waldbauer

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

Year Film Nominee(s)
2015
[26][27]		 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Roger Guyett, Luke O'Byrne, Patrick Tubach, Paul Kavanagh, Chris Corbould
Furious 7 Mike Wassel, Karen M. Murphy, Martin Hill, Kelvin McIlwain, Dan Sudick
Mad Max: Fury Road Andrew Jackson, Holly Radcliffe, Tom Wood, Fiona Crawford, Dan Oliver
The Martian Richard Stammers, Barrie Hemsley, Matt Sloan, Chris Lawrence, Steven Warner
San Andreas Colin Strause, Randy Starr, Bryan Grill, Nordin Rahhali, Brian Cox
2016
[28][29]		 The Jungle Book Robert Legato, Joyce Cox, Andrew R. Jones, Adam Valdez, J.D. Schwalm
Doctor Strange Stephane Ceretti, Susan Pickett, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, Paul Corbould
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Christian Manz, Olly Young, Tim Burke, Pablo Grillo, David Watkins
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Frazer Churchill, Hal Couzens, Andrew Lockley, Jelmer Boskma, Hayley J. Williams
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story John Knoll, Erin D. O'Connor, Hal Hickel, Nigel Sumner, Neil Corbould
2017
[30][31]		 War for the Planet of the Apes Joe Letteri, Ryan Stafford, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon, Joel Whist
Blade Runner 2049 John Nelson, Karen M. Murphy, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Christopher Townsend, Damien Carr, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick
Kong: Skull Island Jeff White, Tom C. Peitzman, Stephen Rosenbaum, Scott Benza, Michael Meinardus
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Ben Morris, Tim Keene, Eddie Pasquarello, Dan Seddon, Chris Corbould
2018
[32][33]		 Avengers: Infinity War Dan DeLeeuw, Jen Underdahl, Kelly Port, Matt Aitken, Dan Sudick
Christopher Robin Chris Lawrence, Steve Gaub, Mike Eames, Glenn Melenhorst, Chris Corbould
Ready Player One Roger Guyett, Jennifer Meislohn, Dave Shirk, Matthew E. Butler, Neil Corbould
Solo: A Star Wars Story Rob Bredow, Erin D. O'Connor, Matt Shumway, Patrick Tubach, Dominic Tuohy
Welcome to Marwen Kevin Baillie, Sandra Scott, Seth Hill, Marc Chu, James Paradis
2019
[34][35]		 The Lion King Robert Legato, Tom C. Peitzman, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones
Alita: Battle Angel Richard E. Hollander, Kevin L. Sherwood, Eric Saindon, Richard Baneham, Bob Trevino
Avengers: Endgame Dan DeLeeuw, Jen Underdahl, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, Dan Sudick
Gemini Man Bill Westenhofer, Karen M. Murphy, Guy Williams, Sheldon Stopsack, Mark Hawker
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Roger Guyett, Stacy Bissell, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy

2020s

Year Film Nominee(s)
2020
[36]		 The Midnight Sky Matt Kasmir, Greg Baxter, Chris Lawrence, Max Solomon, David Watkins
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey Brad Parker, Roma Van Den Bergh, Eric Guaglione, Carlos Monzon, Stefano Pepin
Project Power Ivan Moran, Leslie Hough, Joao Sita, Matthew Twyford, Yves Debono
Tenet Andrew Jackson, Mike Chambers, Andrew Lockley, David Lee, Scott Fisher
The Witches Kevin Baillie, Sandra Scott, Sean Konrad, Glenn Melenhorst, Mark Holt
2021
[37]		 Dune Paul Lambert, Brice Parker, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer
Godzilla vs. Kong John "D.J." Des Jardin, Tamara Kent, Bryan Hirota, Kevin Smith, Mike Meinardus
The Matrix Resurrections Dan Glass, Nina Fallon, Tom Debenham, Huw J Evans, James Schwalm
No Time to Die Charlie Noble, Mara Bryan, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner, Chris Courbold
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Christopher Townsend, Damien Carr, Joe Farrell, Sean Walker, Dan Oliver
Spider-Man: No Way Home Kelly Port, Julia Neighly, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein, Dan Sudick
2022
[38]		 Avatar: The Way of Water Richard Baneham, Walter Garcia, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, J. D. Schwalm
The Batman Dan Lemmon, Bryan Searing, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands, Dominic Tuohy
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Christian Manz, Olly Young, Benjamin Loch, Stephane Naze, Alistair Williams
Jurassic World Dominion David Vickery, Ann Podlozny, ance Rubinchik, Dan Snape, Paul Corbould
Top Gun: Maverick Ryan Tudhope, Paul Molles, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, Scott Fisher

External links

References

  1. ^ Jeff Heusser (January 13, 2003). "Visual Effects Society Awards 2002 Nominees". Fxguide. Fxguide. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Sarah Baisley (February 20, 2003). "Two Towers and Dinotopia Top First VES Awards". Animation World Network. AWN, Inc. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  3. ^ Marc Graser (January 14, 2004). "'King' rings up VES noms". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Bill Desowitz (February 19, 2004). "Lord of the Rings King of 2004 VES Awards". Animation World Network. AWN, Inc. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Variety Staff (February 17, 2005). "'Aviator,' Spidey win effects hardware". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Variety Staff (February 16, 2006). "'War,' 'Kong' top visual effects kudos". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  7. ^ "Animator, Gorilla and War Top VES Awards" (PDF). Visual Effects Society. VES. February 15, 2006. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  8. ^ Gregg Kilday (January 9, 2007). "VES works up effects noms". The Hollywood Reporter. Lynne Segall. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  9. ^ Variety Staff (February 11, 2007). "'Pirates' plunders visual f/x awards". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  10. ^ Variety Staff (January 6, 2008). "VES sailing with 'Pirates'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  11. ^ Variety Staff (February 10, 2008). "'Transformers,' ILM light up VES". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  12. ^ ComingSoon (January 20, 2009). "Iron Man Leads VES Awards Nominees". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Variety Staff (February 21, 2009). "'Button' tops Visual Effects Awards". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  14. ^ Susan King (January 19, 2010). "'Avatar' grabs 11 VES Awards nominations". Los Angeles Times. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  15. ^ Variety Staff (February 28, 2010). "VES honors 'Avatar'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  16. ^ Peter Knegt (January 10, 2011). ""Inception" Leads Visual Effects Society Award Nominations". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  17. ^ Nikki Finke (February 1, 2011). "Visual Effects Awards: 'Inception' Wins 4, 'How To Train Your Dragon' 3". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  18. ^ Susan King (January 9, 2012). "'Tintin' and HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire' lead Visual Effects nominations". Los Angeles Times. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  19. ^ Carolyn Giardina (February 7, 2012). "'Apes,' 'Hugo,' 'Transformers 3' Win Two Categories Each at VES Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Lynne Segall. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  20. ^ Rahim Zahed (January 7, 2013). "VES Award Nominees Are Announced". Animation Magazine. Jean Thoren. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  21. ^ Carolyn Giardina (February 5, 2013). "VES Awards 2013: 'Life of Pi' Wins Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Lynne Segall. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  22. ^ The Deadline Team (January 14, 2014). "'Gravity' Leads With 8 VES Awards Nominations; 'Pacific Rim' Nabs 6". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  23. ^ Bill Desowitz (February 13, 2014). "'Gravity,' 'Frozen' Big VES Awards Winners". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  24. ^ The Deadline Team (January 13, 2015). "Visual Effects Society Awards Nominations Announced". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  25. ^ Bill Desowitz (February 4, 2015). "Big Hero 6 is the Big Hero with 5 Awards; Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Tops the Feature Film Category; Game of Thrones and SSE Lead in Broadcast and Commercial Wins". StudioDaily. Access Intelligence. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  26. ^ Margaret Lenker (January 12, 2016). "'Star Wars,' 'Game of Thrones,' 'The Peanuts Movie' Lead Visual Effects Society Nominations". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  27. ^ Carolyn Giardina (February 3, 2016). "VES Awards Winners: 'Star Wars' Takes Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Lynne Segall. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  28. ^ RT Staff (January 10, 2017). "'Star Wars,' 'Game of Thrones,' 'The Peanuts Movie' Lead Visual Effects Society Nominations". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  29. ^ Carolyn Giardina (February 7, 2017). "'The Jungle Book' Takes Top Visual Effects Society Honors". The Hollywood Reporter. Lynne Segall. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  30. ^ Erik Pedersen (January 16, 2018). "VES Awards Nominations: 'Blade Runner 2049' & Latest 'Apes' Lead Film; 'Thrones' Rules All With 11 Noms". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  31. ^ Erik Pedersen; Diane Haithman (February 13, 2018). "VES Awards: 'Apes', 'Coco' & 'Thrones' Dominate VFX Nods – Full Winners List". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  32. ^ Carolyn Giardina (January 15, 2019). "Visual Effects Society Awards: 'Avengers: 'Infinity War' Leads Feature Noms; 'Black Panther,' 'Mary Poppins Returns' Snubbed". The Hollywood Reporter. Lynne Segall. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  33. ^ Carolyn Giardina (February 5, 2019). "Visual Effects Society Awards: 'Avengers: Infinity War' Wins Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Lynne Segall. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  34. ^ Patrick Hipes (January 7, 2020). "Visual Effects Society Awards Nominations Announced". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  35. ^ Carolyn Giardina (January 29, 2020). "'The Lion King' Wins Top Honor at Visual Effects Society Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Lynne Segall. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  36. ^ Pederson, Erik (March 2, 2021). "VES Awards Nominations: 'Tenet', 'Midnight Sky', 'Extraction', 'Soul' & 'Mandalorian' Among Titles In Visual Effects Hunt". Deadline. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  37. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (January 18, 2022). "'Dune' Leads Visual Effects Society Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  38. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (January 17, 2023). "Avatar: The Way of Water Leads Visual Effects Society Awards Nominations". Variety. Penske Media Corporation.
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