The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Life of Pi and The Avengers earned the most feature nominations — including nods in the top category for outstanding visual effects in a visual effects-driven feature — for the 11th annual Visual Effects Society Awards, which will be held Feb. 5 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The Hobbit led with seven nominations, and Life of Pi and The Avengers were close behind with six each.
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ParaNorman received the most nominations for an animated feature with five, including one for outstanding animation in an animated feature. In that category, LAIKA/Focus Features' ParaNorman will compete against Disney/Pixar’s Brave, DreamWorks Animation’s Rise of the Guardians, Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph and Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania.
The Hobbit, with VFX from Weta Digital; Life of Pi, whose lead VFX house was Rhythm & Hues; and Avengers, for which most of the VFX work was shared by ILM and Weta are all nominated for outstanding visual effects in a visual effects-driven feature along with Battleship (ILM was the lead VFX house) and Prometheus (MPC was the lead VFX house).
Four of the five are on the shortlist for the Academy Award for visual effects. The exception, Battleship, was selected for that category instead of other films still in contention for the VFX Oscar, such as The Dark Knight Rises.
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Seven of the past 10 winners in the category for outstanding VFX in a VFX-driven feature have gone on to win the Oscar. Last year, Hugo — winner of the VES’ supporting VFX category — won the Academy Award.
In this year's category for outstanding animated character in a live action feature, The Hobbit’s Gollum will face off against Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger in Life of Pi; the Hulk from Avengers and The Hobbit's Goblin King.
Competing for outstanding supporting visual effects in a feature this year are Argo, Rust & Bone, Flight, The Impossible and Zero Dark Thirty.
The VES categories incude features, TV, commercials, games and special venue productions, as well as a student competition. The complete list of VES nominations follows:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Joe Letteri
Eileen Moran
Eric Saindon
Kevin L. Sherwood
Prometheus
Paul Butterworth
Charley Henley
Allen Maris
Richard Stammers
Life of Pi
Thomas Fisher
Susan Macleod
Guillaume Rocheron
Bill Westenhofer
The Avengers
Susan Pickett
Janek Sirrs
Jeff White
Guy Williams
Battleship
Grady Cofer
Pablo Helman
Jeanie King
Glen Mcintosh
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
Rust and Bone
Béatrice Bauwens
Cédric Fayolle
Nicolas Rey
Stéphane Thibert
The Impossible
Felix Bergés
Sandra Hermida
Pau Costa Moeller
Argo
Matt Dessero
Leslie Hough
Gregory Mcmurry
Tom Smith
Flight
Kevin Baillie
Michael Lantieri
Chris Stoski
Ryan Tudhope
Zero Dark Thirty
Geoff Anderson
Chris Harvey
Jeremy Hattingh
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program
Game of Thrones: Volar Morghulis
Rainer Gombos
Steve Kullback
Sven Martin
Juri Stanossek
Once Upon A Time: The Stranger
Dale Fay
Laura Jones
Nathan Matsuda
Andrew Orloff
Falling Skies: Worlds Apart
James Hattin
Suzanne Maclennan
Curt Miller
Andrew Orloff
Curiosity
Nathan Larouche
Lon Molnar
Geoff Scott
Bojan Zoric
Munsters: Mockingbird Lane
Leslie Ekker
Jonah Hall
Livia Hanich
Jason Zimmerman
Outstanding Real-Time Visuals in a Video Game
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Jason Blundell
Barry Whitney
Colin Whitney
Halo 4
Mike Cronin
Brien Goodrich
Kiki Wolfkill
Jon Wood
Dirt Showdown
Peter Asberg
Peter Clark
Nathan Fisher
Julie Mcgurren
Forza Horizon
Michel Bastien
Terrance Newell
Gareth Richards
Andrew Sage
Dishonored
Viktor Antonov
Sebastien Mitton
Jean-Luc Monnet
Julien Roby
Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Brave
Mark Andrews
Steve May
Katherine Sarafian
Bill Wise
ParaNorman
Chris Butler
Sam Fell
Travis Knight
Brad Schiff
Rise of the Guardians
Nancy Bernstein
David Prescott
Peter Ramsey
Christina Steinberg
Wreck-It Ralph
Sean Jenkins
Scott Kersavage
Rich Moore
Clark Spencer
Hotel Transylvania
Lydia Bottegoni
James Crossley
Mike Ford
Daniel Kramer
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program
Hemingway & Gellhorn
Nathan Abbot
Kip Larsen
Chris Morley
Christopher Paizis
Boardwalk Empire: Episode 308
John Bair
Parker Chehak
Paul Graff
Lesley Robson-Foster
Men Who Built America: Episode 2
Glenn Allen
Matthew Conner
Eran Dinur
David Reynolds
Hell On Wheels: Blood Moon
Matt Von Brock
Jason Fotter
Tim Jacobsen
Bill Kent
Hawaii Five-O: La O Na Makuahine
Gevork Babityan
Jon Howard
Armen Kevorkian
Ricardo Ramirez
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
Pepsi: Crowd Surfing
Martin Aufinger
Russell Dodgson
Abby Orchard
Chris Redding
Nike: Biomorph
Rafael Colon
Aladino Debert
David Liu
Nicola Wiseman
Lady Gaga: Fame
Kait Boehm
Juan Gomez
Kurt Lawson
Greg Teegarden
Norfolk Southern: City of Possibilities
Chris Bernier
Kyle Cody
Jeff Lopez
Boo Wong
Call of Duty: Surprise
Steve Beck
Chris Knight
Robert Sethi
Christina Thompson
Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: Goblin King
Jung Min Chan
James Jacobs
David Clayton
Guillaume Francois
The Hobbit: Gollum
Gino Acevedo
Alessandro Bonora
Jeff Capogreco
Kevin Estey
The Avengers: The Hulk
Marc Chu
John Doublestein
Cyrus Jam
Jason Smith
Life of Pi: Richard Parker
Erik De Boer
Sean Comer
Betsy Asher Hall
Kai-Hua Lan
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Brave: Argument
Travis Hathaway
Olivier Soares
Peter Sumanaseni
Brian Tindall
Hotel Transylvania: Dracula
Bill Haller
Tim Pixton
Jorge Vigara
Wreck-It Ralph: Vanellope
John Kahwaty
Suzan Kim
Michelle Robinson
Tony Smeed
The Pirates: Band of Misfits
Will Becher
Jay Grace
Loyd Price
Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
Ted: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
James W. Brown
Brad Fox
Ross Nakamura
Jeff Woo
Sinbad: Episode 1
Andy Guest
James Moxon
James Reid
Greg Spencer
Hallmark: Motherbird
Vince Baertsoen
Kevin Ives
Laurent Makowski
Joshua Merck
Game of Thrones: Training the Dragons
Irfan Celik
Florian Friedmann
Ingo Schachner
Chris Stenner
Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: Goblin Caverns
Ryan Arcus
Simon Jung
Alastair Maher
Anthony M. Patti
Prometheus: LV-233
Julien Bolbach
Marco Genovesi
Martin Riedel
Marco Rolandi
The Avengers: Midtown Manhattan
Richard Bluff
Giles Hancock
David Meny
Andy Proctor
Life of Pi: Open Ocean
Jason Bayever
Sho Hasegawa
Jimmy Jewell
Walt Jones
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Brave: The Forest
Tim Best
Steve Pilcher
Inigo Quilez
Andy Whittock
ParaNorman: Graveyard
Phil Brotherton
Robert Desue
Oliver Jones
Nick Mariana
ParaNorman: Main Street
Alice Bird
Matt Delue
Caitlin Pashalek
Rise of the Guardians: The North Pole
Eric Bouffard
Sonja Burchard
Andy Harbeck
Peter Maynez
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Matt Aitken
Victor Huang
Christian Rivers
R. Christopher White
The Avengers: Downtown Manhattan
Colin Benoit
Jeremy Goldman
Tory Mercer
Anthony Rispoli
Total Recall: Hover Car Chase
Daniel Baldwin
Mattias Forsstrom
Sam Schwier
Joshua Wassung
The Amazing Spider-Man
Rob Engle
David Schaub
Cosku Turhan
Max Tyrie
Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture
The Avengers: Helicarrier
Rene Garcia
Bruce Holcomb
Polly Ing
Aaron Wilson
The Impossible: Orchid Hotel
Markus Donhauser
Patrick Lehn
Angel Martinez
Juergen Pirman
Men in Black 3: Cape Canaveral/ Apollo Launch
Craig Feifarek
Hee-Chel Nam
Erik Neill
Taehyun Park
The Dark Knight Rises: Airplane Heist
Scott Beverly
Alan Faucher
Ian Hunter
Steve Newburn
Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Brave
Chris Chapman
Dave Hale
Michael K. O'Brien
Bill Watral
ParaNorman: Practical Volumetrics
Aidan Fraser
Joe Gorski
Eric Kuehne
Andrew Nawrot
ParaNorman: Angry Aggie Ink-Blot Electricity
Michael Cordova
Grant Laker
Susanna Luck
Peter Vickery
Rise of the Guardians: Last Stand
Andy Hayes
Carl Hooper
Andrew Wheeler
Stephen Wood
Outstanding Created Environment in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
Sinbad
James Moxon
Lyndall Spagnoletti
Greg Spencer
Simon Wicker
Pyke
Rene Borst
Thilo Ewers
Adam Figielski
Jonas Stuckenbrock
Call of Duty: Eclipse - Surprise
Chris Bayol
Steve Beck
Chris Knight
Robert Sethi
5 Gum RPM: Choose Your Energy
Kaan Atilla
Kevin Gillen
Isaac Irvin
Brandon Lester
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
Toyota: Real Deal
Adam Berg
Niles Heckman
Ronald Herbst
Vernon Wilbert
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
Steven Chen
Phil Dakin
Paul Stodolny
Call of Duty: Eclipse - Surprise
Chris Bayol
Steve Beck
Chris Knight
Robert Sethi
ZombiU
Dominique Boidin
Léon Bérelle
Rémi Kozyra
Maxime Luère
Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Areito Echevarria
Chet Leavai
Garry Runke
Francois Sugny
Life of Pi: Storm of God
Harry Mukhopadhyay
David Stopford
Mark Williams
Derek Wolfe
Battleship
Florent Andorra
Willi Geiger
Rick Hankins
Florian Witzel
Life of Pi: Ocean
Jason Bayever
David Horsley
Scott Townsend
Miles Vignol
Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
Nike: Biomorph
Aladino Debert
Eric Ebling
Ken Mitchel Jones
Jason Mortimer
Last Resort: Captain
Matt Von Brock
Bruce Coy
Junaid Farooq
Aldo Ruggiero
Guinness: Cloud
Tom Bussell
Neil Davies
Nissan Altima: Wouldn't it be Cool
Tim Borgmann
David Forcada
Aron Hjartarson
Shayne Ryan
Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Jean-Luc Azzis
Steven Mcgillen
Christoph Salzmann
Charles Tait
Life of Pi: Storm of God
Ryan Clarke
Jose Fernandez
Sean Oharas
Hamish Schumacher
The Avengers: Hulk Punch
Chris Balog
Peter Demarest
Nelson Sepulveda
Alan Travis
Prometheus: Engineers & the Orrery
Xavier Bourque
Sam Cole
Simone Riginelli
Denis Scolan
Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program
Hemingway & Gellhorn
Nathan Abbot
Shelley Campbell
Chris Morley
Christopher Paizis
Last Resort: Captain
Matt Von Brock
Jason Fotter
Aldo Ruggiero
Brian Williams
White Walker Army
Falk Boje
Esther Engel
Alexey Kuchinsky
Klaus Wuchta
Hell On Wheels: Blood Moon
Antonio Chang
Jason Fotter
Eric Hayden
Josh Miyaji
Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial
Chevy 2012 Silverado
Dominik Bauch
Nicholas Kim
Benjamin Walsh
Norfolk Southern: City of Possibilities
Tom Bardwell
Chris Bernier
Kyle Cody
Jeff Lopez
Call of Duty: Eclipse - Surprise
Chris Bayol
Steve Beck
Chris Knight
Robert Sethi
Nike: Game On, World
Daniel Marsh
Paul O'Shea
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
Heather Drummons
Joel Friesch
Troy Griffin
Chris Hummel
SeaWorld: Turtle Trek 3D/ 360
Timur "Taron" Baysal
Jae Choel Hong
Cecil Magpuri
Michael Roderick
Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet
Matthew Blackwell
Tom Kennedy
Jeroen Lapré
Mike Schmitt
The Ball Unleashed
Gianni Aliotti
Lisa Zusmer Delprete
Marc Dominic Rienzo
Eric Sanford
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
Voile Noir
Michael Balthazart
Raphaël Gaudin
Clément Granjon De Lepinay
Quentin Sauvinet
Globosome
Sascha Geddert
Johannes Peter
Patrick Schuler
Philipp Wolf
Rollin' Safari
Kyra Buschor
Anna Habermehl
Constantin Päplow
Natalis
Daniel Brkovic
David Kirchner
Jan-Marcel Kuehn