Upping the recognition and honors for visual effects professionals, the Visual Effects Society kicked off its first annual awards ceremony Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS led the night with eight film awards while DINOTOPIA garnered four for television. Character animation was highlighted with awards given in television, animated and live-action features. The more than 350 attendees from visual effects and post-production houses looked to the astral stars with a special presentation by astronaut Colonel Rick Searfoss, who flew three space shuttle missions and helped train the Columbia crew. The influence of space travel movies was reflected in the design of the trophy, a gold moon with a telescopic eye. The VES (www.visualeffects society.com) is an organization comprised of visual effects professionals who desire to honor, advance and promote visual effects for its membership and the industry as a whole. Following a black-tie dinner in the Ahmanson Ballroom, awards were given out in 20 categories covering television, commercials, music videos and feature films. Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., was the exclusive technology sponsor of the VES Awards. Will these be a precursor to the Academy Awards for visual effects coming soon in March? The winners, in the order in which they were presented, are:
Best Visual Effects in a Commercial
XBOX "Mosquito" - William Bartlett, Andrew Daffy, Jake Mengers, Helen Mackenzie
Best Character Animation in a Live Action Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial
DINOTOPIA - Michael Eames, Quentin Miles, Dadi Einarsson, Ben White
Best Matte Painting in a Motion Picture
STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES - Paul Huston, Yusei Uesugi, Jonathan Harb
Best Matte Painting in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial
DINOTOPIA - Daren Horley, Jason Horley, Craig Lyn, Martin McRae
Best Special Effects in a Motion Picture
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS - Steve Ingram, Blair Foord, Rich Cordobes, Scott Harens
Best Visual Effects in a Music Video
"So to Speak" - Andrew Honacker, Steven Wagner, Sean Capone, Talon Nightshade
Best Effects Art Direction in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial
Adidas "Mechanical Legs" - Eric Barba, Bernd Angerer, Jeff Julian, Feli di Giorgio
Best Effects Art Direction in a Motion Picture
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS - Alan Lee, Jeremy Bennett, Christian Rivers, Gino Acevedo
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS PHOTOGRAPHY IN A MOTION PICTURE
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS - Alex Funke, Bran Vant Hul, Richard Bluck
Best Visual Effects in a Television Series
FIREFLY "Serenity" pilot - Emile Smith, Rocco Passionino, Loni Peristere, Kristen Branan
Best Models and Miniatures in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial
Enterprise "Dead Stop" - John Teska, Koji Kuramura, Pierre Drolet, Sean Scott
Best Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS - Richard Taylor, Paul Van Ommen, Matt Aitken
Best Visual Effects in a Television Miniseries, Movie, or a Special
DINOTOPIA - Mike McGee, Time Webber, Alec Knox, Ben Morris
Best Performance by an Actor in an Effects Film
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS - Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin
Best Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture
STUART LITTLE 2 - Tony Bancroft, David Schaub, Eric Armstrong, Sean Mullen
Best Character Animation in a Live Action Motion Picture
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS - Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Ken McGaugh, Bay Raitt
Best Compositing in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial
DINOTOPIA - Christian Manz, Pedro Sabrosa, Nicolas Cotta, Tor Bjorn
Best Compositing in a Motion Picture
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS - Mark Lewis, GG Heitmann Demers, Alex Lemke, Alfred Murrle
Best Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Pictures
THE SUM OF ALL FEARS - Glenn Neufeld, Derek Spears, Dan Malvin, Al Disarro
Best Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Motion Picture
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS - Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, Alex Funke
