'Ready Player One' wins pair of awards, 'First Man' tops supporting VFX category, and 'Into the Spider-Verse' sweeps animated feature categories.


Marking the first time a Marvel movie won the Visual Effects Society’s top prize, Avengers: Infinity War claimed the trophy for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature plus three additional trophies for animated character (Thanos), effects simulations and compositing.


Also Tuesday at the 17th VES Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Ready Player One earned two trophies, for best created environment (for The Shining’s Overlook Hotel) and virtual cinematography, while First Man claimed the award for outstanding supporting VFX in a photoreal feature (a film can't be nominated in both outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature and supporting VFX in a photoreal feature).


Infinity War, Ready Player One and First Man, along with Solo: A Star Wars Story and Christopher Robin are nominated for the Academy Award in VFX.


In six of the last 10 years, the winner in the outstanding VFX in a photo-real feature category (previously called the VFX-driven feature) went on to win the Oscar in VFX. Once, in 2011, the Oscar went to the winner of the VES Award for supporting VFX (Hugo).


Meanwhile Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swept the animated feature categories winning four awards including best VFX in an animated feature, best animated character (Miles Morales), created environment (graphic New York City) and effects simulations.


In the categories for episodic programs, Lost in Space won four awards, including for outstanding VFX in a photoreal episode.


During the ceremony, a lifetime achievement award was bestowed upon Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri; the Visionary Award went to Jonathan Nolan; and the Award for Creative Excellence was presented to David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.


Patton Oswalt hosted the ceremony, during which he recognized the VES Awards’ 17th year — "just on the cusp for Bryan Singer" — and asked the crowd "if there's any way you could green-screen a wall on the Mexican border … if you did that, [Donald Trump] would totally buy it."


During the ceremony, VES executive director Eric Roth announced a multi-year VES archiving initiative, which is intended to wrap with the launch of an online VFX digital library.


Evan Rachel Wood presented the Visionary Award to Nolan, while Steve Carell, initially wearing a Gru mask, presented to Meledandri. In his acceptance speech, Meledandri said, “Everyday we all join a noble mission. We contribute our creativity and craft to bring joy into the lives of audiences”.


The complete list of winners follows.


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature


WINNER - Avengers: Infinity War
Daniel DeLeeuw
Jen Underdahl
Kelly Port
Matt Aitken
Daniel Sudick

Christopher Robin
Chris Lawrence
Steve Gaub
Michael Eames
Glenn Melenhorst
Chris Corbould
Ready Player One
Roger Guyett
Jennifer Meislohn
David Shirk
Matthew Butler
Neil Corbould
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rob Bredow
Erin Dusseault
Matt Shumway
Patrick Tubach
Dominic Tuohy
Welcome to Marwen
Kevin Baillie
Sandra Scott
Seth Hill
Marc Chu
James Paradis

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature


WINNER - First Man
Paul Lambert
Kevin Elam
Tristan Myles
Ian Hunter
JD Schwalm

12 Strong
Roger Nall
Robert Weaver
Mike Meinardus
Bird Box
Marcus Taormina
David Robinson
Mark Bakowski
Sophie Dawes
Mike Meinardus
Bohemian Rhapsody
Paul Norris
Tim Field
May Leung
Andrew Simmonds
Outlaw King
Alex Bicknell
Dan Bethell
Greg O'Connor
Stefano Pepin

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature


WINNER - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Joshua Beveridge
Christian Hejnal
Danny Dimian
Bret St. Clair

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch
Pierre Leduc
Janet Healy
Bruno Chauffard
Milo Riccarand
Incredibles 2
Brad Bird
John Walker
Rick Sayre
Bill Watral
Isle of Dogs
Mark Waring
Jeremy Dawson
Tim Ledbury
Lev Kolobov
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Scott Kersavage
Bradford Simonsen
Ernest J. Petti
Cory Loftis

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode


WINNER - Lost in Space, "Danger, Will Robinson"
Jabbar Raisani
Terron Pratt
Niklas Jacobson
Joao Sita

Altered Carbon, "Out of the Past"
Everett Burrell
Tony Meagher
Steve Moncur
Christine Lemon
Joel Whist
Krypton, "The Phantom Zone"
Ian Markiewicz
Jennifer Wessner
Niklas Jacobson
Martin Pelletier
The Terror, "Go for Broke"
Frank Petzold
Lenka Líkarova
Viktor Muller
Pedro Sabrosa
Westworld, "The Passenger"
Jay Worth
Elizabeth Castro
Bruce Branit
Joe Wehmeyer
Michael Lantieri

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode


WINNER - Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, "Pilot"
Erik Henry
Matt Robken
Bobo Skipper
Deak Ferrand
Pau Costa

The Alienist, "The Boy on the Bridge"
Kent Houston
Wendy Garfinkle
Steve Murgatroyd
Drew Jones
Paul Stephenson
The Deuce, "We're All Beasts"
Jim Rider
Steven Weigle
John Bair
Aaron Raff
The First, "Near and Far"
Karen Goulekas
Eddie Bonin
Roland Langschwert
Bryan Godwin
Matthew James Kutcher
The Handmaid's Tale, "June"
Brendan Taylor
Stephen Lebed
Winston Lee
Leo Bovell

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature

WINNER - Avengers: Infinity War; Thanos
Jan Philip Cramer
Darren Hendler
Paul Story
Sidney Kombo-Kintombo

Christopher Robin; Tigger
Arslan Elver
Kayn Garcia
Laurent Laban
Mariano Mendiburu
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; Indoraptor
Jance Rubinchik
Ted Lister
Yannick Gillain
Keith Ribbons
Ready Player One; Art3mis
David Shirk
Brian Cantwell
Jung-Seung Hong
Kim Ooi

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project


WINNER - Age of Sail
John Kahrs
Kevin Dart
Cassidy Curtis
Theresa Latzko

Cycles
Jeff Gipson
Nicholas Russell
Lauren Nicole Brown
Jorge E. Ruiz Cano

Dr Grordbort's Invaders
Greg Broadmore
Mhairead Connor
Steve Lambert
Simon Baker
God of War
Maximilian Vaughn Ancar
Corey Teblum
Kevin Huynh
Paolo Surricchio
Marvel's Spider-Man
Grant Hollis
Daniel Wang
Seth Faske
Abdul Bezrati

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

WINNER - John Lewis, "The Boy and the Piano"
Kamen Markov
Philip Whalley
Anthony Bloor
Andy Steele

Beyond Good & Evil 2
Maxime Luere
Leon Berelle
Remi Kozyra
Dominique Boidin
McDonald's, "#ReindeerReady"
Ben Cronin
Josh King
Gez Wright
Suzanne Jandu
U.S. Marine Corps, "A Nation's Call"
Steve Drew
Nick Fraser
Murray Butler
Greg White
Dave Peterson
Volkswagen, "Born Confident"
Carsten Keller
Anandi Peiris
Dan Sanders
Fabian Frank

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

WINNER - Childish Gambino's Pharos
Keith Miller
Alejandro Crawford
Thelvin Cabezas
Jeremy Thompson

Beautiful Hunan; Flight of the Phoenix
B. R. Rajeev
Suhit Saha
Arish Fyzee
Unmesh Nimbalkar
DreamWorks Theatre Presents Kung Fu Panda
Marc Scott
Doug Cooper
Michael Losure
Alex Timchenko
Osheaga Music and Arts Festival
Andre Montambeault
Marie-Josee Paradis
Alyson Lamontagne
David Bishop Noriega
Pearl Quest
Eugenie von Tunzelmann
Liz Oliver
Ian Spendloff
Ross Burgess

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature


WINNER - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; Miles Morales
Marcos Kang
Chad Belteau
Humberto Rosa
Julie Bernier Gosselin

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch; The Grinch
David Galante
Francois Boudaille
Olivier Luffin
Yarrow Cheney
Incredibles 2; Helen Parr
Michal Makarewicz
Ben Porter
Edgar Rodriguez
Kevin Singleton
Ralph Breaks the Internet; Ralphzilla
Dong Joo Byun
Dave K. Komorowski
Justin Sklar
Le Joyce Tong

Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project


WINNER - Lost in Space; Humanoid
Chad Shattuck
Paul Zeke
Julia Flanagan
Andrew McCartney

Cycles; Rae
Jose Luis Gomez Diaz
Edward Everett Robbins III
Jorge E. Ruiz Cano
Jose Luis "Weecho" Velasquez
Nightflyers, "All That We Have Found"; Eris
Peter Giliberti
James Chretien
Ryan Cromie
Cesar Dacol Jr.
Spider-Man; Doc Ock
Brian Wyser
Henrique Naspolini
Sophie Brennan
William Salyers

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial

WINNER - Volkswagen, "Born Confident"; Bam
David Bryan
Chris Welsby
Fabian Frank
Chloe Dawe

McDonald's; Bobbi the Reindeer
Gabriela Ruch Salmeron
Joe Henson
Andrew Butler
Joel Best
Overkill's The Walking Dead; Maya
Jonas Ekman
Goran Milic
Jonas Skoog
Henrik Eklundh
Peta, "Best Friend"; Lucky
Bernd Nalbach
Emanuel Fuchs
Sebastian Plank
Christian Leitner

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature


WINNER - Ready Player One; The Shining, Overlook Hotel
Mert Yamak
Stanley Wong
Joana Garrido
Daniel Gagiu

Ant-Man and the Wasp; Journey to the Quantum Realm
Florian Witzel
Harsh Mistri
Yuri Serizawa
Can Yuksel
Aquaman; Atlantis
Quentin Marmier
Aaron Barr
Jeffrey De Guzman
Ziad Shureih
Solo: A Star Wars Story; Vandor Planet
Julian Foddy
Christoph Ammann
Clement Gerard
Pontus Albrecht

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature


WINNER - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; Graphic New York City
Terry Park
Bret St. Clair
Kimberly Liptrap
Dave Morehead

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch; Whoville
Loic Rastout
Ludovic Ramiere
Henri Deruer
Nicolas Brack
Incredibles 2; Parr House
Christopher M. Burrows
Philip Metschan
Michael Rutter
Joshua West
Ralph Breaks the Internet; Social Media District
Benjamin Min Huang
Jon Kim Krummel II
Gina Warr Lawes
Matthias Lechner

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project


WINNER - Lost in Space, "Pilot"; Impact Area
Philip Engstrom
Kenny Vahakari
Jason Martin
Martin Bergquist

Cycles, "The House"
Michael R.W. Anderson
Jeff Gipson
Jose Luis Gomez Diaz
Edward Everett Robbins III
The Deuce, "42nd St"
John Bair
Vance Miller
Jose Marin
Steve Sullivan
The Handmaid's Tale, "June"; Fenway Park
Patrick Zentis
Kevin McGeagh
Leo Bovell
Zachary Dembinski
The Man in the High Castle; Reichsmarschall Ceremony
Casi Blume
Michael Eng
Ben McDougal
Sean Myers

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project


WINNER - Ready Player One; New York Race
Daniele Bigi
Edmund Kolloen
Mathieu Vig
Jean-Baptiste Noyau

Aquaman; Third Act Battle
Claus Pedersen
Mohammad Rastkar
Cedric Lo
Ryan McCoy
Echo; Time Displacement
Victor Perez
Tomas Tjernberg
Tomas Wall
Marcus Dineen
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; Gyrosphere Escape
Pawl Fulker
Matt Perrin
Oscar Faura
David Vickery
Welcome to Marwen; Town of Marwen
C. Kim Miles
Matthew Ward
Ryan Beagan
Marc Chu

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project


WINNER - Mortal Engines; London
Matthew Sandoval
James Ogle
Nick Keller
Sam Tack

Avengers: Infinity War; Nidavellir Forge Megastructure
Chad Roen
Ryan Rogers
Jeff Tetzlaff
Ming Pan
Incredibles 2; Underminer Vehicle
Neil Blevins
Philip Metschan
Kevin Singleton
Ready Player One; DeLorean DMC-12
Giuseppe Laterza
Kim Lindqvist
Mauro Giacomazzo
William Gallyot
Solo: A Star Wars Story; Millennium Falcon
Masa Narita
Steve Walton
David Meny
James Clyne

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature


WINNER - Avengers: Infinity War; Titan
Gerardo Aguilera
Ashraf Ghoniem
Vasilis Pazionis
Hartwell Durfor

Avengers: Infinity War; Wakanda
Florian Witzel
Adam Lee
Miguel Perez Senent
Francisco Rodriguez
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Dominik Kirouac
Chloe Ostiguy
Christian Gaumond
Venom
Aharon Bourland
Jordan Walsh
Aleksandar Chalyovski
Federico Frassinelli

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature


WINNER - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Ian Farnsworth
Pav Grochola
Simon Corbaux
Brian D. Casper

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch; Snow, Clouds and Smoke
Eric Carme
Nicolas Brice
Milo Riccarand
Incredibles 2
Paul Kanyuk
Tiffany Erickson Klohn
Vincent Serritella
Matthew Kiyoshi Wong
Ralph Breaks the Internet; Virus Infection & Destruction
Paul Carman
Henrik Falt
Christopher Hendryx
David Hutchins
Smallfoot
Henrik Karlsson
Theo Vandernoot
Martin Furness
Dmitriy Kolesnik

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project


WINNER - Altered Carbon
Philipp Kratzer
Daniel Fernandez
Xavier Lestourneaud
Andrea Rosa

Lost in Space; Jupiter is Falling
Denys Shchukin
Heribert Raab
Michael Billette
Jaclyn Stauber
Lost in Space; The Get Away
Juri Bryan
Will Elsdale
Hugo Medda
Maxime Marline
The Man in the High Castle; Statue of Liberty Destruction
Saber Jlassi
Igor Zanic
Nick Chamberlain
Chris Parks

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature


WINNER - Avengers: Infinity War; Titan
Sabine Laimer
Tim Walker
Tobias Wiesner
Massimo Pasquetti

First Man
Joel Delle-Vergin
Peter Farkas
Miles Lauridsen
Francesco Dell'Anna
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
John Galloway
Enrik Pavdeja
David Nolan
Juan Espigares Enriquez
Welcome to Marwen
Woei Lee
Saul Galbiati
Max Besner
Thai-Son Doan

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode


WINNER - Lost in Space, "Impact"; Crash Site Rescue
David Wahlberg
Douglas Roshamn
Sofie Ljunggren
Fredrik Lonn

Altered Carbon
Jean-Francois Leroux
Reece Sanders
Stephen Bennett
Laraib Atta
The Handmaid's Tale, "June"
Winston Lee
Gwen Zhang
Xi Luo
Kevin Quatman
Silicon Valley, "Artificial Emotional Intelligence"; Fiona
Tim Carras
Michael Eng
Shiying Li
Bill Parker

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Commercial

WINNER - Apple, "Welcome Home"
Michael Ralla
Steve Drew
Alejandro Villabon
Peter Timberlake

Apple, "Unlock"
Morten Vinther
Michael Gregory
Gustavo Bellon
Rodrigo Jimenez
Genesis, "G90 Facelift"
Neil Alford
Jose Caballero
Joseph Dymond
Greg Spencer
John Lewis, "The Boy and the Piano"
Kamen Markov
Pratyush Paruchuri
Kalle Kohlstrom
Daniel Benjamin

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

WINNER - Terra Nova
Thomas Battistetti
Melanie Geley
Mickael Le Mezo
Guillaume Hoarau

Chocolate Man
David Bellenbaum
Aleksandra Todorovic
Jorg Schmidt
Martin Boué

Proxima-b
Denis Krez
Tina Vest
Elias Kremer
Lukas Loffler
Ratatoskr
Meike Muller
Lena-Carolin Lohfink
Anno Schachner
Lisa Schachner