1st Annual VES Awards
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
One Small Step for VES…
Welcome to the 1st Annual VES Awards. This is a proud moment for all of us within the Society, but equally important for all of those in the visual effects industry. Although this event is the culmination of nine years of vision and planning, it is just the first step in recognizing the artistic excellence in visual effects storytelling.
There are so many people who have contributed to this event, it is truly impossible to thank them all. From the Awards Committee to the Executive Committee to the Executive Director to the Office Staff to the Studios to the Visual Effects Companies to the Volunteers and, most importantly, to the Membership, I want to express my gratitude for all of your efforts. Your dedication and participation can clearly be defined by the integrity that has been given this most complex process.
But do the thanks really stop here? I think not. We owe much of our imagination to the great science fiction minds who have preceded us. From Leonardo da Vinci to Jules Verne to Frank Herbert to Isaac Asimov and all of the other great writers and dreamers of the world who have provided wonderful stories to stimulate the curiosity and imagination of the human race. And where do we draw the line between art & science, fiction & reality, dreaming & doing? Did the Nautilus in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea foresee or foretell the nuclear powered submarines of today? Was Melies’ A Trip to the Moon fantasy or a glimpse into 1969 when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon?
Is it too far of a stretch to think that today when a director asks us to create images that no one has seen before…that, maybe, 100 hundred years or so into the future…these storytelling fantasies create future realities? Only time will tell.
Honorees
Videos & Photo Galleries
Highlights
1st Annual VES Awards Highlights
Featuring VES Board Chair, Jim Morris, Astronaut, Col. (ret.) Rick Searfoss and visual effects legend, Douglas Trumbull.
Winners & Nominees
Below is the complete list of Winners and Nominees for the 1st Annual VES Awards. A sortable list for ALL years of VES Award winners / nominees can be found on the Previous VES Awards page.
View the category of the nominees and winners below.
Best Performance by an Actor in an Effects Film
Adaptation
Nicolas Cage
Men in Black II
Will Smith
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Winner)
Andy Serkis
Elijah Wood
Sean Astin
Best Compositing in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial
Adidas ‘Mechanical Legs’
Eric Barba
Bernd Angerer
Jeff Julian
Feli di Giorgio
Dinotopia (Winner)
Christian Manz
Pedro Sabrosa
Nicolas Cotta
Tor Bjorn
Firefly ‘Serenity’ Pilot
Loni Peristere
Emile Smith
Kristen Branan
Chris Jones
Best Effects Art Direction in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial
Adidas ‘Mechanical Legs’ (Winner)
Eric Barba
Bernd Angerer
Jeff Julian
Feli di Giorgio
Linkin Park ‘Points of Authority’
Andrew Orloff
Kristen Branan
Emile Smith
Kyle Toucher
Best Visual Effects in a Commercial
Adidas ‘Mechanical Legs’
Eric Barba
Bernd Angerer
Jeff Julian
Feli di Giorgio
Blockbuster Entertainment ‘Prima Donna’
Scott Souter
Frank Petzold
XBOX ‘Mosquito’ (Winner)
William Bartlett
Andrew Daffy
Jake Mengers
Helen Mackenzie
Best Character Animation in a Live Action Televised Program, Music Video, or Commerical
Blockbuster Entertainment ‘Kung Fu’
Scott Souter
Frank Petzold
Eric Reynolds
Todd LaBonte
Dinotopia (Winner)
Michael Eames
Quentin Miles
Dadi Einarsson
Ben White
Stargate SG-1 ‘Revelations’
James Tichenor
Craig Van Den Beggelaar
Kevin Little
Adam De Bosch Kemper
Best Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture
Die Another Day
John Richardson
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
Brian Gernand
Russell Paul
Geoff Campbell
Jean Bolte
The Lord of the Rings: ‘The Two Towers’ (Winner)
Richard Taylor
Paul Van Ommen
Matt Aitken
Best Special Effects in a Motion Picture
Die Another Day
Chris Corbould
The Lord of the Rings: ‘The Two Towers’ (Winner)
Steve Ingram
Blair Foord
Rich Cordobes
Scott Harens
Best Matte Painting in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial
Dinotopia (Winner)
Daren Horley
Jason Horley
Craig Lyn
Martin McRae
The Man Who Saved Christmas
Mark Fordham
Ian Britton
Graham Cunningham
Gudrun Heinze
Best Visual Effects in a Television Miniseries, Movie, or Special
Dinotopia (Winner)
Mike McGee
Tim Webber
Alec Knox
Ben Morris
James Cameron’s Expedition Bismarck
Dean Lewis
Stephen King’s Rose Red
Robin Griffin
Stuart Robertson
Dion Hatch
Nelson Sepulveda
Best Visual Effects in a Television Series
Dinotopia ‘Marooned & Making Good’
Guy Hudson
Sharon Fitzgerald
Frazer Churchill
David Hulin
Enterprise ‘Shockwave Part One’
Dan Curry
Ronald Moore
Liz Castro
Firefly ‘Serenity’ pilot (Winner)
Emile Smith
Rocco Passionino
Loni Peristere
Kristen Branan
Best Models and Miniatures in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial
Enterprise ‘Dead Stop’ (Winner)
John Teska
Koji Kuramura
Pierre Drolet
Sean Scott
Gatorade ‘Visitors’
Gatorade ‘Visitors’
James Waterhouse
Scott Lukowski
Eric Coon
Stephen King’s ‘Rose Red’
Michael Joyce
Best Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture
Frida
Jeremy Dawson
Daniel Schrecker
Gangs of New York
Michael Owens
Camille Geier
Edward Hirsh
Jon Alexander
The Sum of all Fears (Winner)
Glenn Neufeld
Derek Spears
Dan Malvin
Al Disarro
Best Matte Painting in a Motion Picture
Gangs of New York
Brett Northcutt
Ronn Brown
Mathieu Raynault
Evan Pontoriero
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (Winner)
Paul Huston
Yusei Uesugi
Jonathan Harb
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Yanick Dusseault
Max Dennison
Roger Kupelian
Mathieu Raynault
Best Character Animation in a Live Action Motion Picture
Harry Potter ‘Dobby’s Face’
David Andrews
Steven Rawlins
Frank Gravatt
Doug Smythe
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
Rob Coleman
Hal Hickel
Chris Armstrong
James Tooley
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Winner)
Richard Baneham
Eric Saindon
Ken McGaugh
Bay Raitt
Best Compositing in a Motion Picture
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ‘Quidditch Match’
Barbara Brennan
Jay Cooper
Kimberly Lashbrook
Dorne Huebler
Minority Report
Scott Frankel
Patrick Jarvis
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Winner)
Mark Lewis
GG Heitmann Demers
Alex Lemke
Alfred Murrle
Best Visual Effects in a Music Video
Linkin Park ‘Points of Authority’
Emile Smith
Kyle Toucher
Andrew Orloff
Kristen Branan
So to Speak (Winner)
Andrew Honacker
Steven Wagner
Sean Capone
Talon Nightshade
Will Smith ‘Black Suits Comin”
Greg Strause
Colin Strause
Best Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Motion Picture
Men in Black II
John Berton
Tom Bertino
Bill Westenhofer
Erik Mattson
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
John Knoll
Ben Snow
Pablo Helman
Rob Coleman
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Winner)
Jim Rygiel
Joe Letteri
Randall William Cook
Alex Funke
Best Effects Art Direction in a Motion Picture
Minority Report
Alexander Laurant
Alex McDowell
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
Alex Jaeger
Doug Chiang
Erik Tiemens
Ryan Church
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Winner)
Alan Lee
Jeremy Bennett
Christian Rivers
Gino Acevedo
Best Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
James Baxter
Stuart Little 2 (Winner)
Tony Bancroft
David Schaub
Eric Armstrong
Sean Mullen
Best Effects Photography in a Motion Picture
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
Patrick Sweeney
Marty Rosenberg
Carl Miller
Fred Meyers
Stuart Little 2
Earl Wiggins
Mark Vargo
Tom Houghton
Anna Foerster
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Winner)
Alex Funke
Brian Van’t Hul
Richard Bluck