The Mandalorian leads with 13 nominations including outstanding visual effects in a photoreal episode. Soul is next with 5 nominations, followed by Project Power and The Witches with 3 each.

The 19th annual Visual Effects Society (VES) awards will be handed out in a virtual ceremony and streamed worldwide on April 6. 

“Traditions find a way to persist,” said Lisa Cooke, VES Board Chair. “With vision and a lot of hard work, we are proud to host our annual celebration of the artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world – virtually. We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and engages the audience in new and innovative ways. The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees!”

Among the scifi and fantasy nominations are Tenet for photoreal film, and Lovecraft Country, Star Trek: Discovery, and Westworld for photoreal episodes.

There are a lot of smaller productions getting awrads attention, thanks to the pandemic holding back big releases. Including the first documentary nomination Welcome to Chechnya.

The Mandalorian has already won an Emmy for VFX.
The crossover between nominees at VES and the Oscar shortlist for Visual Effects are: Bloodshot, Mank, The Midnight Sky, Mulan, The One and Only Ivan, Soul, Tenet and Welcome to Chechnya. Missing out at VES were Birds of Prey and Love and Monsters. Missing the Oscar shortlist is Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey.

The full list of nominees below:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

“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

“Tenet”
Andrew Jackson
Mike Chambers
Andrew Lockley
David Lee
Scott Fisher

The Midnight Sky

“The Midnight Sky”
Matt Kasmir
Greg Baxter
Chris Lawrence
Max Solomon
David Watkins

“The Witches”
Kevin Baillie
Sandra Scott
Sean Konrad
Glenn Melenhorst
Mark Holt

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

“Da 5 Bloods”
Randall Balsmeyer
James Cooper
Watcharachai “Sam” Panichsuk

“Extraction”
Marko Forker
Lynzi Grant
Craig Wentworth
Olivier Sarda

“Mank”
Wei Zheng
Peter Mavromates
Simon Carr
James Pastorius

“News of the World”
Roni Rodrigues
Dayaliyah Lopez
Ian Fellows
Andrew Morley
Brandon K. Mclaughlin

“Welcome to Chechnya”
Ryan Laney
Eugen Bräunig
Maxwell Anderson
Johnny Han
Piers Dennis

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

“Onward”
Dan Scanlon
Kori Rae
Sanjay Bakshi
Vincent Serritella

“Over the Moon”
Glen Keane
Gennie Rim
Céline Desrumaux
David Alexander Smith

“Soul”
Pete Docter
Dana Murray
Michael Fong
Bill Watral

“The Croods: A New Age”
Joel Crawford
Mark Swift, PGA
Betsy Nofsinger
Jakob Hjort Jensen

“Trolls: World Tour”
Walt Dohrn
Gina Shay, PGA
Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin
Matt Baer

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

Lovecraft Country

“Lovecraft Country” (Jig-A-Bobo)
Kevin Blank
Robin Griffin
Pietro Ponti
Francois Dumoulin

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3

“Star Trek: Discovery” (Su’Kal)
Jason Michael Zimmerman
Aleksandra Kochoska
Ante Dekovic
Ivan Kondrup Jensen

“The Mandalorian” (The Marshal)
Joe Bauer
Abbigail Keller
Hal Hickel
Richard Bluff
Roy Cancino

“Timmy Failure”
Rich Mcbride
Leslie Lerman
Nicolas Chevallier
Anders Beer
Tony Lazarowich

Westword Season 3

“Westworld” (Crisis Theory)
Jay Worth
Elizabeth Castro
Bruce Branit
Joe Wehmeyer
Mark Byers

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

“I Know This Much Is True” (Episode 1)
Eric Pascarelli
Keith Kolder
Ariel Altman

“Mrs. America” (Shirley)
Janelle Croshaw
Kaylie Whitcher
Leonardo Silva
Zena Bielewicz
Michael Innanen

“Survive”
Ariel Altman
Rae Welty
Caius Wong
Carl Fong

“The Crown” (Gold Stick)
Ben Turner
Reece Ewing
Andrew Scrase
Jonathan Wood

“Vikings” (Best Laid Plans)
Dominic Remane
Bill Halliday
Tom Morrison
Ovidiu Cinazan
Paul Byrne

“Warrior” (Learn To Endure, Or Hire A Bodyguard)
Jonathan Alenskas
Leah Orsini
Nate Overstrom
David Eschrich

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project

“Assassin’s Creed Valhalla”
Raphael Lacoste
Jean-Sebastien Guay
Virginie Cinq-Mars
Thierry Beaumont

“Cyberpunk 2077”
Jakub Knapik
Ma?gorzata Mitr?ga
Piotr Suchodolski
Krzysztof Krzy?cin

“Ghost Of Tsushima”
Jason Connell
Matt Vainio
Jasmin Patry
Joanna Wang

“Spider-Man: Miles Morales; Reactor Finale”
Gavin Goulden
Jess Reed
Bryanna Lindsey
Mike Yosh

“The Last Of Us Part II”
Neil Druckmann
Eben Cook
Erick Pangilinan
John Sweeney

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

Arm & Hammer (Once Upon A Time)
Kiril Mirkov
Solomon Tiigah
Vanessa Duquesnay
Prashanth Paramasivam

Burberry (Singin’ In The Rain)
Fabian Frank
Ryan Hancocks
Rob Richardson
Alex Lovejoy

Hornbach (It Seems Impossible Until You Do It)
Ben Cronin
Tomek Zietkiewicz
Amir Bazzazi
Bruno Fukumothi

Playstation (The Edge)
Diarmid Harrison-Murray
Tom Igglesden
Alex Gabucci
Tom Raynor

Walmart (Famous Visitors)
Chris “Badger” Knight
Lori Talley
Yarin Mares
Matt Fuller

Xbox (Us Dreamers)
Dan Seddon
Elexis Stearn
Fabian Frank
Zhenya Vladi

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

“Asteroid Hunters”
Antoine Durr
Jini Durr
Bert Poole
Neishaw Ali

“The Bourne Stuntacular”
Salvador Zalvidea
Tracey Gibbons
George Allan
Matthías Bjarnason
Scott Smith

“Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway”
Ryan Donoghue
Becky Train
Blaine Kennison
Nick Da Silva
Corban Prim

“The March”
Aruna Inversin
Peter Nelson
Kevin Williams
Sean Kealey

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature

“Die Känguru-chroniken” Kangaroo
Claudius Urban
Sebastian Badea
Dorian Knapp
Ruth Wiegand

“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” Don Juan Diego
Eric Guaglione
Shuchi Singhal
Adrien Annesley
Mahmoud Ellithy

“The One and Only Ivan” Ivan
Valentina Rosselli
Thomas Huizer
Andrea De Martis
William Bell

“The Witches” Daisy
Jye Skinn
Sarah Fuller
Marco Iannaccone
Fredrik Sundqvist

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature

“Onward” Dad Pants
Kristopher Campbell
Jonas Jarvers
Rob Jensen
Jacob Kuenzel

“Over the Moon” Chang’e
Siggi Orri Thorhannesson
Hyesook Kim
Javier Solsona
Alan Chen

“Soul” Terry
Jonathan Hoffman
Jonathan Page
Peter Tieryas
Ron Zorman

“The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On The Run” Spongebob
Jacques Daigle
Guillaume Dufief
Adrien Montero
Liam Hill

Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project

“The Crown” (The Balmoral Test), Imperial Stag
Ahmed Gharraph
Ross Burgess
Gabriela Ruch Salmeron
Joel Best

“The Mandalorian” (The Jedi), The Child
John Rosengrant
Peter Clarke
Scott Patton
Hal Hickel

“The Mandalorian” (The Marshal), Krayt Dragon
Paul Kavanagh
Zaini Mohamed Jalani
Michal Kriukow
Nihal Friedel

“Timmy Failure” (Mistakes Were Made), Total
Maxime Masse
Hennadii Prykhodko
Luc Girard
Sophie Burie

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial

AFK Arena (Toilet), Uzgahk
Chloe Dawe
Brad Noble
Tim Van Hussen
Simon Legrand

Arm & Hammer (Once Upon A Time), Tuxedo Tom
Shiny Rajan
Silvia Bartoli
Matias Heker
Tiago Dias Mota

Far Cry (Legacy), Anton
Maxime Luere
Leon Berelle
Rémi Kozyra
Dominique Boidin

Legends of Runeterra (Breathe), Darius
Maxime Luere
Leon Berelle
Rémi Kozyra
Dominique Boidin

Tk Maxx, The Lil Goat
Kiril Mirkov
Silvia Bartoli
Chris Welsby
David Bryan

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature

“Bloodshot,” Neuralspace
Arnaud Brisebois
Patrick Bacon
Dawid Borkiewicz
Gérôme Viavant

“Mulan,” Imperial City
Jeremy Fort
Matt Fitzgerald
Ben Walker
Adrian Vercoe

“The Eight Hundred,” 1937 Shanghai Downtown
Stefano Cieri
Aaron Auty
Simon Carlile
Patrick Zentis

“The Eight Hundred,” Shanghai Warehouse District
Jamie Macdougall
Julian Hutchens
Mark Honer
David Pekarek

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

“Onward,” Swamp Gas
Eric Andraos
Laura Grieve
Nick Pitera
Michael Rutter

“Soul,” You Seminar
Hosuk Chang
Sungyeon Joh
Peter Roe
Frank Tai

“Trolls: World Tour,” Techno Reef
Luke Heathcock
Zachary Glynn
Marina Ilic
Michael Trull

“Trolls: World Tour,” Volcano Rock City
Brian Lafrance
Sara Cembalisty
Christopher Sprunger
Ruben Perez

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

“Brave New World,” New London
Guy Williams
Justin Gros-Désir
Markus Sterner
Ryan Clarke

“Cyberpunk 2077,” Night City
Jakub Knapik
Lucjan Wi?cek

“Lovecraft Country,” Tulsa 1921
Patrice Poissant
Pauline Lavelle
Mohamed Abdou Elhakim
Alan Lam

“The Mandalorian” (The Believer), Morak Jungle
Enrico Damm
Johanes Kurnia
Phi Tran
Tong Tran

“The Mandalorian” (The Siege), Nevarro Canyon
Kevin George
Aaron Barr
Piotr Tatar
Abel Milanés Betancourt

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project

“Ghost Of Tsushima” (A Storm Is Coming)
Aladino Debert
Matt Dougan
Eric Beaver
David Liu

“Soul”
Matt Aspbury
Ian Megibben

“The Mandalorian” (The Believer)
Richard Bluff
Matt Jensen
Chris Williams
Landis Fields IV

“The Mandalorian” (The Siege)
Dave Crispino
Kyle Winkelman
Paul Kavanagh
Jose Burgos

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project

“The Mandalorian,” Boba Fett’s Ship
Jay Machado
Enrico Damm
Gerald Blaise
Ryan Church

“The Mandalorian” (The Rescue), Light Cruiser
John Knoll
John Goodson
Dan Patrascu
Rene Garcia

“The Midnight Night,” Aether
Michael Balthazart
Jonathan Opgenhaffen
John-Peter Li
Simon Aluze

“The Witches,” Rollercoaster
Jared Michael
Peter Dominik
Sylvain Lesaint
Emily Tilson

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

“Bloodshot”
Omar Meradi
Jeremy Poupin
Sylvain Robert
Deak Ferrand

“Greyhound”
Mike Nixon
Nicholas Papworth
Jeremy Smith
Yashdeep Sawant

“Monster Hunter”
Vimal Mallireddy
Warren Lawtey
Tom O’Bready
Dominik Haase

“Mulan”
Theo Vandernoot
Sandra Balej
James Carson
Yuri Rudakov

“Project Power”
Yin Lai Jimmy Leung
Jonathan Edward Lyddon-Towl
Pierpaolo Navarini
Michelle Lee

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature

“Onward”
Dave Hale
Jonah Blue Laird
Stephen Marshall
Ricardo Nadu

“Over the Moon”
Ian Farnsworth
Brian Casper
Reinhold Rittinger
Jennifer Lasrado

“Soul”
Alexis Angelidis
Keith Daniel Klohn
Aimei Kutt
Melissa Tseng

“Trolls World Tour”
Stephen Wood
Carl Hooper
Spencer Knapp
Nick Augello

“The Willoughbys”
Helén Ahlberg
Kyle Mcqueen
Russell Smith
Raehyeon Kim

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

“Lovecraft Country” (Strange Case), Chrysalis
Federica Foresti
Johan Gabrielsson
Hugo Medda
Andreas Krieg

“Playstation” (The Edge)
Tom Raynor
Andreu Lucio
Martin Aufinger
Platon Filimonov

“Tales of the Loop,” Loretta’s House
Dominik Kirouac
Gaël Chopin
Sylvain Nouveau
Laurent Pancaccini

“The Mandalorian” (The Marshal), Krayt Dragon
Huaiyuan Teh
Don Wong
Mathieu Chardonnet
Prashanth Bhagavan

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature

“Greyhound”
Chris Gooch
Tiago Santos
Stu Bruzek
Sneha Amin

“Mulan”
Christoph Salzmann
Beck Veitch
Joerg Bruemmer
Indah Maretha

“Project Power”
Russell Horth
Matthew Patience
Julien Rousseau

“Underwater”
Sreejith Venugopalan
Ruslan Borysov
Susil Sabat
Andreas Andersson

Outstanding Compositing in an Episode

“Lovecraft Country” (Strange Case), Chrysalis
Viktor Andersson
Linus Lindblom
Mattias Sandelius
Crawford Reilly

“The Mandalorian” (The Believer)
Peter Demarest
Christopher Balog
Shawn Mason
David Wahlberg

“The Mandalorian” (The Marshal)
Nicolas Caillier
Simon Rafin
Siangkee Poh
Simon Marinof

“The Mandalorian” (The Passenger)
TC Harrison
Tami Carter
Jaume Creus Costabella
Shane Davidson

Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial

Burberry (Singin’ In The Rain)
Alex Lovejoy
Mithun Alex
David Filipe
Amresh Kumar

Perrier (Heat)
Stéphane Pivron
Franck Lambertz
Harry Bardak
Christophe Courgeau

Playstation (The Edge)
Alex Gabucci
Rebecca Clay
Alex Grey
Alex Kulikov

Walmart (Famous Visitors)
Chris “Badger” Knight
Ben Smith
Jake Albers
Franz Kol

Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project

“Fear the Walking Dead” (Bury Her Next To Jasper’s Leg)
Frank Iudica
Scott Roark
Daniel J. Yates

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

“Times’ Down”
Valentin Soulard
François Brugalières
Nils Lemonnier
Yan Weitlauff

“Aral”
Cédric Moens De Hase
Benoit Paya
Charles Morhain
Mathilde Dallamaggiore

“Strands of the Mind”
Adrian Meyer
Laura Messner

“Migrants”
Antoine Dupriez
Hugo Caby
Lucas Lermytte
Zoé Devise

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David Raiklen

David Raiklen wrote, directed and scored his first film at age 9. He began studying keyboard and composing at age 5. He attended, then taught at UCLA, USC and CalArts. Among his teachers are John Williams and Mel Powel.
He has worked for Fox, Disney and Sprint. David has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2004 American Music Center Award. Dr. Raiklen has composed music and sound design for theater (Death and the Maiden), dance (Russian Ballet), television (Sing Me a Story), cell phone (Spacey Movie), museums (Museum of Tolerance), concert (Violin Sonata ), and film (Appalachian Trail).
His compositions have been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the first Disney Hall. David Raiken is also host of a successful radio program, Classical Fan Club.