The blockbuster King Kong was judged to have the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picturt at the 4th Annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards held in Los Angeles on 15 February.
King Kong also won Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture, while Gromit from Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was judged the Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture. A third award went to King Kong for Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Motion Picture for the New York dawn attack sequence.
VES is the entertainment industry’s only organisation for visual effects and animation artists. Held at the Hollywood Palladium, the awards ceremony attracted more than eight hundred celebrities, visual effects and animation artists and dozens of nominees and members of the film, television and games industries.
Actress Bonnie Hunt presented the George Méliès Award for Artistic Excellence to John Lasseter, executive producer of The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc. and director of Toy Story.
Kingdom of Heaven, the crusades saga starring Orlando Bloom, won the Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture award. The Tom Cruise starrer, War of the Worlds won three awards – Best Single Visual Effect of the Year (for the fleeing the neighbourhood scene), Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture, and Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture.
The other winners were:
- Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special – Walking With Monsters
- Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series – Rome (Episode 1)
- Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Programme – Lost-Exodus Part 2
- Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial – Guinness noitulovE
- Outstanding Visual Effects in a Music Video – Nine Inch Nails (Only)
- Outstanding Real Time Visuals in a Video Game – Need For Speed Most Wanted
- Outstanding Pre-Rendered Visuals in a Video Game – Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (The Palace Balcony Cinematic)
- Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project – Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon
- Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Programme, Commercial, or Music Video – Battlestar Galactica-Season 2, Episode 03 “Fragged”-Cylon Centurion
- Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Broadcast Programme, Commercial, or Music Video – Into The West Mini-Series Movies I, II and III
- Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Broadcast Programme, Commercial, or, Music Video – Las Vegas Series – Episode 308 “Bold, Beautiful and Blue”
- Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Programme, Commercial, or Music Video – Empire
Visual Effects Society Board of Directors Award – Jim Morris.
