“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “The Revenant” won the major feature-film awards on Tuesday night at the Visual Effects Society’s VES Awards, which also gave VFX honors to the television shows “Game of Thrones” and “Vikings.”
“Star Wars” was given the award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the VES category that most closely corresponds to the Oscar for visual effects. “The Revenant” won for supporting effects in a photoreal feature, as well as receiving the award for the Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature and Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature.
The latter two visual effects awards went to the movie’s CG bear and the signature scene in which it attacks Leonardo DiCaprio.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” also won awards for outstanding models for its BB-8 robot, and for created environment and virtual cinematography. “Mad Max: Fury Road” won for its effects simulation.
Pixar swept the animated-films categories, with the company’s visually spectacular “The Good Dinosaur” winning the Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Award and also taking honors for its created environment and effects simulation. Pixar’s “Inside Out” won for the animated performance of its lead character, Joy.
“Game of Thrones” dominated the television categories, winning for outstanding visual effects and also for created environment, compositing and visual effects simulation.
“Pier,” a British television commercial for the U.K. energy company SSE, received three awards for its depiction of an orangutan exploring a boardwalk amusement park.
The VES changed terminology for this year’s awards, but the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature category corresponds most closely to the previous Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Motion Picture category, whose winners went on to win the Oscar for visual effects nine times in the last 13 years.
In honorary awards, director Ridley Scott received the VES Lifetime Achievement Award and conceptual artist Syd Mead received the Visionary Award.
The show took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California, with Patton Oswalt hosting.
See the winners below.
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature:”Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “The Revenant”
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature: “The Good Dinosaur”
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project: “The Order: 1886”
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode: “Game of Thrones”: “The Dance of Dragons”
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial: SSE: “Pier”
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project: “Fast and Furious: Supercharged”
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”: Falcon Chase / Graveyard
Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature: “The Revenant”: The Bear
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature: “The Revenant”: Bear Attack
Outstanding Models in a Photoreal or Animated Project: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”: BB-8
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”: Falcon Chase / Graveyard
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature: “Mad Max: Fury Road”: Toxic Storm
Outstanding Animated Performance in an Animated Feature: “Inside Out”: Joy
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature: “The Good Dinosaur”: The Farm
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature: “The Good Dinosaur”
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode: “Vikings”: “To the Gates”
Outstanding Animated Performance in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project: SSE: “Pier”: Orangutan
Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project: “Game of Thrones”: City of Volantis
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project: “Game of Thrones”: “Hardhome”
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode: “Game of Thrones”: “Hardhome”
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Commercial: SSE: “Pier”
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project: “Citipati”