The Visual Effects Society (VES) announced the nominees for the 7th Annual VES Awards ceremony, which recognizes outstanding visual effects in the categories of film, animation, television, commercials and video games. Nominees were chosen on Jan. 17 by numerous panels of VES members who viewed submissions at the FotoKem screening facilities in Burbank.

In making the announcement, Jeffrey A. Okun, chair of the Visual Effects Awards Committee, said, “Because visual effects continue to grow in complexity and intensity, touching every aspect of the entertainment industry, we are proud to announce the nominees and their work, which have been deemed by the judges as the best of the best. I congratulate all the artists on their achievements.”

The nominees for the 7th Annual VES Awards are the following:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture

• The Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian: Wendy Rogers, Dean Wright, Andrew Fowler, Greg Butler
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Eric Barba, Edson Williams, Nathan McGuinness, Lisa Beroud
• Hellboy II The Golden Army: Michael J. Wassel, Lucy Killick, Adrian de Wet, Eamonn Butler
• Cloverfield: Kevin Blank, Chantal Feghali, Michael Ellis, Eric Leven
• Iron Man: Ben Snow, Hal Hickel, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture

• Changeling: Michael Owens, Geoffrey Hancock, Jinnie Pak, Dennis Hoffman
• Eagle Eye: Jim Rygiel, Jim Berney, Crys Forsyth-Smith, David Smith
• Valkyrie: Richard R. Hoover, Maricel Pagulayan, Peter Nofz, Daniel Eaton
• Nim’s Island: Camille Cellucci, Scott Gordon, Fred Pienkos, James Straus
• Synecdoche, New York: Mark Russell, Richard Friedlander, Eric Robertson, Brett Miller

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Motion Picture

• Bolt — The Chase: Chris Williams, Byron Howard, John Murrah, Doug Bennett
• Kung Fu Panda — Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting — The Animation of Kung Fu Panda: Markus Manninen, Dan Wagner, Alex Parkinson, Raymond Zibach
• Waltz with Bashir: Yoni Goodman, Yael Nahlieli
• Roadside Romeo: Pankaj Khandpur, Sherry Bharda, Shrirang Sathaye, Suhael Merchant
• Wall-E: Andrew Stanton, Jim Morris, Lindsey Collins, Nigel Hardwidge

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special

• Doctor Who — The Next Doctor, "Cyber King": Dave Houghton, Marie Jones, Matt McKinney, Murray Barber
• Generation Kill, Episode 2: Adam McInnes, Anthony Bluff, Stephane Paris, David Sewell
• John Adams, "Join or Die": Steve Kullback, Erik Henry, Robert Stromberg, Jeff Goldman
• Knight Rider, "Prometheus": Sam Nicholson, Scott Ramsey, Chris Martin, Mike Enriquez

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series

• Battlestar Galactica Season Four, "BSG Space Battle": Gary Hutzel, Michael Gibson, Doug Drexler, Kyle Toucher
• Sarah Connor Chronicles, Episode 108: James Lima, Raoul Bolognini, Andrew Orloff, Steve Meyer
• Ghost Whisperer, "Ghost in the Machine": Armen Kevorkian, Arthur J. Codron, Matt Scharf, Stefan Brederock
• Heroes, "The Second Coming": Eric Grenaudier, Mark Spatny, Diego Galtieri, Michael Cook

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

• Fringe, Episode 101, Pilot: Kevin Blank, Jay Worth, Andrew Orloff, Barbara Genicoff
• Jericho, Episode 7, "Patriots and Tyrants": Andrew Orloff, Blyth Dalton, Chris Jones, Michael Cliett
• Life, "Frozen Solid": Max Ivins, Jenny Foster, Danny Kim, Shawn Lipowski
• Pushing Daisies, "The Legend of Merle McQuoddy": William Powloski, Elizabeth Castro, Melanie Tucker, Eric Chauvin

Best Single Visual Effect of the Year

• Cloverfield — Statue of Liberty Crash and Woolworth Tower Collapse: Michael Ellis, Chantal Feghali, David Vickery, Ben Taylor
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — Benjamin's Secret: Eric Barba, Lisa Beroud, Steve Preeg, Jonathan Litt
• The Day the Earth Stood Still — Newborn Klaatu: Jeffrey A. Okun, R. Christopher White, Thomas M. Boland, Ben Thompson
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — Valley Destruction: Stephanie Hornish, Pablo Helman, Jeff White, Craig Hammack
• Iron Man: Ben Snow, Wayne Billheimer, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

• Bacardi "Sundance": Alex Thiesen, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Jay Barton, Zsolt Kalaitzidis
• Coke "It's Mine": Angus Kneale, Asher Edwards, Ben Smith, Dan Williams
• FedEx "Pigeon": Satoko Iinuma, Murray Butler, David Hulin, Spencer Lueders
• Monster "Stork": William Bartlett, Helen Stanley, Dan Seddon, David Mellor

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

• Grand Canyon Adventure — River at Risk — Main Title Sequence: Mark Freund, Alan Markowitz, Lee Nelson, Josh Mossotti
• U2 3D — Selected Shots: Peter Anderson, Jon Shapiro, David Franks, Jeremy Nicolaides

Outstanding Real-Time Visuals in a Video Game

• Crysis Warhead: Zoltan Pocza, Gabor Mogyorosi, Tamas Schlagl
• Dead Space: Ian Milham, Ben Wanat, Christopher Stone
• Need for Speed Undercover — Xbox 360: Henry LaBounta, Steve Barcia, Dave Taylor, Carl Jarrett

Outstanding Pre-Rendered Visuals in a Video Game

• Command and Conquer — Red Alert 3 — Chrono-Lab, Empire and Allied Scenes: Richard Taylor, Benjamin Hopkins, KaTai Tang, Mical Pedriana
• Need for Speed Undercover — Cinematics: Henry LaBounta, Steve Barcia, Dave Taylor, Mark Raham
• World of Warcraft — Wrath of the Lich King — Intro Cinematic: Jeff Chamberlain, Phillip Hillenbrand

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live-Action Motion Picture

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — Benjamin Button: Steve Preeg, Matthias Wittmann, Tom St. Amand, David McLean
• Hellboy II The Golden Army — Elemental Sequence: Colin McEvoy, Christoph Ammann
• Iron Man: Hal Hickel, Bruce Holcomb, James Tooley, John Walker
• The Spiderwick Chronicles — Hogsqueal: Todd Labonte, Michael Brunet, Nathan Fredenburg, Aharon Bourland

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture

• Bolt — Various Sequences — Bolt: Becky Bresee, Bob Davies, Renato Dos Anjos, Wayne Unten Jr.
• Bolt — Various Sequences — Rhino: Adam Dykstra, Dave Gottlieb, Clay Kaytis, Hyrum Osmond
• Kung Fu Panda — This Kung Fu Stuff Is Hard Work — The Animation of Po: Jack Black, Dan Wagner, Nico Marlet, Peter Farson
• WALL-E — WALL-E and Eve Truck Sequence: Ben Burtt, Victor Navone, Austin Lee, Jay Shuster

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live-Action Broadcast Program or Commercial

• Bacardi — Sundance: James Atkinson, John Cooper, Phillip Prahl, Charles Felix Chabert
• Brains Dance: James Sindle, Jesus Parra, Josh Fourtwells
• Coke — Stewie: Ben Smith, Andrew Proctor, Jong Jim Choi, Keith Kim
• "Who's Gonna Save My Soul": Thomas Tannenberger, Olcun Tan

Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

• Bolt — Various Sequences: John Murrah, Michael Kaschalk, Dale Mayeda, Adolph Lusinsky
• Kung Fu Panda — The Secret Ingredient — Visual Effects of Kung Fu Panda: Markus Manninen, Alex Parkinson, Amaury Aubel, Lawrence Lee
• Madagascar Escape 2 Africa — Effects in Africa: Scott Peterson, Laurent Kermel, Andrew Wheeler, Greg Gladstone
• WALL-E — Effects in WALL-E: Jason Johnston, Keith Daniel Klohn, Enrique Vila, Bill Watral

Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture

• Changeling — 1928 Downtown L.A.: Romain Bayle, Abel Milanes, Allan Lee, Debor Dunphy
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Richard Bluff, Barry Williams, Yanick Dusseault, Yusei Uesugi
• Synecdoche, New York — Matte Paintings: Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, Matthew Conner
• Speed Racer — Overall Matte Painting Presentation: Lubo Hristov, Dennis Martin, Ron Crabb

Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

• Doctor Who, Series 4, "Silence in the Library": Simon Wickers, Charlie Bennett, Tim Barter, Arianna Lago
• Generation Kill, Episode 2: Christian Irles, Yannick Bourgie
• Merlin The Mark of Nimueh, Series 1, "The Mark of Nimueh": Dave Early, Simon Wickers, Bryan Bartlett, Sara Bennet

Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture

• The Dark Knight — Garbage Truck Crash Models and Miniatures: Ian Hunter, Forest Fischer, Scott Beverly, Adam Gelbart
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: David Fogler, Craig Hammack, Brian Gernand, Geoff Heron
• Iron Man — Suit Up Machine: Aaron McBride, Russell Paul, Gerald Gutschmidt, Keiji Yamaguchi
• My Darling of the Mountains — Hot Springs: Taro Kiba, Kenji Nagatani, Yuki Minagawa, Hideo Udo

Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

• New Balance "Anthem": Ian Hunter, Jon Warren, Matt Burlingame, Raymond Moore
• Ghost Whisperer, Episode 404, "Claridon Ship Shots": Eric Hance

Outstanding Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture

• Cloverfield — Brooklyn Bridge Sequence: David Vickery, Phil Johnson, Victor Wade, Sean Stranks
• The Dark Knight — IMAX Gotham Cityscapes: Peter Bebb, David Vickery, Philippe Leprince, Andrew Lockley
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — Temple Heart: Michael Halsted, David Fogler, Steve Walton, David Weitzberg
• The Mummy — Tomb of the Dragon Emperor — Avalanche Sequence: Mike Meaker, Rich Mahon, Jason Iverson, Sho Hasegawa
• Synecdoche, New York — Created Environment: Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, Matthew Conner

Outstanding Created Environment in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

• Audi "Living Room" — Living Room: Jack Zaloga, Jake Montgomery, Andy Boyd, Sean Durnan
• Heroes — Tokyo: Meliza Fermin, Michael Cook, Daniel Kumiega, Anthony Ocampo
• John Adams, Episode 1, "Join or Die" — The Boston Harbor: Paul Graff, Robert Stromberg, Adam Watkins
• Wrigley's 5 — Fruit Shredder: Ludo Fealy, Dean Robinson, Adam Leary, Michael Gregory

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture

• The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian: Stuart Lashley, Arundi Asregadoo, Mark Curtis, Richard Baker
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — Benjamin Comes Together: Janelle Croshaw, Paul Lambert, Sonja Burchard, Sarahjane Javelo
• Iron Man — Head Under Display — HUD Compositing: Jonathan Rothbart, Dav Rauch, Kyle McCulloch, Kent Seki
• Quantum of Solace — Sienna Chase and Fight Sequence: Anthony Smith, Christian Kaestner, Adrian Metzelaar, Jon Thum

Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

• Coke "It's Mine" — Balloons: Angus Kneale, Dan Williams, Andrew Proctor
• FedEx "Pigeon" — Pigeon: Andy Walker, Spencer Lueders, Maryanne Butler, Murray Butler
• John Adams, Episode 1, "Join or Die" — The Boston Harbor: Paul Graff, Joshua LaCross, Matt Collorafice
• Time Sculpture: Richard de Carteret, Paul Downes, Oliver Dadswell, John Price

Outstanding Special Effects in a Motion Picture

• Defiance — Special Effects: Neil Corbould, Steve Warner, Anne Maria Walters, Alan Young
• The Dark Knight — Overall: Chris Corbould, Peter Notley, Ian Lowe

Outstanding Effects in a Student Project

• Hangar Number Five — "Robot Attack": Nathan Matsuda
• La Main Des Maitres — "Revolution": Adrien CaYuS Toupet, Clement Delatre, Vivien Looky Chauvet
• Our Wonderful Nature: Tomer Eshed, Dennis Rettkowski, Tomer Eshed, Dennis Rettkowski
• Plastic — "Transformation Sequence": Sandy Widyanata, Courtney Wise

The 7th Annual VES Awards will take place Feb. 21 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

This year the VES will present producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall with the VES Lifetime Achievement Award and Phil Tippett with the Georges Méliès Award.