Avatar Tops Visual Effects Society Noms

Avatar, with its groundbreaking 3D computer graphics, has received 11 nominations from the Visual Effects Society for its 8th annual VES awards, far outdistancing the competition.  Stop-motion animation film Coraline, also in 3D, was second with 4 nominations.

In addition to director James Cameron’s global blockbuster, nominees for best visual effects in a visual-effects driven feature motion picture are  2012, District 9, Star Trek and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

For outstanding animation in an animated feature motion picture, VES nominees included 9, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Up.

Weta Digital, which did the bulk of the work on Avatar, received 9 noms, the most for a VFX house. Industrial Light & Magic followed with 6.

“It’s important to keep in mind that it wasn’t machines that created these images but incredibly talented artists,” declared VES chairman Jeffrey A. Okun. The 8th Annual VES Awards will take place on Feb. 28 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.

As previously announced, Avatar director Cameron, will receive the VES Lifetime Achievement Award and Dr. Ed Catmull will get the George Melies Award for pioneering achievements.

Nominees were chosen Jan. 16 by blue ribbon panels of VES members who viewed submissions at the FotoKem screening facilities in Burbank and San Francisco as well as at other facilities in London, Sydney and Vancouver.