VES Awards Announces Game-Related Nominations, Presenters

The organizers of the 4th Annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards have announced both the nominations and presenters for its awards, which are spread across the areas of visual effects and animation in film, television, computer gaming and special venue large format offerings, and will be awarded at the Hollywood Palladium on February 15th. There are a number of game-related nominations in this year's VES Awards in two categories - 'Outstanding Real Time Visuals in a Video Game ' and 'Outstanding Pre-Rendered Visuals in a Video Game'. The former category seems to be dominated by Electronic Arts-related titles, with nominations including From Russia With Love (David Carson, Darren Pattenden, Ben Wanat), Madden NFL 06 for Xbox 360 (Mark Mongie, Jim Spoto, Tommy Cinquegrano, Dale Jackson), NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360 (Greg Juby, Tim Tschirner, Jim Perkins, Alex Ferrier), and Need For Speed Most Wanted (Habib Zargarpour, Luke Wasserman, Greg D'Esposito, Colin O'Connor.) The later category mixes both EA and Ubisoft-published titles, with the nominees being Need For Speed Most Wanted (Habib Zargarpour, Michael Mann, Mataio Gardi, Jason Dowdeswell), Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones -The Battle Cinematic (Jean-Jacques Tremblay, Raphael Lacoste, Kun Chang), Stranger's Wrath - In Game Story Clips (Sherry McKenna, Lorne Lanning, Raymond Swanland, Iain Morton), and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones - The Palace Balcony Cinematic (Jean-Jacques Tremblay, Raphael Lacoste, Anne Mai Le Bouyonnec). Recently added presenters for the awards include Bonnie Hunt, who will be joining Katherine Helmond, Cheech Marin, Edie McLurg, Craig T. Nelson and John Ratzenberger as part of the tribute to Pixar's John Lasseter, who collects the VES Georges Méliès Award for Artistic Excellence at this year's event. This award recognizes artists whose contributions to the filmmaking industry have advanced the craft of visual effects. The VES was formed in 1997 in response to the explosive growth in the visual effects industry. It is a professional, honorary society, dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of visual effects and to improving the welfare of its members by providing professional enrichment and education, fostering community, and promoting industry recognition.