Visual Effects Society

The Visual Effects Society (VES) is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of entertainment from film, television and commercials to music videos and games.

Consisting of a diverse group of more than 1,500 members in 17 countries, the VES wants to enrich and educate its own members and members of the entertainment community at large through a multitude of domestic and international events, screenings and programs.

Mission

The Visual Effects Society (VES) 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.

Here is a snap shot of the Visual Effects Society:

*Members are more than 1,500 of the most talented artists, technologists and practitioners in the visual effects field
*Represented in 16 countries, including United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Brazil
*Produces the VES Awards Gala (February), Festival of Visual Effects (Summer) and more than 25 educational events, reaching an international audience of 10,000+ annually
*80% of members work in 2 or more media, including Features (70%), Television (50%), Commercials (50%), Music Videos (30%), Gaming (10%), and Special Venues (5%)
*Members hold top positions as Senior Management (15%), Director/VFX Supervisor (45%), Producer/Project Manager (20%) and Production Pipeline (20%)
*Nearly 50% of VES members are freelancers or independent contractors
*Membership growth has expanded 40% since 2004
*Membership currently consists of 20% women (and growing)
*VES members have garnered over a hundred of Oscar and Emmy awards
*More than 2/3 of members have 11+ years in the visual effects field
*VES Membership requires at least five years of full time production experience as a visual effects professional or received one of the industry's top honors and be endorsed by two Visual Effects Society members
*VES circulates news and information to the international audience of 10,000+ including studios, visual effects companies, post houses, production companies, animators, game developers, advertising agencies, music video producers/directors, commercial producers, special venue production companies, hardware companies, software companies, media/publicity sources, schools/educational institutions, industry organizations, festivals, press and independent producers & directors from all media (approximately 70% US and 30% non-US)

VES Awards

Since 2002, the VES Awards honors film, television, commercials, music videos and video games.

Winners

Film

*Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture
**2002: "
**2003: "
**2004: "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
**2005: "King Kong
**2006: "
**2007: "Transformers"

*Best Supporting Visual Effects:
**2002: "The Sum of All Fears"
**2003: "The Last Samurai"
**2004: "The Aviator"
**2005: "Kingdom of Heaven"
**2006: "Flags of Our Fathers"
**2007: "Ratatouille"

*Best Character Animation in a Live Action Picture:
**2002: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"
**2003: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
**2004: "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
**2005: "King Kong"
**2006: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
**2007: ""

*Best Character Animation in an Animated Feature:
**2002: "Stuart Little 2"
**2003: "Finding Nemo" ("speaking whale")
**2004: "The Incredibles" ("Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible")
**2005: "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" ("Gromit")
**2006: "Cars" ("Mater")
**2007: "Ratatouille"

External links

* [http://www.visualeffectssociety.com/ Official Site of the VES]
* [http://www.vesawards.com/ VES Awards]