Announcements Squeak in Ahead of Oscar Nods, Due Thursday Morning

Gravity topped the 12th Annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards nominations, while the Cinema Audio Society (CAS) cited a broad range of achievements in sound mixing for motion pictures and television, as the last round of industry nominations before the Oscars start to dominate awards conversations was announced today.

Gravity was recognized by the VES not just for its overall VFX accomplishments, but also for more specific granular achievements, including the animation of Sandra Bullock's character, Ryan, the film's interior and exterior environments, its models, its virtual cinematography, its compositing, and its FX and simulation animation in the film's harrowing parachute and ISS destruction sequence. Moreover, Gravity director, producer, co-writer and editor Alfonso Cuarón is receiving the VES Visionary Award this year. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to John Dykstra (see our previous coverage of Dykstra's career). 

"This year, more than ever, we have seen the fantastic become normal, the unimaginable become reality, and the artistry of VFX drive box office," said VES Chair Jeffrey A. Okun in a prepared statement.

The CAS spread the love around in specific categories honoring feature films, animation, TV movies and miniseries, and one-hour and half-hour TV series, with no single project or series singled out for more than one nomination in any category. "As we celebrate 50 years of the CAS, there has been an abundance of outstanding sound mixing in film and television this past year," said CAS President David E. Fluhr in a prepared statement. "The nominations reflect the best sound mixing of 2013 as determined by the voting members of the Cinema Audio Society and I congratulate each of the nominees."

A full list of both societies' awards nominees follow below. For more information, visit the VES website or the CAS website

The nominees for the 12th Annual VES Awards are as follows:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture

Gravity
Tim Webber
Nikki Penny
Chris Lawrence
Richard Mcbride

Iron Man 3
Christopher Townsend
Mark Soper
Guy Williams
Bryan Grill

Pacific Rim
John Knoll
Susan Greenhow
Chris Raimo
Hal Hickel

Star Trek: Into Darkness
Roger Guyett
Luke O'Byrne
Ron Ames
Ben Grossman

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Joe Letteri
Eric Saindon
Kevin Sherwood
David Clayton

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture

Rush
Jody Johnson
Moriah Etherington-Sparks
Mark Hodgkins
Antoine Moulineau

The Great Gatsby
Chris Godfrey
Prue Fletcher
Joyce Cox

The Lone Ranger
Tim Alexander
Gary Brozenich
Shari Hanson
Kevin Martel

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Guillaume Rocheron
Kurt Williams
Monette Dubin
Ivan Moran

The Wolf of Wall Street
Robert Legato
Mark Russell
Joseph Farrell
Lisa Spence

White House Down
Marc Weigert
Volker Engel
Julia Frey
Ollie Rankin

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2
Peter Nash
Michael Ford
Chris Juen
Mandy Tankenson

Despicable Me 2
Chris Meledandri
Janet Healy
Chris Renaud
Pierre Coffin

Frozen
Chris Buck
Jennifer Lee
Peter Del Vecho
Lino Di Salvo

Monsters University
Kori Rae
Sanjay Bakshi
Jon Reisch
Scott Clark

The Croods
Jane Hartwell
Chris Sanders
Kirk Demicco
Markus Manninen

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Pilot
Mark Kolpack
Sabrina Arnold
David Altenau
H Haden Hammond

Almost Human
Jay Worth
Robert Habros
Michael Cliett
David Beedon

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome
Gary Hutzel
Michael Gibson
Derek Ledbetter
Heather Mcauliff

Game of Thrones: Valar Dohaeris
Steve Kullback
Joe Bauer
Jörn Großhans
Sven Martin

Inseparable: Chernobyl
Egor Olesov
Egor Borschevsky
Dmitry Ovcharenko
Mykhailo Datsyk

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

Banshee: Pilot
Armen Kevorkian
Mark Skowronski
Jeremy Jozwik
Ricardo Ramirez

Da Vinci's Demons: The Lovers
Kevin Blank
Simon Frame
Ante Dekovic
Oliver Arnold

Hawaii 5-0: Ho'onani Makuakane
Armen Kevorkian
Alexander Soltes
Jane Sharvina
Andranik Taranyan

Mob City: A Guy Walks in to A Bar
Jason Sperling
Michael Morreale
Valeri Pfahning
Mike Enriquez

Moonfleet: Episode 2
Ed Bruce
Alan Collins
John O'Connell
Joe Courtis

The Borgias: Relics
Wojciech Zielinski
Neishaw Ali
Bill Halliday
Jp Giamos

Outstanding Real-Time Visuals in a Video Game

Call of Duty: Ghosts
Mark Rubin
Richard Kriegler
David Johnson
Alessandro Nardini

Crysis 3
Magnus Larbrant
Tiago Sousa
Steven Bender
Cevat Yerli

Killzone Shadow Fall
Marijn Giesbertz
Jan-Bart Van Beek
Angie Smets

NBA 2K14
Heather Marshall
Joseph Clark
Jeff Thomas
Anton Dawson

Ryse: Son of Rome
Cevat Yerli
Peter Gornstein
Chris Evans
Brian Chambers

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

Call of Duty: Epic Night Out
Leighton Greer
Robert Sethi
Felix Urquiza
Chris Knight

Galaxy Chauffeur
Helen Hughes
Simon French
William Bartlett
Stephen Cullingford

Liberty Group Limited: Answer
James Atkinson
Rachel Mariscal
Scott Meadows
David Liu

PETA: 98% Human
Angus Kneale
Vince Baertsoen
Colin Blaney
Kyle Cody

Sony PlayStation: Perfect Day
Charlotte Arnold
Joji Tsuruga
Gavin Wellsman
Olivier Mitonneau

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

Hayden Planetarium's Dark Universe
Vivian Trakinski
Jon Parker
Carter Emmart
Andreas Wetteborn

Mysteries of the Unseen World
Sean Phillips
Andy Yamada
Fred Pienkos
Matthew Sugars

Mystic Manor
Tim Landry
John Guerra
Mark Schirmer
Ken Horii

Space Shuttle Atlantis
Daren Ulmer
John Gross
Cedar Connor
Christian Bloch

SpongeBob SquarePants 4D: The Great Jelly Rescue!
Kate Crandall
Brent Young
Michael "Oz" Smith
Andrei Brovcenco

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Gravity: Ryan
Max Solomon
Mathieu Vig
Michael Brunet
David Shirk

Oz the Great and Powerful: China Girl
Troy Saliba
In-Ah Roediger
Carolyn Vale
Kevin Souls

Pacific Rim: Kaiju – Leatherback
Jakub Pistecky
Frank Gravatt
Cyrus Jam
Chris Havreberg

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Smaug
Eric Reynolds
David Clayton
Myriam Catrin
Guillaume Francois

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Epic: Bomba
Thom Roberts
Haven Gordon Cousins
Tim Bower
Daniel Lima

Epic: Mary Katherine
Jeff Gabor
Dylan C. Maxwell
Sang Jun Lee
Chris Pagoria

Frozen: Bringing the Snow Queen to Life
Alexander Alvarado
Joy Johnson
Chad Stubblefield
Wayne Unten

The Croods: Eep
Line Andersen
Won Young Byun
Koji Morihiro
Chris De St. Jeor

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial or Broadcast Program

Game of Thrones: Raising the Dragons
Philip Meyer
Ingo Schachner
Travis Nobles
Florian Friedmann

PETA: 98% Human
Vince Baertsoen
Alex Allain
Henning Koczy

Smithwick's: Squirrel
Tom Bussell
Jorge Montiel
Tom Raynor
Leonardo Costa

Three, The Pony
Carsten Keller
Jake Mengers
Tim Van Hussen

Toy Story of Terror
Paul Aichele
Kiki Mei Kee Poh
Andrew Coats

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Elysium: Torus
Votch Levi
Joshua Ong
Barry Poon

Gravity: Interior
Harry Bardak
Nathan Walster
Jonathan Fawkner
Claire Michaud

Gravity: Exterior
Paul Beilby
Kyle Mcculloch
Stuart Penn
Ian Comley

Iron Man 3: Shipyard
John Stevenson-Galvin
Greg Notzelman
Paul Harris
Justin Stockton

Pacific Rim: Virtual Hong Kong
Johan Thorngren
Jeremy Bloch
David Meny
Polly Ing

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Epic: Pod Patch
Aaron Ross
Travis Price
Jake Panian
Antelmo Villarreal

Frozen: Elsa's Ice Palace
Virgilio John Aquino
Alessandro Jacomini
Lance Summers
David Womersley

Monsters University: Campus
Robert Kondo
Eric Andraos
Dale Ruffolo
Peter Sumanaseni

The Croods: The Maze
Jonathan Harman
Violette Sacre-Shaik
Benjamin Venancie
Philippe Brochu

Outstanding Created Environment in a Commercial or Broadcast Program

Game of Thrones: The Climb
Patrick Zentis
Mayur Patel
Nitin Singh
Tim Alexander

Hell On Wheels: Big Bad Wolf
Steve Meyer
Matt Von Brock
Mitch Gates
Antonio Chang

Inseparable: Chernobyl
Dmitry Ovcharenko
Igor Chopenko
Dmitry Eremenko
Andrey Bogdanov

Liberty Group Limited: Answer
Greg Teegarden
Kevin Bouchez
Brian Creasey
Kurt Lawson

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Gravity
Tim Webber
Emmanuel Lubezki
Richard Mcbride
Dale Newton

Iron Man 3
Mark Smith
Aaron Gilman
Thelvin Cabezas
Gerardo Ramirez

Man of Steel
Daniel Paulsson
Edmund Kolloen
Joel Prager
David Stripinis

Pacific Rim: Hong Kong Ocean Brawl
Colin Benoit
Nick Walker
Adam Schnitzer
Victor Schutz

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Christian Rivers
Phil Barrenger
Mark Gee
Thelvin Tico Cabezas

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Commercial or Broadcast Program

Mad Max: Ethos
Aladino Debert
Neil Huxley
David Liu
Michael Harbour

Murdered: Soul Suspect
Vernon Wilbert
Tim Jones
Rafael Colon
April Warren

Qualcomm Snapdragon: A Dragon is Coming
Joshua Wassung
Shannon Justison
Shayne Ryan
Seth Gollub

The Crew
Dominique Boidin
Rémi Kozyra
Léon Bérelle
Maxime Luère

Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture

Gravity: ISS Exterior
Ben Lambert
Paul Beilby
Chris Lawrence
Andy Nicholson

Pacific Rim
David Fogler
Alex Jaeger
Aaron Wilson
David Behrens

Star Trek: Into Darkness
Bruce Holcomb
Ron Woodall
John Goodson
Thomas Fejes

The Lone Ranger: Colby Locomotive
Rene Garcia
Steve Walton
Brian Paik
Gerald Gutschmidt

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Gravity: Parachute and ISS Destruction
Alexis Wajsbrot
Sylvain Degrotte
Horacio Mendoza
Juan-Luis Sanchez

Man of Steel
Brian Goodwin
Gray Horsfield
Mathieu Chardonnet
Adrien Toupet

Pacific Rim: Fluid Simulation & Destruction
Ryan Hopkins
Michael Balog
Patrick Conran
Rick Hankins

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Areito Echevarria
Andreas Soderstrom
Ronnie Menahem
Christoph Sprenger

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2
Andrew Hofman
Alex Moaveni

Epic: Boggan Crowds
Thierry Dervieux-Lecocq
David Gatenby
Mark Adams
Matthew D. Simmons

Frozen: Elsa's Blizzard
Eric W. Araujo
Marc Bryant
Dong Joo Byun
Tim Molinder

The Croods
Jeff Budsberg
Andre Le Blanc
Jason Mayer
Michael Losure

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Commercial or Broadcast Program

PETA: 98% Human
Vince Baertsoen
Jimmy Gass
Dave Barosin

Sony PlayStation: Perfect Day
Joji Tsuruga
Gavin Wellsman
Nick Couret
Hassan Taimur

Toyota Avalon: Formula
Ed Laag
Eugene Gauran
Josh Hatton

Toy Story of Terror
Jane Yen
Rogan Griffin
Amit Baadkar
Keith Daniel Klohn

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture

Elysium
Jean Lapointe
Jordan Benwick
Robin Hackl
Janeen Elliott

Gravity
Mark Bakowski
Anthony Smith
Theodor Groeneboom
Adrian Metzelaar

Iron Man 3: Barrel of Monkeys
Michael Maloney
Francis Puthanangadi
Justin Van Der Lek
Howard Cabalfin

Iron Man 3: House Attack
Darren Poe
Stefano Trivelli
Josiah Howison
Zach Zaubi

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Charles Tait
Robin Hollander
Giuseppe Tagliavini
Sean Heuston

Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program

Banshee: Pilot
Gevork Babityan
Andranik Taranyan
Matt Kelly
Matthieu Perin

Game of Thrones: The Climb
Kirk Brillon
Steve Gordon
Geoff Sayer
Winston Lee

The Conquering of Yunkai
Sean Faden
Greg Szafranski
Florian Friedmann
Travis Nobles

Vikings: Dispossessed
Ovidiu Cinazan
Gary Couto
Marco Lee
Maria Gordon

Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial

Call of Duty: Epic Night Out
Chris Knight
Daniel Thuresson
Nick Tayler
Dag Ivarsory

Jean-Paul Gaultier: The Sailor
Jerome Billet
Arnaud Leviez

Mercedes Sensations
Laurent Creusot
Pierre Emmanuel Genin
David Roubah
Damien Canameras

Sony PlayStation : Greatness Awaits
Kyle Cody
Dan Difelice

Sony PlayStation: Perfect Day
Gavin Wellsman
John Mangia
Leonardo Costa
Kristen Johnson

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

Initium
Alexandre Dechel
Adrien Lambert
Larochette Emeric
James Ross-Greetham

Morphium
Linus Stetter

Rugbybugs
Alexandra Stautmeister

Runaway
Ludovic Fregé
Quentin Medda
Romain Chauliac
Yoann Gouraud

Where the Dream Begins
Dun Ma
Dan Wen Lei
Xuan Xia

The nominations for the 50th CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2013 are as follows:

MOTION PICTURE–LIVE ACTION

Captain Phillips
Production Mixer — Chris Munro, CAS
Re-recording Mixer –- Michael Prestwood Smith
Re-recording Mixer — Chris Burdon
Re-recording Mixer — Mark Taylor
Scoring Mixer — Al Clay
ADR Mixer — Howard London, CAS
Foley Mixer — Glen Gathard

Gravity
Production Mixer –Chris Munro, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Skip Lievsay, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Niv Adiri
Re-recording Mixer — Christopher Benstead
Scoring Mixer — Gareth Cousins
ADR Mixer — Thomas J. O’Connell
Foley Mixer – Adam Mendez

Inside Llewyn Davis
Production Mixer — Peter F. Kurland, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Skip Lievsay, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Greg Orloff, CAS
ADR Mixer — Bobby Johanson, CAS
Foley Mixer — George A. Lara

Iron Man 3
Production Mixer — Jose Antonio Garcia
Re-recording Mixer — Michael Prestwood Smith
Re-recording Mixer — Michael Keller, CAS
Scoring Mixer — Joel Iwataki
ADR Mixer — Gregory Steele, CAS
Foley Mixer — James Ashwill

Lone Survivor
Production Mixer — David Brownlow
Re-recording Mixer — Andrew Koyama, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Beau Borders, CAS
Scoring Mixer — Satoshi Mark Noguchi
ADR Mixer — Gregory Steele, CAS
Foley Mixer — Nerses Gezalyan

MOTION PICTURE—ANIMATED

The Croods
Original Dialogue Mixer — Tighe Sheldon
Re-recording Mixer — Randy Thom, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Gary A. Rizzo, CAS
Scoring Mixer — Dennis Sands, CAS
Foley Mixer — Corey Tyler

Despicable Me 2
Original Dialogue Mixer — Charleen Richards
Re-recording Mixer — Tom Johnson
Re-recording Mixer — Gary A. Rizzo, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Chris Scarabosio
Scoring Mixer — Alan Meyerson, CAS
Foley Mixer — Tony Eckert

Frozen
Original Dialogue Mixer — Gabriel Guy
Re-recording Mixer — David E. Fluhr, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Gabriel Guy
Scoring Mixer — Casey Stone
Foley Mixer — Mary Jo Lang

Monsters University
Original Dialogue Mixer — Doc Kane
Re-recording Mixer — Michael Semanick, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Gary Summers
Scoring Mixer — David Boucher
Foley Mixer — Corey Tyler

Walking With Dinosaurs
Original Dialogue Mixer — Chris Navarro, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Andrew Koyama, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Martyn Zub
Scoring Mixer — Rupert Coulson
Foley Mixer — Sam Rogers

TELEVISION MOVIE or MINI-SERIES

American Horror Story: Coven – “The Replacements”
Production Mixer — Bruce Litecky, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Joe Earle, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Doug Andham, CAS
Scoring Mixer — James Levine
ADR Mixer — Judah Getz
Foley Mixer — Kyle Billingsley

Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome
Production Mixer — Ric Bal, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — John W. Cook II, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Peter J. Nusbaum, CAS

Behind the Candelabra
Production Mixer — Dennis Towns
Re-recording Mixer — Larry Blake
Scoring Mixer –Thomas Vicari
Foley Mixer — Scott Curtis

Bonnie and Clyde: (Night Two) Part Two
Production Mixer — Erik H. Magnus, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — R. Russell Smith
Re-recording Mixer — Robert Edmondson, CAS
Scoring Mixer — Shawn Murphy
ADR Mixer — David Weisberg
Foley Mixer — Jeff Gross

Phil Spector
Production Mixer — Gary Alper
Re-recording Mixer — Michael Barry, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Roy Waldspurger
Scoring Mixer — Christopher Fogel, CAS
ADR Mixer — Michael Miller, CAS
Foley Mixer — Don White

TELEVISION SERIES 1 HOUR

Boardwalk Empire: Erlkönig
Production Mixer — Franklin D. Stettner, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Tom Fleischman, CAS
ADR Mixer — Mark DeSimone, CAS
Foley Mixer — George A. Lara

Breaking Bad: Felina
Production Mixer — Darryl L. Frank, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Jeffrey Perkins
Re-recording Mixer — Eric Justen
ADR Mixer — Kathryn Madsen

Game of Thrones: The Rains of Castamere
Production Mixer – Ronan Hill, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Onnalee Blank, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Mathew Waters, CAS
Foley Mixer — Brett Voss

Homeland: Good Night
Production Mixer — Larry Long
Re-recording Mixer — Nello Torri, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Alan M. Decker, CAS
ADR Mixer — Paul Drenning, CAS
Foley Mixer — Shawn Kennelly

The Walking Dead: Home
Production Mixer — Michael P. Clark, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Daniel J. Hiland, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Gary D. Rogers, CAS
ADR Mixer — Greg Crawford

TELEVISION SERIES 1/2 HOUR

Californication: I’ll Lay My Monsters Down
Production Mixer — Daniel Church
Re-recording Mixer — Todd Grace, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Edward Charles Carr III, CAS

Modern Family: Goodnight Gracie
Production Mixer — Stephen A. Tibbo, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Dean Okrand
Re-recording Mixer — Brian Harman, CAS

Nurse Jackie: Teachable Moments
Production Mixer — Jan McLauglin, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Peter Waggoner

The Office: Finale
Production Mixer — Benjamin A. Patrick, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — John W. Cook II, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Robert Carr, CAS

Parks and Recreation: Leslie and Ben
Production Mixer — Steven Michael Morantz, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — John W. Cook II, CAS
Re-recording Mixer — Kenneth Kobett, CAS

TELEVISION NON-FICTION, VARIETY or MUSIC SERIES or SPECIALS

2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Dialogue and Music Mixer — Michael Minkler, CAS
FX Mixer — Greg Townsend

Deadliest Catch – The Final Battle
Re-Recording Mixer — Bob Bronow, CAS

History of the Eagles – Part One
Re-Recording Mixer — Tom Fleischman, CAS
Re-Recording Mixer — Elliot Scheiner

Killing Lincoln
Production Mixer — William Britt
Re-Recording Mixer — Stanley Kastner

Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth
Production Mixer — Mathew Price, CAS
Re-Recording Mixer — Michael Barry, CAS

10th Annual Cinema Audio Society Technical Achievement Award Nominations

PRODUCTION
K-Tek/M. Klemme Technology Corp. – Nautilus Microphone Suspension Mount
PureBlend Software – Movieslate 7.0
Sound Devices, LLC – PIX 260i
Sound Devices, LLC – 633 Mixer/Recorder
Zaxcom – Maxx – Mixer / Recorder / Transmitter

POST PRODUCTION
Avid – Pro Tools 11
Exponential Audio – PhoenixVerb
FabFilter – Pro-DS
iZotope – RX 3 Advanced
Zynaptiq – Unfilter

The CAS notes that additional nominees may be added and will be announced via daily updates as they are confirmed on the CAS website at: www.cinemaaudiosociety.org