Image Engine is pleased to see Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore nominated for two VES Awards and selected for the longlists for the Oscar and BAFTA Awards for outstanding visual effects. Congratulations to everyone involved and all the incredible work and passion put into the film to make this happen.

Image Engine’s VFX work on this feature film was led by our VFX Supervisor Martyn Culpitt and VFX Producer Tyler Weiss.

VES Nomination

The Visual Effects Society’s (VES) announced this year’s nominations in 25 categories on January 17, 2023. We are delighted to see our submission for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore shortlisted as a nominee. Huge congratulations to our nominated crew and everyone involved at Image Engine!

“To have our VFX work recognized at this level by our peers and the industry is really special,” stated Martyn Culpitt, Visual Effects Supervisor at Image Engine. “Congratulations to everyone on the hard work, incredible skills, creativity, and dedication it took to get there!”

“It’s great to see such creative work celebrated within a category that is traditionally lauded for purely technical achievements,” remarked Shawn Walsh, Visual Effects Executive Producer and General Manager at Image Engine. “It was a long-haul pandemic job for us, and throughout it all, we saw so many examples of great leadership across the entire team. So many people went into making our nominated sequence a success, and I am proud that we achieved this recognition together.”

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”

• Jesse Parker Holmes, Lead FX TD
• Grayden Solman, FX TD
• Toyokazu Hirai, FX TD
• Rob Richardson, Lead FX TD

In addition, the film was nominated in the ‘Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature’ category for the overall work on the film by all VFX vendors. Congratulations to Production VFX Supervisor Christian Mänz, Production VFX Producer Olly Young, Benjamin Loch, Stephane Naze, and Alistair Williams.

The annual VES Awards is for shining a light on remarkable visual effects artistry and innovation each year. In all of the nominations, we see best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of adaptation and ingenuity.

Nominations were decided by VES members at 27 viewing events around the world. Next, VES members will be invited to vote on the nominees, and the final winners for each category will be announced on Feb. 15, 2023, at the 21st Annual VES Awards in Los Angeles.

For the full list of categories, visit the VES website.

Oscar Shortlist

On December 20, 2022, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled shortlists for the 2023 Oscar Awards in ten categories, including visual effects.

Selected by the Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee, 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category listed in alphabetical order below.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. All Quiet on the Western Front
2. Avatar: The Way of Water
3. The Batman
4. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
5. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
6. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
7. Jurassic World Dominion
8. Nope
9. Thirteen Lives
10. Top Gun: Maverick

We’re also happy to see the shortlist include work from our partner companies:

• Cinesite for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Trixter for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Next, all members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films and vote to determine the five films that will be nominated for the final Oscar Award consideration.

The final five nominees for ‘Best Visual Effects’ will be announced on January 24 and the 95th Oscars ceremony is slated to be held on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood.

For the full list of categories, visit the Oscars website.

BAFTA Longlist

On January 6, 2023, BAFTA unveiled the longlists across 24 categories for its 2023 Film Awards. We are delighted that Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore made the BAFTA longlist in the category of Special Visual Effects. 

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts celebrates and brings the very best work in films from the past year to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally.

The following films listed in alphabetical order have made it into the top 10 for the Special Visual Effects category. Member voting will determine the top 5 nominees on January 19 before the final winners are announced on February 19, 2023 at the EE BAFTA Film Awards ceremony in the UK.

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

1. All Quiet on the Western Front
2. Avatar: The Way of Water
3. The Batman
4. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
5. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
6. Everything Everywhere All At Once
7. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
8. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
9. Jurassic World Dominion
10. Top Gun: Maverick

We’re also happy to see the shortlist include work from our partner companies:

• Cinesite for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as well as Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical for the ‘Outstanding British Film’ category.
• Trixter for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

For the full list of categories, visit the BAFTA website.

Image Engine is a world-class visual effects studio for feature films and television located in Vancouver, BC. Since 1995, our studio has captivated audiences with stunning photoreal visual effects of fantastical creatures and epic environments.

Well-known for our groundbreaking alien animations in Neill Blomkamp’s critically-acclaimed film District 9, we have gone on to produce more award-winning work in The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, Game Of Thrones, Lost in Space, Jurassic World, Elysium, and more. Most recently, Image Engine contributed to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Moon Knight, Snowpiercer, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.