2024 VES Honors Celebration

Brooke Breton, VES

Breton has been principally involved in a wide variety of prominent live action films, animated films, television series and theme park projects which have received Academy, BAFTA, Emmy, Annie and VES awards and nominations.  Key projects include: Avatar, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, Solaris, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Dick Tracy.

During her career, Breton played an instrumental role in launching James Cameron’s effects house Digital Domain, where she served as Senior Vice President of Production, and was Senior Production Executive and in-house producer for Illumination Entertainment, where she produced the film content for the Annie and VES Award-winning Despicable Me theme park attraction, Minion Mayhem.

Recently, Breton served as a producer for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Museum, where she focused on modern filmmaking techniques and acquisitions. Breton is a Visual Effects Branch governor for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and currently serves as VP on the Academy Foundation Board. She also serves on the AMPAS Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee and the Science and Technology Council.  Breton is a VES Fellow, Lifetime VES Member and has served as a three-term member of the global VES Board of Directors. In current development under the Breton Productions banner are three feature film projects.

Don Bluth

Bluth is one of the most acclaimed Directors and Animators in the entertainment industry, with a passion for the art and beauty of animation that has fueled his film career for more than four decades. He is the recipient of The Winsor McCay Award, presented by the Annie Awards, which is considered one of the highest honors for career contributions to the art of animation. Bluth is best known for directing the animated films The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Anastasia and Titan A.E.; for his involvement in the LaserDisc games Dragon’s Lair and SpaceAce; and for competing with former employer Walt Disney Productions during the years leading up to the films that became the Disney Renaissance.  In 2020, Bluth launched a new animation studio called Don Bluth Studios with animator Lavalle Lee, founder of traditionalanimation.com. The studio is focused on bringing a “renaissance of hand-drawn animation” and establishing new characters and ideas that will start as children’s books and then be pitched to TV networks and online streaming services.

John Bruno

Visual effects artist and filmmaker John Bruno won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on The Abyss, and earned five additional Oscar nominations and two BAFTA Award nominations for Visual Effects for his work on Ghostbusters, Poltergeist II, Batman Returns, Cliffhanger and True Lies.  Known for his prolific collaborations with director James Cameron, Bruno also supervised a wide range of groundbreaking visual effects work on Titanic and Avatar. After an early stint at ILM for the film Poltergeist, Bruno became a founding visual effects member and commercial director at both Boss Film Studios and Digital Domain where he supervised their first feature – True Lies. And having previously designed the visual effects for James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Bruno was asked to co-direct, with Cameron and Stan Winston, the Universal Studios Hollywood attraction, Terminator 2/3D: Battle Across Time.  Bruno is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Art Directors Guild, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where he served on the Visual Effects Branch Nominating Committee for nearly two decades.

Robert Stromberg

Director, Production Designer & Visual Effects Specialist Robert Stromberg became the first production designer to win back-to-back Oscars for his work on James Cameron’s Avatar and Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, two of the highest-grossing films in history. He has won five Emmy Awards for Visual Effects for his work on Boardwalk Empire, John Adams, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Both a premier storyteller and digital artist at the forefront of emerging technology, Stromberg made his directorial debut with the Disney film Maleficent.  He also directed The Martian VR Experience, the pioneering immersive companion piece to Ridley Scott’s The Martian, through The Virtual Reality Company (VRC), where he serves as Chief Creative Officer and Chief Executive Officer, and Ridley Scott and Associates (RSA) Films. Stromberg lead’s VRC’s involvement with new technologies including AI and its application for visual and narrative storytelling.  He also continues to work with RSA directing major brand commercials with companies such as PEPSICO, Emirates Airlines and AbbVie.

Harry Walton

Animation and Visual Effects Supervisor, Matte Artist and Optical Compositor Harry Walton has had a storied career spanning more than five decades, producing 3-D character animation and visual effects for motion pictures, television, commercials, video games and special venue projects.  He has held senior roles in Animation and Optical Effects for companies including Industrial Light & Magic, Sony ImageWorks, Flat Earth Productions, Brain Zoo Studios, Insomniac Games, Phil Tippett Company, New Horizons Pictures and Electronic Arts.  Walton is known for his work on theatrical films Innerspace, RoboCop, Howard The Duck, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Guardians of the Galaxy, Batman Returns, Terminator 2, The Nightmare Before Christmas; on television series including Land of The Lost and Gumby; and classic commercials for Pillsbury Dough-Boy, Green Giant and Wrigley’s Gum.  Walton received a Monitor Award for Best Electronic Special Effects for his work on James and The Giant Peach.

Ronald B. Moore

Moore is an acclaimed Visual Effects Producer who worked in the field for 30 years.  He is a VES Award winner, five-time Emmy Award winner, and 11-time Emmy Award nominee for his VFX work on the series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise.  Moore’s work includes time at Boss Films under Richard Edlund, on Ghostbusters, 2010 and a number of TV series. He joined the team on Star Trek: The Next Generation working on the pilot episode, and continued to work on the series through seven seasons, and on the first feature, Star Trek: Generations as Visual Effects Supervisor.  He then joined the team on Star Trek: Voyager and when that ended, switched to Star Trek: Enterprise.  Other projects include supervising the visual effects on the music video for the Michael Jackson single Black or White and the Alejandro González Iñárritu film Birdman.  He also formed OMR Productions with Dan Curry, acclaimed special effects colleague from his Star Trek creative family.  Moore has served on the VES global Board of Directors and the Membership Committee and is proud to be one of the earliest members of the VES.

Reid Paul

Paul has more than 40 years experience as an artist, producer, supervisor and manager of visual effects for television, feature film and special venue production. His tenure in the industry includes roles at Liberty Studios, The Optical House and Broadcast Arts; director of award-winning interactive educational videos at ComputerSmarts; Commercial Director represented by Major League Productions; Camera Operator at Cinema Research Corporation; VFX Supervisor and Producer at Pixel Magic; Head of Production and VFX Producer/Supervisor at Stargate Studios; and VFX Producer at Netflix. He is currently a Senior Bidding Producer in the Los Angeles office of Crafty Apes. Paul has traveled extensively to train crews, manage productions and learn new things including 3D Filmmaking and Virtual Production. Proud of his longtime involvement with the Visual Effects Society, Paul has been a Co-Chair of the VES Los Angeles Section, and a member of the VES Awards Committee since 2003, and its Co-Chair from 2019-2024.

Matt Aitken, VES

Matt Aitken has been an integral part of Wētā FX since it first opened its doors. With two Oscar nominations and five VES Award wins, including the top award of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature for Avengers: Infinity War, Aitken’s versatility and creative talent are foundational to the studio’s success.  As Head of Visual Effects, Aitken leads Wētā FX’s artists across three countries, and is responsible for filmmaker and studio relationships. Prior to assuming this executive role, Aitken was one of Wētā FX’s most experienced Visual Effects Supervisors on projects including Avengers: Endgame, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Marvel’s Eternals. Aitken has been an active VES member for 20 years. He was instrumental in establishing the New Zealand VES Section in 2011, the 5th VES Section to be created, and was New Zealand Section Chair for its first five years of operation.

Girish Balakrishnan, VES

Girish Balakrishnan has more than a decade of experience driving business studio strategies, business development and production innovation across live action, animation and games.  As Director of Creative Innovation at Netflix, Balakrishnan leads the content & production studio investment strategy on the application of emerging technology, like generative AI, real-time and transmedia. While overseeing Netflix’s global virtual production strategy, he built a team that has delivered 200 diverse titles, including The Midnight Sky, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey and Avatar: The Last Airbender. He holds a patent for a mobile virtual camera system and has received the prestigious SMPTE Progress medal.  Balakrishnan has contributed to the VES Handbook of Virtual Production, helped create the VES Virtual Production Resource Page and Glossary, and participated as an expert on VES webcasts.

Randall Balsmeyer, VES

Randall Balsmeyer is an award-winning Titles Designer and Visual Effects Supervisor with a 40-year career.  He is acknowledged ad a go-to partner for some of the world’s most acclaimed filmmakers including Spike Lee, Joel and Ethan Coen, Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. Balsmeyer won Emmy Awards for his work on Sesame Street and Between the Lions, and was nominated for another Emmy for the opening sequence to Angels in America. Balsmeyer’s filmography includes Da 5 Bloods, BlacKkKlansman, The Adjustment Bureau, The Giver, Burn After Reading, The Royal Tenenbaums and Vicky, Cristina Barcelona. In 2015, the VES New York Section presented Balsmeyer with the inaugural Empire Award, in recognizing him as a New York-based visual effects professional who has made enormous contributions to the field of visual arts and filmed entertainment and whose work embodies the spirit of New York.

Michael Conte, VES

Michael Conte is a VES award-winning artist and supervisor. In his 33-year career at ILM, he has worked on over five dozen shows and built a reputation for leadership in both artistic and technical roles. Conte has held many different positions at the company including technical assistant, artist, supervisor, and 2D department head. While serving as compositing supervisor for films such as Day After Tomorrow, Battleship and Terminator Genisys, he was also the 2D technical lead at ILM. In 2015, Conte took the helm of the newly-formed ILM Image Unit. Conte won a VES Award for compositing on Transformers and was nominated for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Conte has served multiple terms on the board of the Bay Area section and has held every officer position. He is currently the Bay Area Section Chair.

Lisa Cooke, VES

Lisa Cooke is an Executive Producer at Tippett Studio, where she produces VFX for numerous projects including Alien: Romulus, Poker Face, Gaslit, The Resort, and The Man Who Fell to Earth, among others.  Previously, she founded and led a company that specialized in visual effects for the scientific community and taught storytelling techniques to scientists to aid in the effective communication of their research.  Cooke has been actively involved with the VES for many years, including serving on the VES Bay Area Board of Managers for six years and on the VES global Board of Directors for another six years, including service as VES Chair from 202 to 2023 – the first woman to lead the global organization.  Currently, Cooke is the Co-Chair of the VES Roth Virtual Museum of VFX, and is co-leading a new initiative, focused on the advancement of women in the visual effects industry.

Bryan Grill, VES

Bryan Grill has over 30 years’ experience in visual effects. He most recently served as overall production VFX Supervisor on the Netflix feature, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Grill received BAFTA Awards for Best Visual Effects for his work on Black Panther and Apollo 13, two VES Awards for Independence Day: Resurgence and Flags of Our Fathers; and multiple Academy Award nominations and additional BAFTA nominations. His filmography also includes the BAFTA and Oscar-nominated Free Guy and The Golden Compass, The Gray Man and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Prior to joining Scanline as Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Grill’s career included 10 years at Digital Domain. Grill has served the VES on the global Board of Directors and as an active contributor to the Education Committee.

Thomas Knop, VES

Thomas Knop is an Executive Producer with more than 25 years’ experience working in visual effects, media production, technology change management and Virtual Production for TV, streaming and film. His industry leadership roles included Head of Studio at MPC and TRIXTER and Managing Director at Stargate Germany. He is best known for his work on The Swarm, Captain Marvel, Brightburn, Sonic, The Kangaroo Chronicles, Rocca and Guns Akimbo.  Knop has served on the global VES Board of Directors and on the VES Germany Section Board of Managers in multiple roles, including Chair and Co-Chair.

Arnon Manor, VES

Starting as a VFX artist, supervisor and producer, and, for the last 13 years as a studio executive, Arnon Manor has collaborated with some of the industry’s most talented filmmakers across the globe, bringing international experience and sensibilities to his work. As Senior Vice President, Production Visual Effects at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Manor is responsible for overseeing the VFX production of studio feature projects, across the feature divisions of Columbia, Tristar, 3000 and Screen Gem. He is a recognized industry leader, and in the fight for social justice, he received a Peabody Award in 2021 for producing and directing the Black Lives Matter-themed animated short Cops and Robbers. As a VES global board member, Manor helmed the Education Committee to create opportunities and increase diversity and inclusion in VFX through education and mentorship.

Sue Rowe, VES

Sue Rowe is a seasoned visual effects supervisor with over 25 years of industry experience, contributing to films including The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Golden Compass, which earned a Best VFX Oscar. Her unique blend of traditional artistic talent and deep industry knowledge allows Rowe to excel across all aspects of VFX production from storyboard to previz to on-set shoots to final pixel. She has served as a client VFX Supervisor for films including John Carter and The Maze Runner, and as an on-set supervisor for productions including The Adam Project and Shadow and Bone. Her leadership extends across top VFX companies including Sony Pictures Imageworks, MPC, Cinesite and more. An Emmy-nominated professional for her work on HBO’s Into the Storm, Rowe is the former Co-Chair of the VES Vancouver Section.

Thad Beier

Thad Beier (1960-2024) was a Visual Effects Supervisor, known for films including U-571, Eight Legged Freaks, Deep Blue Sea and The Core. Beier left Johns Hopkins at the age of 18, and started working at New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Lab. He spent five years there doing innovative CG software and animation and then went to Pacific Data Image as they were just starting doing computer graphics commercial work, again writing software and creating animation, and began leading teams in both of those fields.  He then started Hammerhead Productions to do visual effects work in Hollywood, and was a Visual Effects Supervisor on a dozen films, including Fast and Furious 4 for Universal Pictures. After his work as the technical leader and VFX Supervisor at Hammerhead and Universal, Beier served as the Chief Technology Officer and VFX Supervisor at Digital Domain.  He most recently served as the Director of Image Platform Workflow, overseeing high-dynamic-range content creation at Dolby Laboratories.

Dorothy Davenport

Dorothy Davenport (1895-1977) was an American actress, screenwriter, film director, and producer. Born into a family of film performers, Davenport had her own independent career before her marriage to film actor and director Wallace Reid. After Reid died following an addiction to morphine, Davenport took her own story as source material and co-produced Human Wreckage, in which she was billed as “Mrs. Wallace Reid” and played the role of a drug addict’s wife. She advertised the film in terms of a moral crusade.  Davenport followed its success with other social-conscience films on a variety of topics, including Broken Laws about excessive mother-love and The Red Kimono about white slavery. While Davenport’s own production company dissolved in the late 1920s, she would later direct Linda, Sucker Money, Road to Ruin and The Woman Condemned and worked as a producer, writer and dialogue director.

Maya Deren

Maya Deren (1917-1961) was a Ukrainian-born iconic American experimental filmmaker and an important entrepreneurial promoter of the avant-garde in the 1940s and 1950s.  She was also a choreographer, dancer, film theorist, poet, lecturer, writer, and photographer. She combined her expertise in dance and choreography, ethnography, the African spirit religion of Haitian vodou, symbolist poetry and psychology in a series of perceptual black-and-white short films. Using editing, multiple exposures, jump-cutting, superimposition, slow-motion, and other camera techniques to her advantage, Deren abandoned established notions of physical space and time, innovating through carefully planned films with specific conceptual aims. Meshes of the Afternoon, her collaboration with her husband Alexander Hammid, was one of the most influential experimental films in American cinema history. Deren went on to make several more films, including At Land, A Study in Choreography for Camera and Ritual in Transfigured Time.

Tim McGovern, VES

Tim McGovern, VES (1955-2024) was an Oscar-winning VFX Supervisor and founding VES member, and in 2023 was named a VES Fellow, VES Lifetime Member and recipient of the VES Founders Award.  An acclaimed VFX Supervisor and Creative Director, McGovern began his career at the inception of digital/computer visual effects, doing groundbreaking work in VFX and Computer Animation.  In addition to winning an Academy Award for Digital Visual Effects for Total Recall, he garnered five Clios, a Hugo and a Mobius award.  He was a founding member of Sony Pictures ImageWorks, and ran it as Senior VFX Supervisor, as well as the SVP of Creative and Technical Affairs. He flourished as a filmmaker all over the world, and later worked at DNEG Mumbai until his passing.  McGovern played a number of key leadership roles with the VES, as a member of the global Board of Directors for almost 20 years, as the Board’s Vice Chair, a founding Co-Chair of the VES Awards Committee and member of the Virtual Production Committee. His insights and volunteer leadership were key to the Society’s global expansion as the founding Chair of the VES Committee for Outreach to Developing Region, where he greatly contributed to the VES’ growth in multiple regions on four continents, including helping to form Sections in Washington State, Georgia, France, Germany, India and assisting to help Montreal and Toronto establish local VES Sections.