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# 24th Annual VES Awards – Category 25
Home | 24th Annual VES Awards Rules & Procedures | 24th Annual VES Awards – Category 25
## Category 25: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
This award is to honor outstanding achievement in visual effects in a Student Project. A Student Project is defined as any project that was created by a student or team of students while attending a recognized school and that was completed between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025. It may be Animated or Photoreal; linear or interactive; 2D, or 3D; but it must be submitted according to the specifications below. Entries may not contain crew credits or school logos or names, though acting credits are acceptable.
**Intent of the Student Award:** The intent of the VES Student Award is to help foster the skills of student VFX artists before they become professionals in the VFX industry. The VES therefore will not accept entries from students who have had significant professional experience working in visual effects or animation, be it in film, TV, or games without a Petition from the faculty advisor explaining how the professional work did not violate the above intent. “Significant professional experience” includes, but is not necessarily limited to, more than six months internship at a visual effects or animation company.
Faculty members or other professionals may only serve as advisors and may not play a hands-on role in the creation of the entry. The VES reserves the right to question and disqualify, at any step of the nominating and voting process, student entries that appear to have benefitted from inappropriate professional creative participation.
## Definitions
**Animated** refers to a project where the filmmakers have purposely chosen a look clearly distinct from photorealism for the benefit of the storytelling, in which movement and characters’ performances are created using a frame-by-frame technique. The Awards consider animation to be a genre that is independent of the process by which it is created. Some of the techniques of animating films include but are not limited to hand-drawn animation, computer animation, stop-motion, clay animation, pixilation, cutout animation, pinscreen, camera multiple pass imagery, kaleidoscopic effects created frame-by-frame, and drawing on the film frame itself. Motion capture and real-time puppetry are not by themselves animation techniques.
**Commercial** is defined as a motion imaging work, intended for theatrical, broadcast or streaming, that has been paid for by an identified sponsor, has been sent through one or more mass media platforms, and is directed to a market segment with the explicit purpose of supporting the promotion or sale of a product, brand, service or idea. Trailers, demos and business-to-business trade show projects are excluded from this definition. It should be readily apparent to the viewing public that the entry is a commercial.
**Feature** is defined as a single, closed-end work, with a beginning, middle and end, with a duration of 45 minutes or more.Pilots or single episodes which are part of a Series or Limited Drama/Mini-Series are explicitly excluded from this category type.
**Episodic** is defined as a Series or Limited Drama/Mini Series.
**Series** is defined as a program, intended for broadcast or streaming, with a theme, storyline or principal characters that must be predominantly featured in a minimum of six (6) continuous episodes.
**Limited** **Drama/Mini-Series** is defined as a single title, multi-part, closed-end program or special, intended for broadcast or streaming, based on a single theme or storyline, with a clear beginning, middle and end, which is resolved within the piece in one or more installments.
**Game** **Cinematics** are defined as non-interactive sequences inserted into the action of a video game, or the pre-rendered sequences used as a game promotion.
**Photoreal** is synonymous to live action, the intent being that the images should appear to have been photographed in the real world, even if the actual subjects are fantastical and do not exist in the real world.
**Real-Time Projects** are defined as projects that are generated through a CG rendering engine at the same time the audience experiences them. Pre-rendered projects, such as “cinematics”, are not eligible – all projects must be demonstrably interactive at the time of the real-time render. One way to demonstrate the real-time nature of the Project is by including a fps frame rate counter in the Before & After. If the real-time nature of the entry is called into question, the submitter must be able to prove the real-time nature of the rendering by demonstrating interactivity of the scene live to the VES Awards Committee. Real-Time Projects must have been released for the first time to the general public within the calendar year of the Awards. Demonstrations are not eligible for an Award. Game content updates, such as a new season or a DLC pack, may be submitted as valid entries, provided the vast majority of the content being shown in the Work to be Considered is new to that release and shipped during the release date window for this awards year. The entirety of the year’s work may be considered, but the entry must be clearly titled showing the content source.
**Special** **Venue** **Project** is defined by the location at which the material is shown. Special Venues are locations such as theme parks, large-format theaters, museums, galleries, outdoor sites, or live theatres, but not standard movie theaters, homes, or personal viewing devices. Projects must be specifically created for that venue; repurposed projects do not qualify. One time projects (e.g., opening/closing ceremonies at the Olympics) are eligible in this category, as are Virtual Reality projects for Special Venues. Demonstration, pre-release, or trade show projects are not eligible for the VES Awards. **Special Venue Projects** may be Photoreal or Animated, interactive or linear, and 2D or 3D; but the Work to Be Considered and Before & Afters must be submitted as 2D, linear, and with the correct specifications.
**Student Project** is defined as a motion media project created under the auspices of an accredited school or university.
Submit an Entry
## Special Provisions for the VES Student Award
The VES Student Award has additional Rules and Procedures due to the nature of the award. Please read the below section carefully before submitting.
* Students must have been registered in and attending the school between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025.
* Every student entrant must send a copy of a valid and dated student I.D. card or proof of registration along with the entry form for each student being entered
* Entries must be submitted personally by the student(s) who created the Work to Be Considered or by an official Festival/Awards Office of the school. Entry forms must be signed by a submitting student in either case. If the school submits the work, they must include contact information for the students
* The VES requests that schools nominate up to four students in each entry
* Entry forms must also be co-signed by a teacher or educational adviser under whose guidance the project was created to certify that the project was completed during the qualifying period.
* Entries submitted on behalf of students by any other representatives, administrators, agents, or faculty members other than the school’s official Festivals/Awards Office will not be accepted
* All qualifying student entries will first be submitted to Autodesk for preliminary judging. The fifteen top entries selected by Autodesk will then be voted on by the VES Nomination Event judges for selection of the final four nominees
* By entering these awards you are agreeing that AUTODESK has the right to play the submitted Student Award material, without charge, on its website or a website of its designation for the purposes of promotion
* The VES shall have the unrestricted but non-exclusive right to exhibit the submitted Student Award material at any venue and in any media, including but not limited to, websites, television, visual effects anthologies and other activities in connection with the legitimate business of the VES
##### **Recognized School**
The VES recognizes all schools around the world that are accredited or otherwise endorsed by an official educational body. Additionally, the VES recognizes schools that specialize in the teaching of film, television and visual effects. The word “school” is used here to mean any organized institution that has a faculty, teaching facilities, and a program of learning that results in graduation that is recognized by other learning institutions or the earning of certificates attesting to completion of one or more courses.
If you have a question about your school’s eligibility please contact the VES as soon as possible.
##### **Contact Person Availability**
Student entrants must provide the name, phone number and email address of an individual who can be contacted during the Christmas-New Year break who is authorized to act on behalf of the entrant(s) in case of problems. It is especially important for entrants to have access to editing and/or dubbing facilities in case an entry needs to be corrected. Failure to do so may result in disqualification of the entry.
##### **Acceptance of Student Award**
One student from the winning entry will be invited to attend the Awards Gala at the expense of the VES. Covered expenses include airfare to and from Los Angeles, transportation to and from the airport to a hotel of the VES’ choosing, two nights hotel accommodations, and two days per diem of $75. All other expenses are the responsibility of the student.
## Project Qualifications
##### **Completion Dates:**
October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025
##### **Qualifying Projects**
Photoreal or Animated Student Projects.
##### **Additional Information for Special Awards**
Titles, motion graphics and logos are not eligible in any General category.
## Important Dates
##### **Submissions Open:**
Monday, September 15, 2025
##### **Submission Deadline:**
Friday, October 31, 2025 11:59PM PST
_NOTE: Unavailability of personnel to prepare submission materials in time to meet the entry deadline is not a valid reason to be granted a deadline extension._
##### **24th ANNUAL VES AWARDS TIMETABLE**
_(Dates subject to change)_
Period of Eligibility for Entries | October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025
---|---
**Entry Forms Available, Submissions Open ——–** | **September 15, 2025**
**Submission Deadline** | **October 31, 2025, 11:59 PM PST**
## How To Submit
##### Entries may only be made through the VES Awards website by following the directions below.
* Designate ONE person to be your primary “go to” person for all VES Awards matters. This person is the official Submitter. They must sign the Entry Form.
* The entry form will be available starting on or about September 15, 2025 on this site.
* Click on “Submit an Entry” above.
* After clicking “Submit an Entry”, click on “Create New Entry.” Instructions will take you through the complete registration and submission process and will guide you on how to prepare your materials for upload.
* Give each entry a distinct project title (preferably the project’s main title) and entry name on both the entry form and on the slate (e.g., Main Title of Project: Avengers; Name of Clip: Hulk Smashes Loki).
* When you have completed the Entry Form, click ”Submit”. A unique Submission Number will be automatically issued. At the same time, slates will be automatically generated for your viewing materials.
* One submission per form. Do not combine multiple entries on a single entry form.
* Make a note of the official Submission Number. Do not lose this login information or share it with an unauthorized individual. You will need this information later if you must make changes to your submission.
* Print or Download your completed entry form, have it signed by the appropriate individuals (electronic signatures are acceptable), upload the completed form to the site by the deadline, October 31, 2025.
* Entry fees should be paid by using the online credit card authorization form in the section “Submit an Entry”.
* Use the Submission Number in all correspondence relating to your entry.
* Upload your viewing materials in Submission Format (ProRes LT as specified below), no later than Friday, October 31, 2025.
## Entrants, Entry Forms, Signatures & Contact Person
##### Entrants
* The allowable types of entrants and the number of entrants are noted in the special rules of each category. In addition, the special rules of each category specify the valid entrant type(s) which can be assigned to each entrant slot number. Select your entrants carefully. Submitters should consider qualified artists who no longer work at the facility.
* If you find that you need to make an entrant name substitution, go to the original online entry form using the username and password issued at the time of submission. Make the desired name change and click “Submit” to complete the change.
* **No substitutions will be allowed after the nomination event.**
* If there is valid reason to question the eligibility of an entrant, the VES Awards Committee reserves the right to investigate the situation and take appropriate action. For more information on name substitutions, consult the VES Awards Policies, Section 11, Name changes, substitutions, and challenges.
##### Entry Forms and Submission Numbers
You must fill out an Entry Form online and obtain a Submission Number to be considered for the Awards. List entrants in the order in which they should appear in any announcements or publicity. Make sure the names and email addresses are spelled correctly. Complete the form, have it signed (electronic signatures are acceptable), upload the completed form to the site by the deadline, October 31, 2025.
##### Eligible Entrants & Entry Slots
**Entrant 1:** open to any significant Student contributor, preferably the VFX Supervisor
**Entrant 2** : open to any significant Student contributor, preferably the VFX Producer
**Entrant 3** : open to any significant Student contributor
**Entrant 4** : open to any significant Student contributor
A maximum of four (4) students most responsible for the overall creative design, supervision, execution, management and delivery of the project may be included.
If a student or team of less than four students created the project, but other students contributed significantly to the visual effects or animation, then it is strongly suggested that the other slots be used to recognize their contributions.
##### Signatures
Entry forms must be signed by:
* The person submitting the entry (who may or may not be an entrant); and
* The overall project VFX Supervisor (in animated categories, may also be overall project Director or Animation Supervisor); or
* The overall project VFX Producer (in animated categories, should be the Animation Producer).
The signers acknowledge that all entrants are eligible and agree to follow and be bound by the rules, procedures, and policies of the VES Awards.
In the case of multiple entries from the same submitting organization, instead of signing each individual submission form the overall VFX Supervisor or overall VFX Producer or, in animated categories, the overall Director, Animation Supervisor, or overall Animation Producer (or the equivalent to these job titles) may submit a single signed letter to the Awards Committee covering all of the award submissions they are authorizing. This letter must include each individual Submission Number for which they are signing. To avoid confusion, this letter should be submitted to **[email protected]_** at the same time as the entries it is authorizing.
##### Contact Person
Please assign one contact person for all your entries. This is the individual (the Submitter) to whom the username and password for uploading your electronic entry will be sent.
This contact person must be available to the Awards Committee during vetting (November through early January) to deal with any potentially disqualifying issues that the Awards Committee may uncover during vetting. They should know where to reach everyone named on the submission in case of questions and who can arrange to re-edit a submission if necessary.
## Entry Fees
##### Fees
**$25** regardless of the number of individuals named on the entry.
## What Should Be Uploaded?
#### Entry Content
Your entry is made of two required parts and an optional third part:
**The Work To Be Considered –****Required**
* The work you are submitting for the judges to view.
**The Before & Afters – ****Required******
* Descriptive information about how the VFX for the project was created.
**Students****submit****a****Work To Be Considered and a****Before and Afters****and may optionally submit****a written Supplemental Material** **PDF****. Should both****a WTBC and Supplemental Material****be submitted, the written material will not be available for the Nomination Event, but will be available for the final View and Vote should the project be nominated.**
****
**Supplemental Material – Optional****(Not used or available in the Nomination Event)**
* A concise written description of how the Work to Be Considered was created.
* The description text may NOT be the transcript of the Before & Afters voice-over; either in its majority or its entirety.
* The entire contents of the supplemental material (text, images, etc.) must be relevant to the work of the entry.
**Length Requirements:**
Work to Be Considered Length: **1:30 minute Max.***
Before & Afters Length: **1:30 minute Max.***
Optional Supporting Material PDF: **1:00 minute reading time**
***Not including the length of slates**
Entrants are responsible for their own quality control. The VES accepts no responsibility for viewing materials that do not play properly, are submitted at the wrong resolution or format, or are of inferior quality (see Submission Format, below).
Viewing materials (including Before & Afters), supplemental materials, or slates may NOT contain facility names, logos, logo bugs, the names of custom internal tools or individuals that worked on the project. Entries containing such material will be required to resubmit without identifying marks or they may be disqualified.
#### Work To Be Considered
This is the project material you wish to enter for an award. All Work to Be Considered must be submitted as premiered. Long single shots may be edited down for length by trimming the head or tail of the shot, or lifting one continuous section from the middle. **However, you may NOT:**
* Change the order of sequences from how they appeared within the project
* Change the order of or edit shots (except very long shots as stated above) within a sequence
* Put different contextual material around the Work to Be Considered other than how it was premiered
* Add fades or dissolves to “smooth” awkward transitions created by cutting down the sequence. However, you may place a few frames of black between segments
* Use sound other than the original sound track as premiered
* Add watermarks to any viewing material
You should provide some contextual material surrounding the Work to Be Considered where it is available. “Contextual Material” is the shots (visual effects or otherwise) immediately preceding or following the work you are submitting. This contextual material shows how the Work to Be Considered fits into the scene, sequence, or project. Contextual Material must be short and solely shown to set up the effects being presented.
#### Before & Afters
The Before & Afters material must be unique to this entry and tailored to the category you are entering. Where the special (practical) effects played a major role in the project, the Before & Afters should include footage demonstrating this fact. Before & Afters entered in different categories from the same project must be significantly different from one another and must specifically address the shots and category being submitted. Before & Afters must demonstrate how the work was accomplished through one or more of the following:
* Storyboards Animatics and/or previs
* Raw plates
* Raw elements
* Work-in-progress (developmental progression of shot)
You may not use the same Before & Afters clip for two different categories, though limited reuse of individual shots is permissible as long as they fit the intent of the category.
**Your entry may be disqualified if the Before & Afters material contains any of the following: **
* Extraneous material that does not relate directly to the Work to Be Considered Shots
* Sequences that are not shown in the Work to Be Considered except for brief references from external sources, such as YouTube or other films
* Talking heads explaining the work (voice-over narration is acceptable)
#### Supplemental Material
Submitters may, at their option, provide a concise written description of how the Work to Be Considered was created. Please submit a PDF file of your written material at the time of submission by uploading the PDF by clicking on “Actions>Upload supplemental material” on the Entry Form. PDFs of nominated entries will be posted on the View & Vote website. Do not send printed copies of written supporting material to the VES.
##### Guidelines for Supplemental Material:
* Put the Submission Number on every page
* Keep the number of pages to a minimum
* Written material may not include the names of individuals or facilities that directly worked on the visual effects.
* Reprints of magazine or web articles are not allowed
* Please name the PDF file the same as the Submission Number of your submission (e.g. 01- 9999).
#### Audio
All sound used in the Work to Be Considered portion of the entry must be the original sync sound as released. Entries may be submitted MOS, but they must be clearly labeled as such on the slate. However, the Before & Afters material may have alternate audio, including relevant commentary. Commentary may not include the names of facilities or individuals that did the work, the name of custom internal tools, be self congratulatory, or otherwise off-topic. Audio for Work to Be Considered and Before & Afters may not play over head slate, tail slate, or the required 1 second of black after head slate or before tail slate.
#### Slates
* The Slates contain the Submission Number needed for the filename.
* The Head Slate goes at the beginning of each entry, and the Tail Slate goes at the end of each entry. Tail slates will be automatically generated when you create your submission. If revised materials are submitted, you do not need to update the Slate.
#### Submitting Viewing Materials
Viewing materials must be submitted in electronic form. We will not accept an entry in physical media form.
#### Electronic Submissions
When you first made your entry you created a unique username and password to use for electronic material submissions. Use the same username and password for all your entries. But keep in mind that each individual entry will also be given a unique file name that corresponds to only one specific Submission Number.
##### Submission Format:
The submission format is Apple ProRes LT (422) in a QuickTime wrapper (.mov).
* One tool that you can use to create a correct entry is Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve, the free version available for PC, Mac, and Linux is sufficient.
###### All viewing material must follow these guidelines:
* 1920x1080p, 23.98fps ProRes LT (422) Video
* Color encoding per Rec709
* Gamma 2.4
* Audio should be stereo, embedded uncompressed PCM 16-bit or 24-bit 44.1/48KHz. Peak audio levels must not exceed -2dBTP referenced to a digital meter. We require using true peak limiting and ATSC A/85 (US) or EBU R128(EU) standard target loudness levels which target -24dB LUFS for dialogue.
###### **No exceptions to these requirements.**
#### Upload Order
The entry must be uploaded in two parts:
* **The Work to Be Considered (the entry) is one upload; and**
* **The Before & Afters material is the second upload. **
Use the VES slates on both uploads and follow the upload order below in assembling your entry
##### Upload No. 1:
**Part 1:**
WORK TO BE CONSIDERED
A) :05 VES HEAD SLATE
B) :01 BLACK
C) — WORK TO BE CONSIDERED MATERIAL
D) :01 BLACK
E) :01 VES TAIL SLATE
##### Upload No. 2:
**Part 2:
** BEFORE & AFTERS
A) :05 VES HEAD SLATE
B) :01 BLACK
C) — BEFORE & AFTERS
D) :01 BLACK
E) :01 VES TAIL SLATE
Do not combine your uploads. Viewing material deviating from these format specs will not be accepted.
##### File Naming Conventions
The Submission Number is the number on your SLATE, formatted as XX-XXXX. Please use versioning in the filename on your uploads, starting with v01. If a re-upload is needed, please use the next version number. The Work to Be Considered and Before & Afters may have different version numbers.
Your uploaded submission(s) must be named as follows:
For Part 1: Work to Be Considered
* Entry-ID_v##.mov (This is the original project material)
For Part 2: Before & Afters
* Entry-ID_beforeandafters_v##.mov (This is your Before & Afters file)
Example:
For Submission ID 02-0003, name your files as follows:
* Work to Be Considered: 02-0003_v01.mov
* Before & Afters: 02-0003_beforeandafters_v01.mov
For a reupload of the Work to Be Considered:
* Work to Be Considered: 02-0003_v02.mov
## Maximum Number of Entries Per Project
Only ONE submission per project is allowed in this category.
## Exceptions and Petitions
Exceptions to the rules may be requested by petition. The Awards Committee considers all petitions on their merits and may grant them at its sole discretion. Submit petitions by clicking on the “Petition Committee” link on the Entry Form.
### How Do I Get Support?
Questions about these Awards should be directed to [email protected]. https://www.vesglobal.org/24th-annual-ves-awards-rules-procedures/24th-category-25/
