VES Awards: 5 Things to Know Before the Ceremony

The visual effects community gathers for the 11th annual Visual Effects Society Awards on Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton. Here’s some things to know before this year's ceremony:

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The winner of the top VES category has often mirrored the VFX Oscar winner

Seven of the previous 10 winners in the category for outstanding visual effects in a visual effects-driven feature have gone on to win the Oscar for visual effects. Last year, Hugo -- winner of the VES supporting VFX category -- won the Academy Award.

This year four of the five nominees for outstanding VFX in a VFX-driven feature are Oscar nominees, including The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Life of Pi, The Avengers and Prometheus. The fifth VES category nomination went to Battleship, while the fifth Oscar nomination went to Snow White and the Huntsman.

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The Hobbit, Life of Pi and Avengers have the most feature nominations

The Hobbit leads the feature competition with seven nominations, and Life of Pi and The Avengers are close behind with six each.

Historically, if there is one film that has an Oscar nomination for best picture, in addition to one for visual effects, it has been the film that's won the VFX Oscar. This year, the one VFX Oscar contender with a best picture nomination is Life of Pi.

ParaNorman leads the animated feature nominees

ParaNorman received the most VES nominations for an animated feature with five, including one for outstanding animation in an animated feature. In that category, Oscar nominee ParaNorman will compete against two other Oscar contenders, Brave and Wreck-It Ralph, as well as Rise of the Guardians and Hotel Transylvania.

A bit of history: The Lord of the Rings franchise received the top award at the first and second VES Awards

The winner of the top category of best VFX in a VFX-driven feature at the first VES Awards (2002) was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (the franchise’s second film). The following year, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King took the top prize. The Hobbit is of course the prequel to The Lord of the Rings.

The Avengers also has some VES history. Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Captain America: The First Avenger were VES nominees in the top category when they were released.

Ang Lee and Richard Edlund will receive special awards

Life of Pi director Lee is this year’s recipient of the VES Visionary Award and effects legend Edlund (Star Wars) will be presented with the society’s Lifetime Achievement Award.