
--
Today, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry's global professional honorary society, announced the 2019 inductees into the VES Hall of Fame, the newest Lifetime and Honorary members and this year's recipient of the VES Founders Award. The names of this year's VES Fellows will be announced later. The honorees and Hall of Fame inductees will be recognized at a special reception in October.
Susan Thurmond ONeal, Michael Fink, Mike Broderson
Venerated VES leader Susan Thurmond O'Neal was named recipient of the 2019 VES Founders Award. The Society designated award-winning VFX supervisor Michael Fink, VES with a Lifetime VES Membership and presents FotoKem's Chief Strategy Officer, Mike Brodersen, with an Honorary VES Membership. This year's VES Hall of Fame honorees are Walt Disney, Stanley Kubrick and Stan Lee.
Our VES honorees represent a group of exceptional artists, innovators and professionals who have had a profound impact on the field of visual effects, said Mike Chambers, VES Board Chair. We are proud to recognize those who helped shape our shared legacy and continue to inspire future generations of VFX practitioners.
Founders Award Recipient: Susan Thurmond O'Neal for her sustained contributions to the art, science or business of visual effects and meritorious service to the Society. O'Neal joined the VES in the late 1990s and has served as a member of its global Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. For many years, she served as the Chair for the global Education Committee and currently Chairs the Membership Committee - and she has been instrumental in the work to grow the Society by leading the bi-annual membership review and approval process.
ONeal is currently a recruiter for BLT Recruiting, Inc and has worked as an Operations Manager at The Mill, Operations Director at Escape Studios in Los Angeles and as an Account Manager at Side Effects Software, Inc. She started her career in visual effects at Digital Domain in 1993, where she worked in finance and operations before turning to production. O'Neal's credits include T2: 3D - BATTLE ACROSS TIME, TITANIC, THE ITALIAN JOB, WEST WING, DEUCE BIGALOW 2: EUROPEAN GIGOLOas well as a host of music videos, commercials and other works.
Lifetime Member: Michael Fink, VES, for meritorious service to the Society and the global industry.Fink began working in film on THE CHINA SYNDROME. He was hooked, and worked on films such as STAR TREK - THE MOTION PICTUREand BLADE RUNNERbefore becoming a Visual Effects Supervisor on WAR GAMES (BAFTA Nomination). He has since worked on THE ADVENTURES OFBUCKAROO BANZAI, BATMAN RETURNS (Academy Award and BAFTA nominations), BRAVEHEART, MARS ATTACKS!, X-MEN, X-MEN 2, THEGOLDEN COMPASS (VES Award nomination, BAFTA and Academy Award winner), AVATAR, TRON: LEGACY, TREE OF LIFE and LIFE OF PI.
Fink directed the first Coca-Cola Polar Bear spot in 1993, which was one of the earliest widely seen examples of 3D fur on a CG creature.Fink is a founding member of the Visual Effects Society and a former VES Board Member. He is a member of the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and has served on its Executive Committee. He is currently a Professor at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California and Chair of the Division of Film and Television Production. He holds the Georges M li s Endowed Chair in Visual Effects at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Honorary Member: Mike Brodersen for his exemplary contributions to the entertainment industry and for furthering the interests and values of visual effects practitioners.Brodersen is one of the owners of FotoKem, currently serving as its Chief Strategy Officer. Thanks to Brodersen, FotoKem has been a valuable longtime partner with the VES, including serving as the Los Angeles site for the VES Awards nominations events for many years.
In his 25-year tenure at the company, Brodersen has helped incubate services including film scanning and recording, digital intermediate, digital restoration, software development and file-based dailies. Established in 1963 and one of the last remaining full service film laboratories in the world, FotoKem provides color grading, digital imaging, VFX, graphics, audio, and a variety of other post-production services from dailies through finishing. In recent years, the company has been able to provide post-production, imaging and VFX support services on titles like ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, AQUAMAN, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, DUNKIRK, VICE, GREEN BOOK, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, BETTER CALL SAUL andHOMELAND.
VES 2019 Hall of Fame honorees:
Walt Disney - Walter Elias Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor, TV and film producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced a score of innovations in the field of animation. As a film producer, Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 26 Oscars. His creative vision gave rise to the groundbreaking theme park Disneyland and Disney Brothers Cartoon Studios, the origin of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Stanley Kubrick -- Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in cinematic history. His filmography includes SPARTACUS, LOLITA, DR. STRANGELOVE, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY(Academy Award winner for Best Special Visual Effects),A CLOCKWORK ORANGE andTHE SHINING. All of Stanley Kubricks films from PATHS OF GLORY until the end of his career, except for THE SHINING, were nominated for Academy Awards or Golden Globe Awards.
Stan Lee - Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher and producer. He became Marvel Comics' primary creative leader for two decades, leading its expansion f
North America Stories
04/08/2026
Live production in the cloud is a growing trend across the industry, and Major L...
04/08/2026
LAFC co-managing owner will succeed Don Garber on Jan. 1, 2027, as league prepar...
04/08/2026
In 2022, when the PGA TOUR was breaking ground on its new, state-of-the-art broa...
04/08/2026
Provided by POVORA, the new camera angle offers a dealer's-eye view of the c...
04/08/2026
Spiideo will provide the camera setup, with NEP handling broadcast integration and off-site video operations...
04/08/2026
Production team streamed more than 750 youth rugby matches using ATEM switchers,...
04/08/2026
Agreement gives KTC early access to NDI's Advanced SDK for integration across commercial displays, digital signage, and interactive panels...
04/08/2026
Twelve projects across four categories recognize collaborative work in productio...
04/08/2026
Multi-year agreement will introduce SkeleTRACK, semi-automated offside, automate...
04/08/2026
Three mc 56 consoles, dual A__UHD Core engines, RAVENNA networking, and HOME management supported live sound, monitoring, and international broadcast production...
04/08/2026
New contribution products support ultra-low-latency video transport across fixed, remote, and mobile production environments...
04/08/2026
Company will showcase updates across PRIME, Chyron LIVE, Paint, virtual production, newsroom workflows, and venue control...
04/08/2026
Exhibit will feature SilverBack, VersaBrix, VersaFrame, VF-9100, and FiberSaver-10G platforms...
04/08/2026
Platform updates target cloud-based production, high-density ST 2110 monitoring,...
04/08/2026
LMG will take control of Gravity Media's U.S. mobile-unit fleet as the compa...
04/08/2026
Blendkit Expands Beyond Blender
Brie Clayton August 4, 2026
0 Comments
Popular 3D Asset Library Launches Alpha Plugins for Maya, Godot, and Rhino
Blend...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Ikegami has chosen the 11-14 September 2026 International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam as the European market launch venue for additions to its UNICAM p...
04/08/2026
Appear (IBC2026 booth 1.C61) will showcase new X & VX Platform capabilities that extend broadcast-grade performance from venue to cloud
Appear ASA (OSE: APR), ...
04/08/2026
LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video solutions, today highlighted the crucial role its EcoSystem played in Broadcast Management Group's (BMG) successfu...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/08/2026
Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Dreion The singer, songwriter, and producer talks about finding his village at Berklee ahead of his Homecoming performance on Sep...
04/08/2026
Surging AI demands are driving the need for massive datasets and context windows that burst past the confines of system memory.
But rising needs aren't me...
04/08/2026
For robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles (AVs), the hardest problems aren'...
04/08/2026
Members of the Open Secure AI Alliance - now more than 120 organizations strong - are developing new guidelines to strengthen agentic AI cybersecurity as the an...
03/08/2026
SVG's annual TranSPORT conference returns to New York City for a full day of sessions focused on the current state of live-sports-transmission technology. S...
03/08/2026
A five-time Emmy winner, this esports vet has built a production career on live storytelling, audience connection, and meeting viewers wherever they are
The sp...
03/08/2026
Live production in the cloud is a growing trend across the industry and Major Le...
03/08/2026
(L-R) Nyah B., Nala B., Shannon Elizabeth S., Celia K., Olive G., and Nikki B. attend the Q&A for Cookie Queens by Alysa Nahmias, an official selection of the...
03/08/2026
Glensound will launch the Greater Divine Supernal at PLASA Show 2026, extending its intelligent loudspeaker range for professional studio monitoring and live au...
03/08/2026
How Agua Tinta's Class Project Launched Her Songwriting Career Two years after graduating from Berklee, the songwriter has a Latin Grammy nomination, a So...
03/08/2026
Leiden University's new Campus Spui, located in the heart of The Hague, the diplomatic and administrative centre of the Netherlands, opened in February 2026...
03/08/2026
Bitfocus, the specialist in media control and monitoring, has received a further boost to its plans for continuing growth, particularly in Europe and North Amer...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
COW Jobs: Lead Generation Representative - Animation Services
Brie Clayton July 31, 2026
0 Comments
Lead Generation Representative - Animation Service...
01/08/2026
Emilie Lowe Shoots Award Winning Short Film Where Dead Things Grow with Blackmag...
01/08/2026
Early Registration Opens for the 2026 SMPTE Media Technology Summit
Brie Clayton July 31, 2026
0 Comments
Initial Program Announced Alongside New Medi...
01/08/2026
August 2026 Promotion - 30% off All Ivory 3 Upgrades
Looking to take your music to a new level of expression? Throughout August, Save 30% on ALL Ivory 3 Upgrad...