The 94th annual Academy Awards nominations were announced on February 8th, and thirty-two DAVE School graduates worked on four out of the five nominated projects in the Best Visual Effects category and two projects in the Best Animated Feature Film category. Being nominated for an Academy Award, also known as the Oscars, is a prestigious honor; winning an Oscar is the highest honor within the filmmaking industry. The 94th annual Academy awards ceremony will be hosted at the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center on Sunday, March 27, 2022.
DAVE School graduates created visual effects on the nominated films Free Guy, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and No Time to Die. The nominated films in the Animated Feature Film category are Luca and Encanto.
The graduates who worked on these 94th annual Academy Awards projects are:
Free Guy: Les Foor, Dusty Hayes, Alex Heffner, Yael Majors, Chris Montesano, Daniel Perez, Aaron Beyer, Terry Klopfenstein, and Melissa Whitcomb.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Jason Bradbury, Yael Majors, Jason Bomstein, Dusty Hayes, Terry Klopfenstein, Melissa Whitcomb, Emma Webb, Chris Montesano, Aaron Beyer, and Alex Heffner.
Spider-Man: No Way Home: Mike Brant, Yael Majors, Bryan Haines, Christopher Cheng, Erika Chlupsa, Duncan Key, Paul Song, Ryan McConnell, Tanner Bartlett, Tyler Barnas, Dan Kaczkowski, Timothy Fleur, Greta Thompson, Kevin Crowe, Kyle Merola, Jason Bomstein, Alex Heffner, Aaron Beyer, Zach Lemire, Selena Farkas, Drew Tobin, and Francesca Milde.
No Time to Die: Yael Majors
Luca: Katie Hamberger
Encanto: David Maldonado
Eight of these graduates worked on multiple Oscar-nominated projects: Yael Majors (four projects), Aaron Beyer (three projects), Alex Heffner (three projects), Dusty Hayes (two projects), Chris Montesano (two projects), Terry Klopfenstein (two projects), Melissa Whitcomb (two projects), and Jason Bomstein (two projects).
For more information on the 94th annual Academy Awards, please visit oscars.org.
Visual Effects Diploma Program
Visual Effects (VFX) is the essence of a movie or TV show once the filming is complete, the explosions, the falling helicopters, or the transformation from 21st century New York into 1920’s New York. Scenes that are too hard or dangerous to film, such as smoke, water, oceans, or worlds and environments, come to life through Visual Effects.
The DAVE School Visual Effects Diploma program spans 12-months and offers scheduled starts each Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Its uniquely flexible, hybrid format combines nine months of live, online classes with three months of in-person learning here at our Orlando, Florida campus. Students get to refine their skills in an immersive combination of project-based workflows and applied studio skills, preparing them for their advancement into the Visual Effects workplace.
About The DAVE School
The DAVE School was founded on June 8, 2000, by two Industry executives looking to create #CareerReady artists with a practical animation school. Today, The DAVE School offers specialized training in Visual Effects and Game Production with extensive practice under industry-level supervision.
Located on the backlot of Universal Studios Florida®, The DAVE School has an 18,000 square foot facility that includes learning and interactive labs, a dedicated Virtual and Real-Time production stage, a Vicon motion capture system, 3D printing, and VR/AR labs and secure student access 7 days a week.
NUC University (NUC) is an accredited institution and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) www.msche.org. NUC’s NUC University – IBC Technical Division (NUC-IBC), NUC University – Florida Technical College (NUC-FTC), and The Digital Animation & Visual Effects School (The DAVE School) is included in this accreditation. NUC’s accreditation status is Accreditation Reaffirmed. The Commission’s most recent action on the institution’s accreditation status on 2019 was to reaffirm accreditation. MSCHE is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)