 The Visual Effects Society (VES), the entertainment industry s only society of visual effects professionals, celebrated the best visual effects artistry in film, television, commercial, music videos and games at tonight s 3rd Annual VES Awards recognizing outstanding visual effects in nineteen (19) categories. Robert Zemeckis was honored with the VES Lifetime Achievement Award for his enormous contributions to the visual effects industry and to filmmaking as a whole. The honor was presented to him by Academy Award® winning visual effects artist Ken Ralston and long-time friend and collaborator Tom Hanks. Robert Abel was honored posthumously with the Georges Melies Award for his contributions to the visual effects industry and Don Shay received the Board of Directors Award for illuminating the field of visual effects through his role as publisher of Cinefex.