The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nominated “The Dog Strikes Back,” directed by Park Pictures Lance Acord, for the Outstanding Commercials Emmy. Not one but two Emmy nominations in the Outstanding VFX category went to Culver City/Vancouver, B.C.-based visual effects house Zoic Studios for TNT’s Falling Skies and ABC’s Once Upon a Time, respectively.

Park Pictures’ “The Dog Strikes Back”, executive produced by Jackie Kelman Bisbee and Mary Ann Marino, was shortlisted at numerous award shows including the Clios and AICP and graced nearly all of the top 10 Super Bowl XLVI ad lists, including USA Today’s Superbowl Ad Meter.

In other Park Pictures news, the Park Pictures-produced, critically acclaimed Sundance feature Robot & Frank, directed by Jake Shereier, releases August 17th via Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide. The futuristic comedy was a critical success, audience darling and award winner at Sundance 2012.

Zoic Studios Executive Creative Director and Co-Founder Andrew Orloff serves as VFX Supervisor on both Emmy-nominated shows. Once Upon a Time and Falling Skies are filmed in Vancouver, B.C., and the visual effects are created by Zoic Studios in L.A. and B.C.

Says Orloff, “It’s a great day for us. Working with the budgetary and economic realities of doing visual effects for a TV show, we’re really proud to have figured out a formula that gives our best creative efforts to the shows we work on.”

ABC’s Once Upon a Time employs Zoic’s propriety pre-visualization process, Z.E.U.S. (Zoic Environmental Unification System). This process combines the benefits of real-time compositing with an integrated editorial and CG pipeline. Revolutionizing the approach to visual effects, Z.E.U.S. provides real-time camera tracking and rendering of the virtual environments on set, bringing unprecedented creative flexibility for the cast and crew working on the green screen stage. This technology provides Orloff and the entire Zoic team with the real-time feedback necessary to deliver film quality effects on a television budget and schedule.

TNT’s Falling Skies utilises various visual effects techniques to craft the alien characters that play a large role in the show. Zoic creates CG characters and uses motion capture technology to bring to life the wide range of creatures in the show.

Once Upon a Time has also received two additional craft nominations for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup and Costumes.