American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 66

Facility News Prime Focus Film Opens in London Visual-entertainment-services group Prime Focus has launched Prime Focus Film, a visual-effects and stereoscopy facility in London. Powering the launch of the division is a team led by managing director Martin Hobbs. Hobbs is joined by visual-effects supervisor Jon Thum, animation director Michael Eames, animation supervisor Pablo Grillo, visual-effects supervisor Stuart Lashley, CG supervisor Alex Pejic, visual-effects producer Fiona Foster, and head of pipeline Alexis Casas. Prime Focus Film’s digital art department is led by visual-effects art director N eil Miller and includes matte painter and concept artist Ludo Iochem. The facility’s View-D team, which is responsible for the company’s proprietary 2-D to 3-D conversion process, is led by digital-intermediate producer Matt Bristowe; the team also includes producer Marcus Alexander and View-D stereo supervisors Richard Baker and Ben Murray. Visual-effects consultant Michael Elson has been advising Prime Focus on the new venture. “The film industry is going through huge changes, and the old business models have to fundamentally change, too,” he notes. “Alongside this, there’s a groundswell of common thought among artists, a shared belief that there’s a better way in which they can do their jobs. This is what I believe Prime Focus Film is all about; it’s a new business model that gives filmmakers access to both the best local talent and the scale and infrastructure of a global group, while allowing artists to engage more closely with filmmakers earlier in the process.” Prime Focus Film’s physical facility, Hobbs notes, “is being designed as a flagship studio which reflects our new way of working.” Michael Fink, president of Prime Focus VFX worldwide, adds, “This new venture marks the next evolution of our global visual-effects and View-D offering. We’ve assembled a team of truly world-class visual-effects artists.” Namit Malhotra, the global CEO and founder of Prime Focus, concludes, “We have a clear vision for the future of this
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industry, and a drive and determination to deliver the best talent, service, technology and scale to filmmakers, wherever they are in the world.” For additional information, visit www.primefocusworld.com. Chainsaw Launches Visual-Effects Department Chainsaw, a Hollywood-based independent provider of post services for television, feature films and other media, has launched a visual-effects department led by Boyd Stepan. Stepan will perform hands-on work as a visual-effects artist and will also be responsible for growing and supervising the department. Chainsaw’s aim is to build a full-service visual-effects department to complement its creative editorial, editorial finishing and color-correction services. “We want to offer our clients the ability to take care of all of their post needs within one workflow, both for the sake of efficiency and to ensure greater creative control,” says Bill DeRonde, co-founder of Chainsaw. “Boyd’s arrival brings us a step closer to that goal. He is a very talented and experienced artist who can help us build a visual-effects department capable of delivering the quality our clients expect.” Chainsaw has built a visual-effects production suite equipped with an Autodesk Flame workstation. The system includes Autodesk’s latest generation software and full stereoscopic 3-D capabilities. The department will offer a full slate of visual-effects services including visualeffects generation, titles and graphics, 3-D integration, beauty work and digital cleanup. The company also expects to add further staff and technical resources. “It is a wonderful opportunity to join a company that is growing, that understands today’s technology and the evolving needs of clients, and has a commitment to highquality work,” enthuses Stepan. For additional information, visit www.chainsawedit.com. ●

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American Cinematographer - February 2011

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