By Carolyn Giardina
NEW YORK—London-headquartered visual effects, animation and post house Framestore CFC secured space in New York last week to begin construction on a new facility, which is scheduled to open for business in January.
Jon Collins, an eight-year Framestore veteran, will relocate to New York to serve as managing director there. He started at Framestore as head of production, and most recently served as facilities director, with his sphere of influence primarily in the commercial market.
"Everything we do is about listening to clients, forming relationships and collaborating," Collins said. "The larger [U.S.] projects come over to us in London, but the smaller jobs don’t. We have to make an effort and come to America. I’m showing I’m one hundred percent behind it—even in my lifestyle—to do this in New York."
Joining Collins in relocating from London is Stuart Robinson, who developed and headed Framestore’s Front system, an Internet-based review-and-approval and production services system. The New York office will connect to the London headquarters via the Front system; Robinson will head this effort, and multitask with additional responsibilities including serving as a producer, sales representative and facility engineer.
Plans call for the relocation of a core team, including one Flame artist and three CG artists, although it hasn’t yet been decided who will make the move. Others may visit for select projects, and the London company will be available to supplement the New York capabilities for large jobs.
The London company is know for commercials, television and feature work. Notable recent spot work includes Johnnie Walker’s "Fish" (SHOOT, 7/18-31, p. 20) and Xbox’s "Mosquito," both via London agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and directed by Daniel Kleinman of Spectre, London.
Framestore’s TV program work includes visual effects for Emmy winners such as the Discovery/BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs and the Hallmark special Dinotopia. Currently in production for features are visual effects for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Troy and Thunderbirds.
The company will reside in the Tribeca section of New York, sharing space held by editing shop Mad Mad Judy, which primarily handles feature work, as well as some commercial editorial. Collins explained that Framestore intends to share infrastructure and the machine room—which will be expanded—with Mad Mad Judy, and bring in a Discreet Flame and Alias’ Maya for CG.
Collins aims to start small, and build as needed to service clients. The next phase may be to hire local talent, but in the beginning he only wants to use Framestore employees. "We want to first establish this as Framestore," he explained.
London-based Framestore head of production Helen MacKenzie will take on some of the responsibilities previously handled by Collins in the U.K.
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Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More