Deluxe has named long-time media technology executive Craig Zerouni to serve as head of technology, Deluxe Visual Effects (VFX). In this role Zerouni will focus on continuing to unify software development and systems architecture across Deluxe’s Method studios in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, and India, and its Iloura studios in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as Deluxe VR, based in Los Angeles, to integrate and expand global production capacity.
Based in Los Angeles and reporting to president and GM of Deluxe VFX and VR Ed Ulbrich, Zerouni will lead VFX and VR R&D and software development teams and systems worldwide, working closely with technology teams across Deluxe’s Creative division to benefit from and contribute to the deep pool of IP, knowledge, and resources across the global Deluxe technology organization.
Ulbrich said, “Our VFX work serves both the features world, which is increasingly global, and the advertising community, which is increasingly local. Behind the curtain at Method, Iloura, and Deluxe in general, we have been working to integrate our studios to give clients the ability to tap into integrated global capacity, technology and talent anywhere in the world, while offering a high-quality local experience. Craig’s experience leading global technology organizations and distributed development teams, and building and integrating pipelines is right in line with our focus. He has done amazing work improving workflow and optimizing systems at VFX and animation companies of all sizes, and he’s a great team leader.”
Zerouni has been working in media technology and production for nearly three decades, joining Deluxe most recently from DreamWorks, where he was Director of Technology at its Bangalore, India facility overseeing all technology. Prior to that he spent nine years at Digital Domain, where he was first head of R&D responsible for software strategy and teams in five locations across three countries, then sr. director of technology overseeing all aspects of technology including software, systems, production technology, technical directors and media systems. He has also directed engineering, products and teams at software/tech companies Silicon Grail, Side Effects Software, and Critical Path, and was a co-founder of pioneering London computer animation company CFX. Zerouni’s work has contributed to features including TRON: Legacy, Iron Man 3, Maleficent, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Ender’s Game as well as more than 400 commercials, TV idents and titles. He is a member of BAFTA, ACM/SIGGRAPH, IEEE, the Visual Effects Society, has served on the AMPAS Digital Imaging Technology Subcommittee, and is the author of the technical reference book “Houdini on the Spot.”
Zerouni said, “I’m excited to come on board with Deluxe right at this time–the company is expanding and integrating its VFX studios around the world and what comes through strongly is a commitment to growth and innovation. There’s a great opportunity to harness all of the worldwide VFX talent and technology skill sets across these companies to support clients on an even bigger, broader scale.”
Artists from Iloura have been recognized with Academy Award nominations for Visual Effects two years running, for Mad Max: Fury Road and Deepwater Horizon, and earned the 2016 VFX Emmy Award for work on Game of Thrones. Recent work from Method Studios includes VFX Academy Award-nominated Doctor Strange, along with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Captain America: Civil War, and award-winning commercials. Method is currently in production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur and other features and advertising projects.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More