Australian visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic has officially opened in Canada, with the first of the team moving into their new 45,000 sq ft studio in Yaletown, Vancouver.
The new studio will be led by its current group head of production, Sharon Taylor, who will now take up the role of executive VP and general manager in Vancouver. Animal Logic also maintains studios in Sydney and Los Angeles.
Zareh Nalbandian, chairman and CEO of Animal Logic, said: “Sharon has been a key driver in the growth and success of Animal Logic over the last ten years. I’m confident that her deep knowledge of our company and its culture, coupled with her collaborative leadership style and amazing energy, will ensure the success of our new Vancouver studio.”
Taylor, in partnership with the Vancouver management team, will lead the growth of the Cambie Street studio, as it ramps up for the start of production on The LEGO Movie Sequel in January 2016.
As announced in May this year, The LEGO Movie Sequel is the first film in what is a three-picture deal with Warner Bros.–a slate of three productions for Animal Logic’s Vancouver studio.
The commitment further supports the company’s highly successful 15-year relationship with Warner Bros (Happy Feet, Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, The LEGO Movie). The two subsequent LEGO titles have yet to be announced.
Taylor said that Vancouver has such “a rich and diverse talent pool that it made perfect sense for us to expand our operations into Canada to support our growing slate of animated productions.”
Animal Logic’s Sydney studio will continue in production on the recently announced animated features LEGO Batman and Ninjago (due for release in 2017), with another as yet unnamed animated feature to follow.
Animal Logic also remains strongly committed to its visual effects business, currently in preproduction and production on a number of new projects including Allegiant-Part 1 (2016).
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More