CIS Visual Effects Group, based in Hollywood, Calif., and Vancouver, Canada, has acquired the assets of Postmodern Sydney. Purchase price was not disclosed.
Established in 2001, Postmodern is a design and visual effects shop serving high-end feature, commercial and TV clients in Australia and throughout Asia. Recent Postmodern projects include VFX for the Proyas/Summit Entertainment feature, Knowing, and the Spierig Brothers/Lionsgate feature Daybreakers. Recent commercial projects include McDonald’s “McHappy Day” for DDB Sydney, and Macquarie Bank’s “Out of the Box” for Leo Burnett.
“We’re at a point in our business growth where we’ve got some amazing work under our belt but for some time we’ve been looking for a strong partner to help us spread our wings,” said Andrew Robinson, Postmodern’s managing director. “For us that meant finding someone with great creative and technical credentials along with global recognition.”
“The CIS guys reached out to us late last year to talk about joining forces with them on an Australian shop,” continued Robinson. “We hit if off immediately with Don [Fly, CIS’ president/general manager] and his team, and their understanding of the Australian market. We look forward to bringing CIS technologies and capabilities into our creative pipeline for film studios, commercial production companies and television networks in addition to the independent feature market.”
The business will continue to operate as Postmodern from its existing premises with all key personnel remaining in place. Plans are underway to build a new purpose-built Sydney facility later this year to house an expanded CIS-Postmodern operation.
Fly said that CIS has been impressed with the caliber of VFX work coming out of Australia. He added, “The depth of Australian creative talent and strong governmental support for the industry make entering the Sydney market very attractive.”
In addition to Robinson, key players on the Postmodern management team are VFX director James Rogers and facilities manager Angus Reid.
CIS Visual Effects Group is a division of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles.
Nakamura Whitehouse, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years.
Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation.
EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.”
Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.”
34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More