Framestore NY has launched a film division offering VFX talent and resources to the feature filmmaking community working on the East Coast. The first major project to come out of the new department is Salt, a Columbia Pictures film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Angelina Jolie. As the lead VFX studio on Salt, Framestore NY worked on 339 shots, blending its VFX and CGI work into the movie. Also coming out of the film division has been work on Clash of the Titans, as well as the upcoming movies Morning Glory and The Smurfs.
The new studio department is benefitting from an infusion of talent from Framestore U.K. Sarah Dowland has been brought aboard as VFX executive producer to set up and develop the film division. In the U.K. she worked on some of the most high profile Framestore UK films including Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and V for Vendetta.
Also new to Framestore NY are VFX supervisor Ivan Moran and CG supervisor Theo Jones. Moran was VFX supervisor on Triangle and at Framestore UK worked as the compositing supervisor on several of the house’s larger features and was instrumental in developing many of the compositing tools used for the underwater sequence on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as well as for the polar bear work on the Oscar-winning The Golden Compass. Jones meanwhile at Framestore UK led the development of the water pipeline for Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy and worked on Doom before moving on to the development of creature rendering on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and the ocean simulation on Superman Returns.
“Just as we recognized an opportunity to provide premium VFX/CGI to the East Coast agencies seven years ago, we are now recognizing a demand for top level film VFX/CGI,” said Jon Collins, president of Framestore NY. “I would not have done this if I didn’t feel that I had exactly the right team to bring Framestore’s exacting standards to the New York film department–fortunately in Sarah, Ivan and Theo I have three people who have several years of film experience at Framestore.”
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, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, 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