Post facility charlieuniformtango (CUT), Dallas, has added visual effects artist Jim Eberle. He has already wrapped his first jobs as a CUT staffer: "Want To Go Faster" for AT&T @Home via The Richards Group, Dallas; and "Luby’s Platter-Weight Staff" for restaurant chain Luby’s Cafeteria via The Center For The Persuasive Arts (formerly The Atkins Agency), San Antonio. At press time, Eberle was also slated to work on a Shell Energy spot out of The Focus Agency, Dallas.
Since May ’99, Eberle had served as a freelance effects artist based in Houston, working with such Dallas-based post houses as CUT and Post Op in addition to Dallas-based animation/effects facilities Reel F/X and Janimation. Eberle’s freelance credits at CUT included modifications of several multi-spot packages for movie channel Starz! Encore via The Richards Group; he also served as effects artist on the spots "Dinner Party," "Support Group" and "Rain Delay" for Ice House beer via Square One, Dallas.
Eberle said the primary appeal of joining CUT was its staff, citing in particular visual effects artist Dave Laird. "I was really eager to be a part of the team with [Laird] as well as other folks in the company," said Eberle. "A lot of times you’ll go into a facility and there will be one Smoke/Flame guy and, if you’re that guy, it’s kind of tough to solve all the problems. When you have two or more people, you can obviously share information. That was what really excited me; Dave’s very talented and the ability to come in and share the work with him was a strong point."
Aside from the addition of Eberle, CUT is also building another soon-to-be completed effects suite, for which the shop has just acquired a Discreet Logic Inferno and a Smoke. CUT currently owns a Fire and a Flame, which are operated by Laird and graphic designer David Slack. "We’re hoping to take on bigger effects jobs that we weren’t capable of doing [before]," said CUT president Lola Lott. "Creatively, we were capable, but we didn’t have the equipment or the rendering power. Now we do."
Prior to freelancing, Eberle spent a year as director of visual effects at POV Editing & Visual Effects, Houston. Earlier, he put in a year as director of visual effects at The Stokes Group, Dallas.
Eberle started out in ’88 in Houston, where he worked for two years as senior editor at Texas Video & Post. He moved to New York in Aug. ’90 for a nearly yearlong stay as an editor at New York-based Charlex before relocating to Los Angeles, where he spent three years as editor/compositor at The Post Group, Hollywood. In Aug. ’94, he went over to Los Angeles-based Planet Blue (now in Santa Monica) to work as a senior editor/compositor and, in July ’95, moved to Digital Magic (now part of R!OT), Santa Monica, where he served as a visual effects compositor. Eberle then became director of visual effects at The Stokes Group, and later POV Editing & Visual Effects, before going freelance.
CUT also maintains a creative editorial roster composed of VP/senior editor Jack Waldrip, Gigi Cone Welch, Ronny Gordon, Keith James and Scott Hanson, in addition to audio mixer Russell Smith. CUT is repped by Dallas-based Perry Tongate.
