Many postproduction companies have recently been busy launching and expanding their own visual effects divisions. In May, Nice Shoes, New York, launched Guava, a visual effects firm; a year earlier Nice Shoes started its own broadcast design division, Freestyle Collective. Late last year, editorial house Jump, New York, launched Manic. And Version2. Editing (V2), New York, which opened Liquid Light four years ago, has since greatly expanded.
Avenue, a post facility with offices in Chicago and Santa Monica, opened more than two decades ago, and started to offer graphics services in the late ’80s. Today, the graphics department has grown into a full-fledged visual effects operation with a moniker of its own—SOMERsault. Like Avenue, SOMERsault has offices in Chicago and Santa Monica. Avenue owner Rick Ledyard says his company grew gradually over the course of 22 years, and added one division at a time as client demand required. "A couple of years ago, we decided we had some pretty talented people at [SOMERsault] so we decided to rename the division," Ledyard explains.
Both Avenue and SOMERsault worked on an Aquafina campaign, as well as on Coca-Cola’s "New Classic Soul," which was helmed by Francis Lawrence of DNA, Hollywood, through Burrell Communications, Chicago. Other SOMERsault jobs include 3-D animation work on an Oldsmobile 2003 product DVD, out of Leo Burnett USA, Chicago. Ledyard would like to see SOMERsault expand in the future: "There’s a lot of us that think that effects has the largest potential for growth over the next five years."
Separate Identities
Ed Patrowicz, a partner at Nice Shoes and managing director of Guava, notes that the decision to get into visual effects was long in the making. "It was a natural progression to get into project-based work that calls for more involvement early on in projects," he says. "It was our plan from day one."
Dominic Pandolfino, VP/general manager at Nice Shoes, says he wanted Guava to have its own identity. "One of the things we decided to do that is different from most other places was [open a visual effects company] in a different location," he notes. "It would make much more sense to put it on another floor [of the Nice Shoes building], but we really wanted to keep the places individual and boutique-like. In my twenty-three years of being in this business, I’ve watched companies get larger and expand into other areas and try to do it all under one roof—it develops kind of a factory mentality. We decided to forgo some profit for a good business plan."
Pandolfino adds that they were very adamant about having Patrowicz run Guava because they wanted to "continue with the same quality of service and the same business philosophy." Recent Guava jobs include the New York Lotto’s "Rapid Eye Movement," directed by David Kellogg of bicoastal Anonymous Content, through DDB New York; Red Fusion’s "Straw Wars," helmed by Kevin Smith of Backyard Productions, Venice, Calif., via Young & Rubicam (Y&R), New York; Samsung’s "Anthem ’02" out of FCB New York, directed by Alan White of bicoastal/international @radical.media; and the client-direct spot "Free Ride With Greta Gaines" for the Oxygen network, which was directed by Luke Joerger of Oxygen.
Cutters, a Chicago post house, also opened a visual effects division in 1999, later officially dubbing it SOL designfx. Today, SOL designfx has offices in Chicago and Venice, Calif. Tim McGuire, the principal/editor, discusses why his company expanded into visual effects: "The finishing of commercials used to be the assembly of the final edit," he relates. "In the ’90s, that really evolved. In the maturing of that side of the business, effects and design disciplines are often the main components of spots, and we began to hire people who were specialists."
Like Pandolfino, McGuire thinks it’s important for the three companies in the Cutters family—Cutters, SOL designfx and Chicago-based Another Country Sound Design/ Mix—to have separate identities. "When we decided to create more autonomous divisions, the goals [of those divisions] were to do the best work in the industry," he says. "In order to do that, they really had to be specific about what their discipline was."
A little less than 50 percent of SOL designfx’s work comes through Cutters. "The thing that is nice about SOL is that they have their own book of clients in California, Chicago and New York," says McGuire.
McGuire wants to maintain a boutique environment at SOL designfx. "We’re not trying to be a Digital Domain," he relates. "Once you get to a certain size, you lose that feel. I think it’s very important to us—and to our success—that we continue to stay in the boutique environment." But McGuire doesn’t rule out some expansion. "As disciplines and services change for the needs of the advertising community, we’ll always look to do that," he notes.
SOL designfx has worked on concert visuals for techno recording artist Paul Oakenfold, directed by Arni & Kinski of bicoastal HSI Productions; as well as on Ford’s "Press Show," helmed by Steven Ramser of Lotion, Los Angeles, out of J. Walter Thompson, Detroit; Nintendo’s "Doctor," "Disease" and "Dinner," directed by Rocky Morton of bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ) via Leo Burnett; and Friendly’s "One on One," directed by Bob Ebel of Ebel Productions, Chicago, out of Laughlin/Constable, Chicago.
Greater input
Dee Tagert, executive producer at Jump and Manic, says Jump launched the new company because "we wanted to be able to have more input—effects, compositing, titles and animation have become such a part of our business."
The plan for the moment is to keep Manic at its current size. "We like the work we’re doing but [there is] certainly room for growth," Tagert relates. Right now the company offers compositing, title design, 3-D animation and CGI. Mike Stolz, who worked in a design and effects capacity at Jump, now heads up Manic as supervising design/effects artist; Justin Rotolo, formerly of Blue Sky Studios, White Plains, N.Y., joined Manic in September as a Maya artist.
Recent jobs at Manic include 7-Up’s "Floor Logo," directed by Kellogg of Anonymous via Y&R; and Morgan Stanley’s "China," helmed by Jim Gartner of bicoastal GARTNER, out of Leo Burnett.
Vito DeSario, owner/editor at V2, says creative input, as well as the bottom line, were two reasons his company opened Liquid Light, which is headed by executive producer Frank Devlin. "Four years ago things were changing in finishing from the linear world to the non-linear," explains DeSario. "I was paying everybody for their learning curve; my clients were paying for their learning curve. I got tired of negotiating on a per-hour basis on jobs without any flexibility."
DeSario says his company wanted to have more artistic control of the post process. "We consider ourselves more than just editors; we consider ourselves designers," he notes. "We do graphic design and visual design on spots. It was a natural step for us [to open Liquid Light]. It seemed like a logical thing to do—to put out the best possible product we could."
Initially, V2 was Liquid Light’s biggest client, but things have changed. "Over the past four years, we’ve gone to having about sixty percent of the work [come from] people outside of the Version2. company," says Devlin. "We’re working with designers and agencies that are calling us directly." According to Devlin, the future plans for Liquid Light are to add a few CGI seats to its facility. After that, they’ll be "all grown up," he relates. Recent Liquid Light credits include spots for Duracell and Texas Instruments. Additionally, Liquid Light creative director Kieran Walsh directed and worked on the visual effects for Cablevision’s "Direct TV," "Launch," "Teaser," "Multiplex," "On Demand," "More Channels" and "Enhanced," via Red Tettemer, Philadelphia.
