Visual effects house Gravity in Brooklyn, NY, is closing. The studio is completing its active projects, honoring those commitments while winding down operations this month.
Zviah Eldar, CEO/chief creative officer of Gravity, declined SHOOT’s request for an interview. She did, however, confirm that Gravity will continue to maintain its VFX studio in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Eldar sent out a letter via email to the industry at large, noting that “in spite of the effort and dedication of a wonderfully talented group of artists, producers and executives, the same wave that swept away” assorted other VFX companies in recent years “has now taken Rhinoceros Visual Design and Effects LLC, a.k.a Gravity NY. We were unable to turn the tide even with radical restructuring efforts and dramatically reduced overhead expenses.”
Eldar went on to write, “We are proud of the work we did in both the advertising and feature industries. Our focus was on collaborating with our clients, making them feel at home and producing great work at a fair price. And the work WAS great.
“We thank all our valued friends who trusted us with their projects including the folks from Team Detroit, KBS+P, Y&R, The Weinstein Company, Sony, Universal, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO, DDB, Draft/FCB, Arnold, HHCC, plus countless other agencies, studios and brands.
“Most of all, thanks to our team who sacrificed lots of personal time, family time, vacation time and countless nights of sleep while they animated, designed, effected and produced. They were a talented group who worked hard, played hard and tried to laugh everyday.
“You can’t ask for much more than that.
“It is my hope that when you meet someone who worked at Gravity NY, you will acknowledge that they persevered in difficult times, performed with grace under pressure and above all: loved the craft.”