Porterfield Joins Alkemy X As Head Of 2D
Alkemy X has tapped Emmy-nominated VFX veteran Michael Porterfield as the company’s head of 2D, based in Vancouver, B.C.. With over 30 years of experience in VFX, Porterfield has work that spans feature film, episodic and commercial projects, with credits including work on Apple TV’s Lisey’s Story; Netflix’s Don’t Look Up; Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; DC’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; Roland Emmerich’s Midway; and HBO’s Game of Thrones. The hire exemplifies Alkemy X’s continued extension of its reach into markets to facilitate growth and embrace a worldwide talent market, with Vancouver being added to the global expansion in Toronto and Singapore announced earlier this year.
The move to Alkemy X marks a reunion for Porterfield and Alkemy X creative director/VFX supervisor Jep Hill, with the two having previously collaborated during Porterfield’s nine-year tenure at ScanlineVFX.
Porterfield started his career in commercials, learning the art and technique of visual effects hands-on. He transitioned into episodic and feature film work, landing in Vancouver, BC as the VFX industry in “Hollywood North” was beginning to flourish in the early 2000s.
Porterfield has worked across a wide cross-section of the visual effects industry, operating on the studio side with Sony Pictures Imageworks, with stints at ScanlineVFX, AsylumFX in Santa Monica and Rainmaker in Vancouver, among numerous others. He started as a Flame artist but found his stride in compositing, eventually landing as a compositing supervisor where he managed teams with his talent for building talented collaborators across more than seven years of non-stop production. His Emmy nomination for special visual effects in a series came in 2001 as lead compositor on Dark Angel.
Rodeo FX Adds Dydo, Osland
Rodeo FX, the Canadian studio behind Netflix’s The Witcher (season 2) and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, has added two talents to its VFX team in Toronto: Mai-Ling Dydo as VFX supervisor and Lara Osland as VFX producer. Former VFX supervisor at Mr. X, Dydo started in animation before turning to supervision. She notably worked on several blockbuster shows like Penny Dreadful, American Gods and Raised by Wolves where she got the chance to collaborate with VFX visionary Ridley Scott. Dydo brings key knowledge on how to develop a strong pipeline, something crucial as Rodeo deepens long-term relationships on shows such as Stranger Things and Halo.
Another Mr. X alum, Osland started in public relations before moving into production, where she combined her artistic curiosity with sharp management skills. Shifting from artist to manager, she learned how to anticipate client needs on projects such as Pacific Rim, The Boys, Midnight Mass and most recently Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
The Toronto studio is the third official Canadian office for Rodeo FX which also counts studios in Montreal, Québec City, Munich and Los Angeles.
8 Animated Series Make Cut At Ottawa Animation Fest
Eight animated works were selected to compete in this year’s animated series competition at the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), which runs from September 21-25. The projects are: Big Mouth–”A Very Big Mouth Christmas” (director Henrique Jardim, U.S.); Educational TV (dirs. Pablo Marcovecchio, Marco Caltieri, Uruguay); Magical Caresses–Masturbation: “A Short History of a Great Taboo” (Lori Malépart-Traversy, Canada); My Year of Dicks: “Sex Talk” (Sara Gunnarsdóttir, U.S., Iceland); Safe Mode: “Lana Among the Lilies” (Justin Tomchuk, Canada); SWOP–”Dentist” (dirs. Job, Joris & Marieke, Netherlands); The Boys Presents: Diabolical–“John and Sun-Hee” (Steve Ahn, U.S.); and The Great List of Everything: “Bathtub” (Francis Papillon, Canada)
