Evolutions, Soho’s largest independent post-production facility, is delighted to announce the launch of a brand-new boutique, digital studio dedicated to servicing the commercials, design, promos and vfx market. Called Earth, the company has recruited some of the industry’s top talent to helm the new facility, namely ex-Smoke & Mirrors staffers James Niklasson, Senior Producer; Mike Capon, Executive Producer; and Nico Cotta, VFX Supervisor. Evolutions’ design arm Sprout will also be merged into Earth, and its head, Bryony Evans, will join the new facility.
Earth represents a £750k investment by Evolutions, underlining the recent successful, multi-award winning trading period for the company that has bucked the general downturn in Soho. The company’s Wells Street premises will be completely remodelled from December onwards to house the new equipment and staff for the venture, with the facility’s official opening slated for January. The company will launch with 14 full-time staff, augmented by a talented pool of freelancers in the short-term.
“In the current climate the industry has to re-evaluate post production. You now need to deliver high-end creative work in multiple resolutions and at a competitive price. We have put together a collective of Artists, Designers, Animators and Producers, and we’re all looking forward to working in a creative environment, which focuses on clients’ needs. An environment where we can properly engage with our clients and offer solutions based around talent, not kit,” comments Niklasson.
The new team brings an impressive track record to Earth. Niklasson was a company director at The Hive and founding director of Lime Ltd before joining S&M, while Capon has been a producer for the past eighteen years, during which he was on the board of Directors for VTR and Exec Producer at Smoke & Mirrors, producing and post producing prominent campaigns for the likes of Panasonic, Coca-Cola and many others. Cotta meanwhile is one of the country’s top Flame Ops and has worked with leading commercial directors such as Fredrik Bond, Nick Gordon, Pleix and Traktor to name a few, on spots for Adidas, Audi, Bacardi ‘Sun’, Big Yellow Storage, Drambuie, Miller Beer and ITV.
The talent is backed by three fully-featured hero suites based around Flame, Smoke and Avid DS Nitris HD, with an additional 20 supporting workstations for CGI and VFX work.
“At Evolutions we recognise that the future of post is not genre-specific,” comments Evolutions MD, Simon Kanjee. “Post production is about providing services and creativity to our clients to assist them in producing compelling content, no matter what genre or platform they’re creating it for. We have set up Earth with the best kit and undoubtedly the best people in the business to ensure we can do just that.”
About Evolutions
As the proud winners of Broadcast Magazine’s Best Post Production House Award in 2007 and the UK Screen Conch Sound Awards Best Sound Facility in 2009, Evolutions is the most popular post-production facility in Soho. This company prides itself in outstanding service, flawless attention to detail and of course, the best creative talent. It has over 120 suites spread over four sites in Central London. www.evolutions.tv
