Alkemy X has hired Rebecca Manning as Compositing Supervisor for its Visual Effects division. Manning brings 16 years of experience and more than 40 major feature film and television credits, including Ghostbusters, The Jungle Book, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Avatar. Manning will be based out of Alkemy X’s New York studio and will lead its compositing team on projects including the television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Fear of the Walking Dead, Mr. Mercedes and Blindspot.
“Rebecca is a gifted artist with strong artistic, technical and leadership skills,” said Alkemy X Executive Producer/Business Development Mark Miller. “She has led large teams on challenging projects and delivered outstanding results. She is an excellent addition to the Alkemy X team as we continue to grow and expand our capabilities on both coasts.”
Manning arrives from Weta Digital, where she served as senior compositor on the films War for the Planet of the Apes and Mortal Engine. She previously served as senior compositor at Digital Domain, Iloura and Rising Sun Pictures. She was senior compositor for the team that won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for The Jungle Book in 2017. (The film also won a VES Award for Compositing.) Additionally, she was part of the team that won the Oscar for Visual Effects for Avatar in 2010. She has been a lead and look development artist at several companies and served as Head of Department at Framestore in London. Other notable credits include The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. She served as chair of the Visual Effects Society’s UK board in 2011.
“I love art, I love movies and I love technology,” observed Manning. “Compositing combines all three. Some compositors tilt toward the artistic side; others are more technically-minded. I have a good combination of the two and have been interested in art and technology since I was very young. Compositing is a role I’m ideally suited to.”
Manning said she was drawn to Alkemy X by Miller’s plans to expand its visual effects division and compete for the largest and most challenging film, television and advertising projects. “Alkemy X is committed to delivering the highest quality in visual effects and bringing in top caliber projects,” she said. “I want to be part of that push forward and help the studio compete on the global stage. The team here is very enthusiastic and it shows in the work.”
About Alkemy X:
Alkemy X produces branded content, network creative, integrated marketing, social/digital initiatives, long-form unscripted television and visual effects for feature films, episodic TV and commercials. Its Originals unit recently produced the unscripted special Drag Me Down the Aisle for TLC. Advertising and branded content clients include BMW, Pepsi, Panera, Lexus, Google and Samsung. Promo, integrated, and social clients include Nickelodeon, Syfy, AMC, TruTV and Food Network. The VFX team works on series including AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, NBC’s Blindspot, HBO’s The Leftovers, Netflix’s Maniac and Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.