Method Studios Melbourne will now be known as Framestore Melbourne, following Framestore’s global acquisition of the VFX company and post-production business Company 3 in November 2020.
The Melbourne team was formally integrated into Framestore last week, joining a global network that includes studios in London, Montreal, Mumbai, Vancouver, LA, Chicago and New York.
Simon Rosenthal, who has worked for Method and its predecessor, Iloura, for more than 20 years, will continue to serve as head of VFX. He joins Framestore’s global leadership team headed by chief executive officer, Film & Episodic, Fiona Walkinshaw who works alongside Framestore CEO Mel Sullivan.
Rosenthal told IF it was incredibly exciting to join Framestore’s global network.
“To be officially part of one the great VFX studios is a wonderful opportunity for the Melbourne team. We share many of the same values and have enormous respect for the culture, tradition and capabilities of Framestore and as such this is very positive news for Melbourne-based business,” he said.
“Through the change, we expect to see a broader range of opportunities, introduction to new clients and in particular collaborating with our sister companies on a variety of projects. Whilst Method Melbourne has achieved great success, this integration allows us to tap into an extended network of knowledge, creative, technology and management. Onwards and upwards!”
Method Melbourne has previously shared work with Framestore on Christopher Robin, which was nominated for an Oscar for visual effects.
When Framestore acquired the former Deluxe businesses of Company 3 and Method in November 2020, it was done with the aim of forming a “global creative services studio working across every part of the creative and production process.”
Method’s teams in Vancouver and Montreal have already been integrated into Framestore over the past 18 months.
In the short term it is understood the Framestore Melbourne team will continue on its existing slate of film and episodic projects. Recent projects delivered by the studio include Elvis and Three Thousand Years of Longing, and it is currently working on Lyle, Lyle Crocodile for Sony Pictures.