Deluxe is set to bring the Method Studios brand to Australia as it continues to expand its local visual effects business.
Method will operate across three facilities: a brand-new commercial facility in Sydney's Walsh Bay, the previous MRPPP-branded facility in Melbourne, and the previous CIS PostModern facility in Sydney's Lane Cove.
The Australian facilities will join Method Studios in London, Vancouver, New York and Los Angeles. The Deluxe group acquired Method last December before recently rebranding the facility, along with CIS Visual Effects, under the Method Studios banner.
“Uniting our Australian visual effects businesses under the Method Studios brand paves the way for those creative facilities to work together even more synergistically,” said president of Deluxe Creative Services, Stefan Sonnenfeld, in a statement.
The expansion comes after the local post-production industry has faced a particularly challenging environment over the past two years due to a lack of production and a stronger local currency, which has halted many offshore productions.
Hollywood-funded big-budget productions are a key focus for Deluxe. The feature visual effects division – previously CIS PostModern – includes former CTO of WETA, Paul Ryan and VFX supervisor James Ryan. In the past, Ryan has worked with both Baz Luhrmann (Australia) and Alex Proyas (Knowing). Both directors are currently in Sydney working on The Great Gatsby and Paradise Lost respectively.
Method Studio's Australian commercial facilities will provide editing, colour grading, 3D and 2D design as well as visual effects and finishing services.
Method Studios Australian executive director of commercials, Andrew Shostak, said key new local appointments include Drew Thompson and Simon Njoo from Guillotine who join colorists Andrew Clarkson (formerly of Bean Colour) and Edel Rafferty and 3D and 2D artists from CIS-PostModern and MRPPP.
Films currently being completed across Method internationally include Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Clint Eastwood's J.Edgar and Clash of the Titans 2: Wrath of the Titans.
Deluxe’s post-production and VFX expansion brings it further into competition with another local one-stop production shop – Omnilab Media. It owns 17 companies including Digital Pictures and VFX company Iloura.
Andrew Clarkson.