By Brendan Swift
Local design and visual effects company Postmodern Sydney has been acquired by the US-based CIS Visual Effects Group.
The deal will allow the local VFX shop to expand its operations and building its feature film work. The company also plans to build a new Sydney-based facility later this year and bolster its 25-strong staff, according to managing director Andrew Robinson.
"[TV] commercial work is very important to us but we've done a lot of film work over the past couple of years and really enjoyed it," he said.
Postmodern Sydney's last major feature film work was for Alex Proyas' supernatural thriller Knowing, which was released in early 2009. The company has also worked on vampire film Daybreakers, Baz Luhrmann's Australia and Gillian Armstrong's Death Defying Acts however, the bulk of its work has been on TV commercials.
Postmodern Sydney worked on Knowing
Robinson, who was the major owner of the company with partners James Rodgers (VFX supervisor) and Angus Reid (operations manager), declined to disclose the sale price.
CIS Visual Effects Group is based in Hollywood and, in 2008, launched an office in Vancouver. The company is a division of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group and recently completed work on Phillip Noyce's upcoming feature Salt, as well as other major productions such as Invictus and Angels and Demons.
Robinson said the company will operate separately to its new sister organisation, Deluxe Australia, and he will report to US-based CIS president and general manager Don Fly. In a statement, Fly said: "The depth of the Australian creative talent and strong governmental support for the industry make entering the Sydney market very attractive."
Robinson said there are no immediate plans for Postmodern Sydney to work on current CIS projects, which include feature films such as Sex in the City 2 and Green Hornet. However, the company can now tap into CIS's research and development and larger pool of funds.
"If I need to gear up for a certain project the funds will be there," he said.
Postmodern Sydney also worked on Australia