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Cinesite

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Cinesite
IndustryFilm
Visual effects
Founded1991; 33 years ago (1991)
HeadquartersOfficial office: 10 Little Portland Street, London, England, United Kingdom W1W 7JG
International offices: 500-565 Great Northern Way, Vancouver, Canada V5T 0H8
500- 250 St-Antoine West H2Y 0A3,
Montreal, Quebec
,
Canada
Number of locations
3 (2022)
Services
  • Visual effects
  • Animation
DivisionsCinesite VFX
Cinesite Animation
Cinesite Vancouver
Image Engine
Trixter VFX
L'Atelier Animation
FX3X (majority stake)
Squeeze Studio (majority stake)
Assemblage Entertainment (majority stake)
Aniventure (affiliate)
Websitehttps://www.cinesite.com/

Cinesite Studios (also known as Cinesite VFX or simply Cinesite) is an independent, multinational business which provides services to the media and entertainment industries. Its head office in London opened for business in 1994, initially offering services in visual effects for film and television, subsequently expanding to include feature animation.

Divisions of Cinesite and its partner companies Image Engine[1] TRIXTER, L'Atelier Animation, Squeeze and Assemblage Entertainment operate in London, Berlin, Munich, Skopje, Belgrade, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver and Mumbai with more than 2,500 employees.[2]

History

Foundation

Cinesite in London, the foyer at Medius House, March 2015

Cinesite opened its doors in Los Angeles in 1991 to help with the digital restoration of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[3] The restoration was released in 1993, and Cinesite opened a division in London in 1994. There, it originally operated as a service bureau for Kodak's Cineon digital film system. Both locations subsequently evolved to become full service visual effects facilities. In 2003, Kodak merged the Cinesite Hollywood office into LaserPacific.

In May 2012, Kodak sold Cinesite to a UK-based private investor.[4] Current ownership is a combination of its existing management team supported by private investment.

International growth

After Cinesite became independent from Kodak in 2012, it began a sustained period of international growth.

In January 2014, with the support of Investissement Québec, Cinesite announced its opening of 27,000 sq ft studios in Montréal and a feature animation division at that location.[5] Its initial employment target was reached 18 months early, in August 2015.[6]

In July 2015, Cinesite announced its acquisition of Vancouver-based visual effects facility Image Engine, which has won Emmy awards for its visual effects on The Book of Boba Fett[7] and Game of Thrones and also received an Academy Award nomination for District 9 in 2010.[8]

In March 2017, it acquired Vancouver-based animation studio Nitrogen Studios and in August 2018 the German VFX studio TRIXTER.[9]

In June 2018, Cinesite was placed in the annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table, which ranks the UK's highest performing private firms by international growth.[10]

In 2022 the company announced a series of further acquisitions, beginning with L'Atelier Animation in July,[11] Squeeze Studios in early August,[12] Balkan-based visual effects studio FX3X later that month[13] and in November, Assemblage Entertainment in Mumbai.[14]

Visual effects

The Cinesite group of visual effects companies includes its own brand services, along with partner companies Image Engine, TRIXTER and FX3X.

Notable feature film productions Cinesite has created visual effects for include Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical (2022), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), No Time to Die (2021) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Cinesite has completed work on all eight films in the Harry Potter franchise in addition to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and nine films in the James Bond franchise.

Cinesite's episodic work includes, Moon Knight, The Wheel of Time[15] and Emmy nominated The Man Who Fell to Earth.[16] It won a BAFTA craft award in 2022 for the second season of The Witcher[17] as well as Emmy awards for Generation Kill (2008) and Rome (2006). Emmy nominations include American Gods: Season 1 and Band of Brothers (2002).

Cinesite won a Visual Effects Society award in 2021 for its work on Universal Studios' stage-based stunt show The Bourne Stuntacular.[18] The show also won an award from the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) which stated, "The high level of technical achievement and the creative application in creating a spectacular, immersive experience makes The Bourne Stuntacular a worthy recipient of this honor."[19]

Feature animation

Main article: Cinesite Animation

On 8 February 2016, Cinesite announced the launch of a dedicated feature animation division at its Montréal Studios. Since then, it has worked with production partners to complete Charming (2018), Gnome Alone (2018), Trouble (2019), and Fearless (2020) for 3QU Media, The Star (2017) for Sony Pictures Animation, and Extinct (2021) for Huayi Brothers.

In addition to providing production services for other studios, Cinesite produces its own animated features through Aniventure. Cinesite first collaborated with River Productions to produce Riverdance: The Animated Adventure (2021); an animated version of the Irish stage show of the same name, then took over production on the long-gestating feature Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022).[20][21] They recently completed Hitpig (2023); a loose adaptation of the Berkeley Breathed book Pete & Pickles, and are next set to produce the long in-development adaptation of Animal Farm directed by Andy Serkis.[22][23]

Vancouver-based animation company Nitrogen Studios was rebranded under Cinesite soon after its acquisition by the group in March 2017.[24] Since then, it has worked for MGM on The Addams Family (2019) and its sequel.[25] In 2022, Cinesite acquired the Montreal-based L'Atelier Animation, and later in the year, purchased majority stakes in Squeeze Studio and Assemblage Entertainment.[26][27][28]

Credits

VFX 1996-2019

Year Title Studio Notes
1996 Space Jam Warner Bros.
The Adventures of Pinocchio New Line Cinema
2001 Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone Warner Bros.
2002 Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
2004 Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban
King Arthur Buena Vista Pictures (via Touchstone Pictures)
Troy Warner Bros.
2005 Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Warner Bros. / Village Roadshow Pictures
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire Warner Bros.
The Hitchhikers' Guide to The Galaxy Buena Vista Pictures (via Touchstone Pictures)
V For Vendetta Warner Bros.
2007 The Golden Compass New Line Cinema
Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix Warner Bros.
Underdog Buena Vista Pictures (via Walt Disney Pictures)
2009 Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince Warner Bros.
Moon Sony Pictures Classics / Stage 6 Films
2010 Clash of the Titans Warner Bros. / Legendary Pictures
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Warner Bros.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (via Walt Disney Pictures)
2011 Battle: Los Angeles The Asylum
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Warner Bros.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (via Walt Disney Pictures)
2012 John Carter
Skyfall Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Columbia Pictures
2013 Iron Man 3 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (via Marvel Studios) / Paramount Pictures
World War Z Paramount Pictures
2014 300: Rise of an Empire Warner Bros. / Legendary Pictures
Edge of Tomorrow Warner Bros. / Village Roadshow Pictures
Hercules Paramount Pictures / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Into the Storm Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema / Village Roadshow Pictures
2015 The Last Witch Hunter Summit Entertainment / Lionsgate
Maggie Lionsgate / Roadside Attractions / Grindstone Entertainment
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Warner Bros.
The Revenant 20th Century Fox / Regency Enterprises
San Andreas Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema / Village Roadshow Pictures
Spectre Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Columbia Pictures
2016 Assassin's Creed 20th Century Fox / Regency Enterprises
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Warner Bros.
Independence Day: Resurgence 20th Century Fox
Now You See Me 2 Summit Entertainment / Lionsgate
2018 Avengers: Infinity War Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (via Marvel Studios)
The Commuter StudioCanal / Lionsgate
Mary Poppins Returns Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (via Walt Disney Pictures)
Mute Netflix
Robin Hood Summit Entertainment / Lionsgate
Zero Pen Marudhar Entertainment / Yash Raj Films / Zee Studios / Eveready Pictures /
2019 Avengers: Endgame Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (via Marvel Studios)

TV series

Year Film Title Network Notes
2001 Band of Brothers HBO Miniseries
2005-2007 Rome
2008 Generation Kill Miniseries
2017-2021 American Gods Starz
2018-2021 Lost in Space Netflix
2019–present The Witcher

Animation credits

Year Film Title Studio Notes
2013 Beans Aniventure Short film
2017 Gnome Alone Vanguard Animation
The Star Sony Pictures Animation
2018 Charming Netflix / Vanguard Animation
2019 Trouble
The Addams Family Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Bron
2020 Fe@rless Netflix / Vanguard Animation
2021 Extinct Netflix / Huayi Brothers / HB Wink Animation
Mila Aniventure Short film
Riverdance: The Animated Adventure Netflix / Aniventure
The Addams Family 2 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Bron
2022 Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank Paramount Pictures / Nickelodeon Movies / GFM Animation / HB Wink Animation / Aniventure
2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Paramount Pictures / Paramount Animation / Nickelodeon Movies / Point Grey Pictures / Nickelodeon Animation Studio with Mikros Animation
Iwájú Walt Disney Animation Studios / Kugali Media TV series
Hitpig Aniventure
2025 Untitled Smurfs musical animated film Paramount Pictures / Paramount Animation / Nickelodeon Movies / LAFIG Belgium / IMPS [29]
TBA Animal Farm Aniventure / The Imaginarium [30]
Princess Awesome Aniventure Pre-production
Harold Lloyd Aniventure Pre-production
Super Roach Aniventure Pre-production

See also

References

  1. ^ Barraclough, Leo (3 July 2015). "Visual Effects Companies Cinesite, Image Engine Merge". Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Cinesite Enters Into a US$235 Million Funding Package to Support Continued Growth". UK Screen Alliance. 20 December 2022.
  3. ^ "About - Cinesite Studios". Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  4. ^ 2012-05-11T17:36:00+01:00. "Kodak sells Cinesite". Broadcast. Retrieved 28 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Kelly, Amanda. "Visual effects company Cinesite to open offices in Montreal". Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  6. ^ Codère, Jean-François (8 February 2016). "Cinesite choisit encore Montréal". La Presse. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Image Engine: Emmy Award Winner for The Book of Boba Fett". DigiBC. 15 September 2022.
  8. ^ "NVIDIA GPUs Power All 2010 Best Visual Effects Academy Award Nominees". Globe Newswire (Press release). 1 March 2010.
  9. ^ Clarke, Stewart (9 August 2018). "Cinesite Buying Trixter, Germany's Leading VFX Outfit". Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Britain's Mid-market Private Companies With Fastest-Growing International Sales Revealed" (PDF). Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  11. ^ Vlessing, Etan (20 July 2022). "VFX House Cinesite Acquires Montreal's L'Atelier Animation". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (2 August 2022). ""Cracké" Animation Studio Squeeze Acquired by "Paws of Fury" Outfit Cinesite". Variety.
  13. ^ Dalton, Ben (31 August 2022). "Cinesite Acquires "Indiana Jones 5" VFX studio FX3X". Screen Daily.
  14. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (21 November 2022). "VFX Outfit Cinesite Takes Majority Stake in Indian Animation Studio Assemblage". Variety.
  15. ^ "Wheel of Time VFX Breakdown by Cinesite". VFX Express. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  16. ^ "The Man Who Fell to Earth - Awards & Nominations". Emmys.com. 20 January 2023.
  17. ^ Diamond Sarto, Debbie (26 April 2022). "Netflix's The Witcher Takes Home 2022 BAFTA Craft Award". awn.com. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  18. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (21 May 2021). "Visual Effects Society Awards: 'The Midnight Sky' Tops Feature Competition". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021.
  19. ^ "THEA Award For Outstanding Achievement - Live Attraction Spectacular". TEA Awards. 19 November 2020. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021.
  20. ^ Clarke, Stewart (29 January 2018). "British VFX Company Cinesite Secures $70 Million Finance Package". Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  21. ^ MacNab, Geoffrey (6 November 2019). "GFM Animation's long-gestating "Blazing Samurai" is back in the saddle". Screen Daily.
  22. ^ Amidi, Amid (18 March 2022). "Aniventure Debuts First Teaser For Action-Comedy 'HITPIG' – Exclusive". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  23. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (19 April 2022). "Andy Serkis Teams With Cinesite on 'Animal Farm' Adaptation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  24. ^ Frazer, Bryant (7 March 2017). "Cinesite Acquires Sausage Party Animator Nitrogen Studios". Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  25. ^ McLean, Thomas J. "Cinesite Set to Animate MGM's CG 'The Addams Family'". Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Cinesite Acquires Montreal Studio l'Atelier Animation". 20 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Cinesite Takes Majority Stake in 'Cracké' Studio Squeeze". 2 August 2022.
  28. ^ "Cinesite Snags Majority Stake in Assemblage Animation Studio". 22 November 2022.
  29. ^ Sarto, Debbie Diamond (3 February 2023). "Cinesite Tapped to Animate Upcoming Untitled 'Smurfs' Feature". Animation World Network. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  30. ^ Grobar, Matt (19 April 2022). "Andy Serkis To Direct Animated Adaptation Of George Orwell's 'Animal Farm'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
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