LOOK Effects announced that it has opened a new VFX facility in Stuttgart, Germany. The company now has four facilities, including offices in Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver. LOOK’s first project in Germany will be Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel which is scheduled for release in 2014.
“Through our contacts at FMX and the great group of people at the Animation & Media Cluster Stuttgart (AMCRS) we were introduced to a wonderful, welcoming atmosphere and spirit in Stuttgart,” said LOOK Effects’ Henrik Fett. “The available pool of talented artists and the support of the regional government have made Stuttgart a premiere location for our European operations.”
“Just a few short years ago, the AMCRS mandate was to go out and attract world-class visual effects studio partnerships and co-production opportunities and really show the world what great talent we have here in Stuttgart,” said Andreas Trautz, program director for AMCRS. “Today we are so very pleased that LOOK Effects will be the first American-based studio to open offices in our Baden-Württemberg region, and realize the benefits and advantages we have been evangelizing for the past few years.”
LOOK visual effects producer Jenny Foster and digital supervisor Gabriel Sanchez are in Stuttgart to manage LOOK’s German venture and work on The Grand Budapest Hotel. “While the film is in principal photography, we are gearing up the Stuttgart operations and hiring local talent,” said Fett. “Stuttgart Media University (HdM) as well as the Filmakadamie, their staff, programs and alumni have made for a large pool of talented, dedicated artists. We are looking forward to making many of them members of the LOOK family.”
“We are extremely pleased to have LOOK Effects join the cluster of high-caliber visual effects, animation and design studios here in Stuttgart,” said Gabrielle Röthemeyer, general manager of the Medien-und Gesellschaft, Baden-Württemberg. “Look Effects will bring great value, jobs and opportunities to our region, and we congratulate them on their investment.”
