Digital visual effects facility Cinesite announced that it has appointed Eamonn Butler as animation director to head up its expanding animation division. Butler joins from Double Negative where he was head of animation and supervised a catalog of high-profile films, including Iron Man 2, John Carter, Hellboy 2, Paul and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Butler will be based at Cinesite’s head office in Soho, London, and responsible for leading its high-end character animation team. He also joins the company’s board. “His wealth of experience means he’s well placed to lead our team of talented animators as we branch out into more character-driven animation films,” said company MD Antony Hunt.
Prior to joining Double Negative, Butler spent 10 years at Walt Disney Feature Animation in Burbank, Calif., where he worked on numerous features including Chicken Little, Dinosaur and Fantasia 2000. He trained under veteran Disney animator David Brain at Dublin’s Dun Laoire College of Art and Design and spent four years working as a traditional animator, storyboard artist and animation director, before switching to CG.
