Method Studios, the visual effects arm of the Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, announced the addition of three facilities in Australia, expanding the company’s network of studios in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York and London.
Joining the group under the Method banner is a brand new commercial facility in Sydney’s fashionable waterside district of Walsh Bay, as well as the Deluxe-owned commercial postproduction business in Melbourne previously known as MRPPP and Sydney-based feature visual effects studio at Lane Cove previously operating as CIS-Postmodern.
“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 Stefan Sonnenfeld, president of Deluxe Creative Services. “It’s our plan to continue to increase the level of collaboration among all the creative facilities within Deluxe’s global network to further benefit our clients both creatively and financially wherever they may be.”
“Method Studios in Australia launches with a team that is already well known in the local Australian and Asian markets,” said Dan Glass, Method Studios’ executive vice president, senior visual effects supervisor. “We share the same goals of a strong creatively driven brand and will be working together to build on our creative and technical resources for both commercials and feature films.”
“Being part of Method’s international network means we can really raise the bar creatively for local clients,” said Alaric McAusland, head of Deluxe in Australia. “With the recent increase in the tax rebates for feature film production, our international clients will also be able to get their visual effects done locally. This is a win-win situation for the creative community of Australia.”
Feature work being completed across the Method brand includes Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Fox, directed by Timur Bekmambetov), Dark Shadows (Warner Bros., directed by Tim Burton), Clash of the Titans 2: Wrath of the Titans (Warner Bros., directed by Jonathan Liebesman) and J. Edgar (Warner Bros., directed by Clint Eastwood).
The Method Australia feature visual effects facility will include a dedicated software team under Paul Ryan, vice president of technology and former CTO of WETA. The goal is to be able to share tools, assets and shots across the facilities. The feature division also includes VFX supervisor James Rogers who has enjoyed close collaborations with filmmakers such as Alex Proyas and Baz Luhrmann.
On the commercial front, the Method Australia group will also share resources with the Method facilities in the U.S. who have recently won VES and AICP awards for “Halo Reach: Deliver Hope” (VES award winner for outstanding visual effects in a live-action commercial and AICP visual effects award winner) directed by Noam Murro. Across Method, recent commercial work includes Kia “Share Some Soul” directed by Mark Romanek and Verizon “Arena” for director Noam Murro.
In addition to visual effects, the Walsh Bay and Melbourne commercial facilities offer high-quality end-to-end post services including editing, color grading, 3D and 2D design and finishing. Deluxe Australia, along with Deluxe companies EFILM and Stage One, are co-located within the Sydney visual effects facility.
