Edit1, a New York-based pre-visualization studio headed by new owner Michael Zimbard, has added animation director Todd Winter as creative director. Working with Zimbard and executive producer Mike Donovan, Winter will be integral the direction of Edit1’s creative work and the growth of the company overall.
“Edit1 is all about providing our clients with the best creative minds we can, and Todd is certainly that,” Zimbard said. “Between his experience in features, TV, advertising and pre-vis, there literally is nothing he hasn’t done in animation. He’s worked in traditional animation at Warner Bros. Animation and Hanna-Barbara, and was at the forefront of CG animated features with DreamWorks Animation and Blue Sky Studios. The level of talent and experience he brings to Edit1 is phenomenal.”
Winter was most recently the animation director at Launch, the animatics division of postproduction house Charlex. The L.A. native began his animation career as a layout artist at Warner Bros Animation where he worked on Batman: The Animated Series, and the animation/live action mash-up Space Jam.
After six years at Warner Bros., Winter joined DreamWorks for three years, where he worked on the studio’s early feature entries Road To Eldorado and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.
Looking for new creative challenges he joined the Ossining, N.Y.-based Blue Sky Studios where he worked on the popular features Ice Age and Robots. In 2008, following stops at Charlex and Curious Pictures, Winter turned his attention toward pre-visualization.
“I was at Launch for four years and was looking for a new creative challenge, and when I met Michael I could see he was inspired to do things a little different and put his stamp on the company,” Winter said. “I knew I wanted to be a part of what he’s building at Edit1.”
Winter also said that one of the aspects he appreciates most about Zimbard and Edit1 is the company’s willingness to push the boundaries of what defines pre-vis, such as the company’s in-roads into live-action pre-vis productions.
“These live-action test spots, which are shot against a greenscreen and composted into animated environments in post, really communicate what a spot might look like because we’re using real actors,” Winter said. “Not only does this approach help greatly when concepts are being tested, but also provides a much clearer road map for production and post teams later on during the full-up version.”
