GLENDALE, CA - Visual effects and animation studio Double Edge Digital (www.doubleedgedigital.com) has been awarded the production of visual effects for new film and television projects and has completed a major expansion of its facility, staff and capabilities.
The studio was launched by sister company E=mc2 Digital (www.emc2visfx.com) after Double Edge Entertainment, a privately held film production company based in LA and Taiwan, acquired the Glendale company. Double Edge Digital executives and creative staff are overseeing the establishment of a digital production infrastructure in Taipei, which will mirror the California facility, for the efficient throughput of select aspects of the company's visual effects projects.
Double Edge Digital will serve as the primary visual effects facility on the Cruise/Wagner feature film "Ask the Dust," starring Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell. Robert Towne, who wrote the screenplay for the film, as well as the "Mission Impossible" films and "Chinatown," will direct. Double Edge Digital will recreate Los Angeles of the 1930s for the adaptation of John Fante's Depression Era novel. The film will be released by DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures.
Double Edge Digital will create its first major CG character in a live action environment for the horror film "Minotaur," which is slated for a 2005 release. Produced by First Look Media and Meltemi Entertainment Ltd., "Minotaur" is directed by Jonathan English and distributed by Lions Gate Films.
Double Edge Digital will also provide digital visual effects and computer animation for Discovery Channel and MorningStar Entertainment's "Battleground: The Art of War" series. The series of ten one-hour episodes will depict epic and historic battles whose outcomes had worldwide impact. A re-enactment of Alexander the Great's Battle of Gaugamela marks the debut of the series in November 2004.
In response to new business demands, Double Edge Digital completed a major expansion of its facility, staff and capabilities in 2004, both the U.S. and Taipei. Double Edge Digital and E=mc2 Digital now occupy an area of over 14, 000 square feet, more than half of which is fully dedicated to visual effects production. In addition to greatly enhanced rendering power, Double Edge Digital created a spacious workplace for its visual effects production team and art department, HD edit suites, and 54' x 23' green screen/cyc stage with motion control. Double Edge Digital has also expanded its production capabilities and is adding to its staff of artists.
Double Edge Digital and parent company Double Edge Entertainment have established an identical production operation in Taipei designed to interface with and advance the efficiency of its California-based pipeline. The facilities have been funded in part by the Taiwanese government through direct investment, R&D funding, hardware subsidies and tax credits. Double Edge Digital also offers AnimoryBoards (TM), its trademarked proprietary process for the secure global transmission of encrypted animated storyboards.
Bob Morgenroth, CEO of Double Edge Digital, observed of the growing company "Like our parent company, Double Edge Digital has embraced a new production model. Our global resources will create opportunities for feature film producers and visual effects artists alike. By establishing and relocating talent from Los Angeles and Taipei at each of our studios, Double Edge Digital has fused the cultures and methodologies of the two facilities. Our gateway to Taiwan, one of the most highly developed countries in Asia, will provide innovative techniques, creativity and high quality, cost effective visual effects and digital content."
Operating from an adjacent 7,000 square-foot warehouse, E=mc2 Digital will continue to serve its 24-frame video effects clients and will continue to rent large screen televisions, plasma screens, high definition video and computer projection systems, computer monitors, playback machines and one of Hollywood's largest inventories of 24-frame vintage and contemporary televisions (1948-2004). Recent E=mc2 Digital credits include "CSI: New York," "CSI: Miami," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Alias" and "Nip/Tuck."