SANTA MONICA — Method Studios (www.methodstudios.com), the visual effects group within the Deluxe Entertainment Services Group (www.bydeluxe.com), has expanded with three new facilities in Australia. The group has existing studios in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York and London.
Joining the group is a brand new commercial facility in Sydney’s waterside district of Walsh Bay; the Deluxe owned and operated commercial post business MRPPP in Melbourne; and the Sydney-based feature visual effects studio at Lane Cove that previously operated 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,” says Stefan Sonnenfeld, president of Deluxe Creative Services.
Method Studios in Australia launch with a team that is already well known in the local Australian and Asian markets.
“Being part of Method’s international network means we can really raise the bar creatively for local clients,” notes 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.”
The Method Australia feature visual effects facility includes a dedicated software team led by Paul Ryan, VP of technology and former CTO of Weta. Its goal is to allow the sharing of tools, assets and shots across facilities. The feature division also includes VFX supervisor James Rogers.
On the commercial front, the Method Australia group will share resources with facilities in the US. In addition to VFX, the Walsh Bay and Melbourne commercial facilities offer editing, color grading, 3D & 2D design, and finishing. Deluxe Australia, along with Deluxe companies Efilm and Stage One, are co-located within the Sydney visual effects facility.