NEW YORK — Independent visual effects and design house Phosphene (www.phosphenefx.com) has moved its operation into new and expanded quarters in Manhattan, more than tripling its previous space. Studio founders/co-owners John Bair and Vivian Connolly (pictured) worked closely with architect Ronald Nemec R.A. on the design of the new studio, creating a versatile modern loft that’s located at 180 Varick Street.
“We grew faster than we anticipated and discovered almost immediately that we needed more space for our growing staff and a more comfortable work environment for our clients,” explained Bair, who is also Phosphene’s Creative Director/VFX Supervisor.
Phosphene launched in 2010 and was immediately challenged with creating visual effects for the first season of HBO’s Treme. The studio then went on to create VFX for
You Don’t Know Jack, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Al Pacino. And more recently, Phosphene augmented and manipulated environments for the feature
Salt, starring Angelina Jolie and Liev Schreiber.
“The beauty of our new custom-designed studio lies in its spatial fluidity and the open floor plan, which is visually elegant and highly functional, yet warm and friendly,” notes Connolly.
"We thrive on creating unique visuals for our projects, so we are always experimenting with ways of mixing digital effects with practical, analog methods,” Bair adds. “The flexibility of the space helps accommodate the way we like to work with a variety of artists and techniques, and we think our clients will enjoy the way this will help us continue to develop striking visuals for their films and programs”.
Phosphene’s space has huge East-facing windows that provide an expansive view of the city. A creative bullpen houses an ever expanding group of artists, animators and producers. The studio is outfitted with NukeX, Adobe Creative Suite 5, and 3DS Max 2011 with V-Ray for rendering.