LONDON — Cinesite (www.cinesite.com) and Image Engine (http://image-engine.com) have announced a merger of the two companies. The alliance gives the two entities a combined staff of over 525 artists worldwide, with capacity for 675 at their studios in London, Vancouver and Montréal. The deal helps to ensure that both companies are well positioned to deliver world-class visual effects and animation services to their mutual global customer base.
“Cinesite and Image Engine are totally complementary to each other,” states Antony Hunt, managing director of Cinesite. “We will continue operating in our various geographical locations and our focus will continue on our different core visual effects strengths. In addition, Cinesite is also leading the charge into feature animation. We’re working on very compelling projects including original IP from our development company, Comic Animations Ltd., and on projects brought to us by the studios. This work can now be shared across all three locations.”
Greg Holmes, Image Engine’s CEO adds, “In addition to widening our reach to achieve even greater heights in high-end visual effects, this alliance will present new career development opportunities for all our artists and crews and will deliver benefits and opportunities to all our stakeholders, be they staff, customers, suppliers, financial partners or shareholders.”
Cinesite originally opened its doors in London in 1994, and has grown into a leader in visual effects and feature animation services. Its credits include work on X-Men: Days of Future Past, Iron Man 3, the Harry Potter series of films and The Golden Compass. It is currently working on Now You See Me: The Second Act, Ant-Man, Spectre, The Last Witch Hunter, Gods of Egypt, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and The Revenant.
Founded in Vancouver in 1995, Image Engine has built a reputation for producing top quality visual effects for film and high-end television. Nominated for an Academy Award for its work on Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 in 2009, the studio has gone on to work on such Elysium, Chappie, Jurassic World, Game of Thrones and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Forthcoming releases include Point Break and Straight Outta Compton.