LOS ANGELES — Production company Stargate Studios (http://www.stargatestudios.net), which specializes in virtual production and visual effects, has appointed Peter Ware (below) and Andy Williams (left) to oversee the company’s production department. The announcement, according to founder/CEO Sam Nicholson, ASC, comes in conjunction with the company’s 25th anniversary and signals a new direction in leadership.
“Pete and Andy are incredibly talented and highly-respected individuals in the production business,” says Nicholson. “Their experience and capabilities complement each other very well and their combined skills will greatly enhance Stargate’s increasingly complex international studio network, which currently encompasses ten facilities in eight different countries.”
Ware returns to Stargate as executive producer, having led the studio’s production efforts from 1999 to 2008. He has more than 30 years of experience in nearly every aspect of the entertainment business, with television producing credits including The New Leave it to Beaver, Columbo and Doctor Who. He has also directed more than 400 variety half-hours with some of the industry’s leading musical talent. His visual effects experience includes supervising, producing and executive producing hundreds of hours of primetime television, including CSI: NY, Spartacus and The West Wing.
Williams will serve as head of production and has nearly 20 years of experience in the production and post industries. Most recently, he was head of production and executive producer at Dive (now Alkemy X) in New York City, a VFX studio for episodic television and feature films. While there, he managed all aspects of the studio's creative and project management teams. Prior to his association with Dive, he worked at Shooters, Inc.
Stargate currently has fully integrated digital production facilities in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Vancouver, Toronto, Berlin, Cologne, London, Malta, Dubai and Mexico City. The company’s global network allows clients to access more than 250 visual effects artists and supervisors all over the world, as well as high-speed data transfer and simultaneous international rendering.
Additionally, Stargate’s virtual backlot can serve as a low-cost alternative to shooting on location. Current Stargate projects include Heroes Reborn in Stargate Toronto; The Walking Dead in Stargate Atlanta; and Grey’s Anatomy, House of Lies and Ray Donovan in Los Angeles.