LOS ANGELES — Ron Frankel, creative director/founder of previs studio Proof (proof-inc.com), has launched a new virtual reality and immersive design division called Prime (prime-immersive.com). The new division was created to bridge the world of storytelling and technology, and builds upon the knowledge and experience gained from the studio’s experience visualizing over 300 feature films, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy and
Furious 7. Prime is capable of creating immersive visualizations for any project, including location-based entertainment, large-scale installations, live events and VR experiences.
“VR is an exciting new world and opens up the possibility of completely new kinds of experiences,” says Frankel, “and we’re thrilled to be a part of it. We are a creative company, made up of storytellers and animators. Prime will allow us to remain focused on the core creative process while keeping up with the rapid pace of development of realtime and virtual reality technologies.”
Driving that effort will be Christopher Bellaci, Prime’s head of business development & sales. Bellaci had been the overseas supervisor for RGH Entertainment in Woodland Hills, CA, for the stereoscopic, computer-animated feature film Postman Pat: The Movie (based on the hit UK franchise). He began his career in the animation and VFX business in 1997 as a motion capture artist at House of Moves in Los Angeles. There, his very first project was James Cameron’s
Titanic. He went on to become the studio’s first production manager in 1998 and held the post until 2007.
“I knew two minutes after putting on a headset for the first time that I was ‘all in’ on VR – it was that compelling,” recalls Bellaci. “The trick then was to find an ideal point of entry into the business, and I think I nailed it in joining Proof and helping launching Prime. My goal now is to leverage my diverse industry network and help Prime expand into the myriad markets in which immersive visualization and design can thrive.”