DALLAS — Reel FX Animation Studios’ VR/AR division and the creative leadership team from Moonbot Studios have partnered to form a new, multi-platform content studio named Flight School (https://www.flightschool.studio). The team will be led by Academy Award-winning chief creative officer, Brandon Oldenburg, and Emmy Award-winning executive creative director, Limbert Fabian.
With the fundamental mission of telling great stories across emerging tech platforms, Flight School launches with a team of approximately 30, including creative directors, producers, animators, engineers, developers and game designers. The studio will be managed by CEO Kyle Clark, Reel FX’s current co-CEO, and executive vice president Lampton Enochs, former CEO of Moonbot. Reel FX has a 22-year history as a premium digital content creator for major film studios, theme parks, ad agencies, and fortune 500 companies. Recent successes include the Lumiere-awarded Shinola behind-the-brand film, activation for the Lions Gate film Power Rangers, and Verizon’s Super Bowl 51 Virtual Gridiron VR experience.
During their years at Moonbot, members of the Flight School creative team became well known for their narrative-driven animation and interactive projects, including the Chipotle Mexican Grill short film and app, The Scarecrow. Oldenburg won an Academy Award for his work on The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore and shares Emmy awards with ECD/co-director Limbert Fabian, on Silent and Scarecrow.
“We’ve combined award-winning storytellers along with our renowned team of VR experts, and are primed to meet the growing demand for compelling VR content” says Clark. While Flight School will operate as a separate entity, it will benefit from Reel FX’s robust infrastructure, as well its teams of entertainment and commercial talent.
Flight School will begin launching original content, starting with the release of Manifest 99 in the summer of 2017. “This project will set the course for the types of stories we love to tell,” says Oldenburg, who describes the project as an interactive narrative VR experience that leads the user on a mysterious and emotional journey of discovery and redemption.