NEW YORK CITY — Creative editorial shop Uppercut has partnered with bicoastal visual effects studio
Zero, allowing the studios to offer comprehensive post production services across editorial, animation, CG, VFX and finishing. The partnership encompasses three markets, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Boston.
L-R: Zero’s Drewes and Bailey with Uppercut’s Lausch and Scarpelli
This alliance places the joint studios in a position to continually evolve with the changing needs of clients, breaking the traditional mold and focusing on creativity and innovation. The bicoastal studios will be led by Uppercut owner/editor Micah Scarpelli and executive producer Kathrin Lausch and Zero founder Brian Drewes and senior producer Meg Bailey. This venture plans upcoming expansions and talent growth from both companies within the next six months. The alliance currently represents 120 staffers across all three studio locations.
“For me, it was a no brainer,” says Scarpelli. “I’ve known Brian for a number of years and seeing how he has grown Zero as an independent owner really synced with what we are building at Uppercut. Partnering with like-minded companies that are working at the same level that we are allows us to have a greater stake in the creative vision.”
“Having two companies whose core competencies complement each other gives us the kind of flexibility needed in today’s continually shifting marketplace,” adds Drewes. “The driving benefit from this synergy is that we are able to focus more on the creative and producing more iterations on work, providing more opportunities for clients to try different things to arrive at the best final product possible.”
Uppercut launched in Manhattan in 2015 and features editors, producers and artists working with brands such as Volvo, Fitbit, Covergirl, Nike, Google and Grey Goose. Zero, based in Boston and Los Angeles, fuses technical expertise and detailed artistry to craft photo-real visual effects for major feature films including the Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass, the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, The Magnificent Seven and more recently, Xmen: New Mutants, Pete Berg’s Mile 22 and the upcoming Equalizer 2. On the commercial front, they have created a wide range of VFX for brands that include Klondike, Progressive, Snapchat, Dunkin’ Donuts, Ocean Spray and Burger King, as well as the Antoine Fuqua-directed The Gift spot for Walmart.