- Cinesite
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Cinesite (Europe) Ltd (also known as Cinesite) is a digital visual effects and post-production facility in London and one of the largest such companies in Europe. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kodak.
Contents
History
Cinesite offices in Hollywood and London were established in 1991 and 1994 respectively, as test sites for Kodak's Cineon computer system, an end-to-end solution for 2K and 4K digital files. Cinesite became so successful in its own right, however, that after Cineon was discontinued by Kodak in 1997, Cinesite developed into a visual effects facility. In 2003, Cinesite's Hollywood branch became incorporated, by Kodak, into LaserPacific, a multimedia, DVD authoring, digital intermediate and post-production facility.
Initially, the company worked solely as a film visual effects facility completing effects in the 1990s on Space Jam (1996) and Titanic (1997). In 1999, it became increasingly involved in television work, creating effects for several HBO productions, including Generation Kill (2008), Band of Brothers (2002) and Rome (2006), as well as the BBC production The State Within (2006). Recent television credits include HBO productions Into the Storm (2009) and a remake of the cult series The Prisoner (2009).
Over the years Cinesite's feature film work continued to grow and in 2000 the company was awarded work on Warner Bros.' first Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001). Cinesite has gone on to complete visual effects work on all eight films in the Harry Potter franchise, putting them in a position of being one of the main UK visual effects houses to have done so. The company's model making division, Cinesite Production Services, based at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England, is credited with creating the scale model of Hogwarts which features in the first six films. The division also created Wonkaville in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and the grand finale parliament explosion sequence in V for Vendetta (2006).
In January 2009 Cinesite launched the "Inspire Programme", an annual internship for graduates. The programme was devised to provide a formalised visual effects internship to the next generation of visual effects talent. Successful applicants benefit from close tutorial from some of the industry's most experienced visual effects professionals.
In August 2010 the company announced plans to expand its Soho facility and move into providing stereoscopic 3D visual effects services, catering for films shot in stereo, as well as conversion of 2D films into 3D. Their first stereo visual effects project was completed in early 2011 for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Cinesite have worked with a variety of directors including Chris Weitz, Tim Burton, Wolfgang Petersen, Christopher Nolan, Brian De Palma, John Woo, Alfonso Cuarón, Joel Schumacher and David Dobkin.
Awards
Cinesite has been nominated for, and won, various awards for its visual effects. They won an Emmy Award for Rome in 2005 and for Generation Kill in 2009, as well as an Emmy Award nomination and a Royal Television Society award for Band of Brothers in 2001. Cinesite also contributed almost 500 visual effects shorts to The Golden Compass, which won visual effects Oscar and BAFTA awards in 2007.
Services
- 2D and 3D digital visual effects
- Stereoscopic visual effects
- Digital restoration
- Model construction
- Model photography
- Prop making
Currently in production
- John Carter
- World War Z
Past projects
External links
Categories:- Television and film post-production companies
- Visual effects companies
- Companies established in 1991
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