Friday, February 03, 2012

Sony Pictures Imageworks Expands Vancouver Studio

Oscar-winning visual effects/digital character animation company, Sony Pictures Imageworks, reports it will expand its Vancouver, British Columbia capacity by opening an additional 16,000 square feet of space in the Yaletown area for work on the current productions "Men In Black 3", "The Amazing Spider-Man", "Oz The Great and Powerful" and Sony Pictures Animation’s "Hotel Transylvania", currently in production.

"Imageworks growing presence builds on the Vancouver studio’s experience with 'The Smurfs' production for Sony Pictures Animation and the successful integration of the Canadian team with Imageworks’ Culver City workforce and infrastructure. The new office effectively doubles the floor space. The two Vancouver locations, two blocks apart, are fully connected to Imageworks’ Culver City data center. Imageworks Canada will occupy a total of 32,000 square feet of office space when the new location comes online in March..."

"Vancouver today is a vibrant digital production center that offers a strong talent base and significant government incentives vital to our ability to deliver exceptional quality and value to our clients," said Randy Lake, executive vice-president and general manager of Sony Pictures Imageworks.

"Imageworks Canada here in Vancouver is a true extension of the Culver City studio," says Rick Mischel, Imageworks’ Senior Vice President of Satellite Production, who is based in Vancouver. "Video conference, large-screen viewing suites that mirror the set-up in Culver City, and data transfer connect the artists here directly to our home base."

"To have Sony Pictures Imageworks Canada expand their studio space by an additional 16,000 square feet is a great vote of confidence in Vancouver," said City of Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. "We’ve worked hard to make our city a global destination for digital media talent, and are thrilled that Imageworks is putting down deeper roots in Vancouver."

Click the images to enlarge...