Pixomondo

Pixomondo Studios GmbH & Co KG
GmbH & Co KG[1]
Industry Visual effects
Founded 2001 (2001) in Pfungstadt, Germany
Founder Thilo Kuther
Headquarters Frankfurt, Germany
Number of locations
 8 (2014)
Key people
  • Thilo Kuther (CEO)
  • Jan Heinze (COO)
Services Visual effects, CGI characters, 3D animation and pre-visualization
Number of employees
 400 (2013)
Website pixomondo.com

Pixomondo is an international visual effects company with a global network of studios in Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Los Angeles, Beijing, Toronto, Shanghai and Baton Rouge. The company also formerly had offices in Berlin, Detroit and London. The company produces feature film, television and commercial visual effects.[2] As of 2013, Pixomondo employs over 400 people worldwide.[3]

History

Pixomondo was originally founded in Pfungstadt, Germany as a design studio in 2001 by Thilo Kuther. The company began its work creating video installations and 3D-animations for high end corporate clients such as Porsche and Bertelsmann. By the end of 2003, Pixomondo consisted of its one office in Pfungstadt and 40 employees. In 2005, the company first began working in the entertainment business by producing the visual effects for the German television film Atlantropa - Der Traum vom neuen Kontinent. In 2005, a second location, specializing in feature films, opened in Ludwigsburg, Germany. At this location, the company produced nearly all the visual effects for the international feature film The Red Baron, which was released in 2008, and earned Pixomondo first international recognition. In the same year, the first studio abroad opened in London. In 2007 and 2008, studios were opened in Frankfurt am Main and Los Angeles, respectively. Also in 2008, Pixomondo was commissioned by director Roland Emmerich to produce over 100 complete CG-environments for his feature film 2012. Pixomondo's first offices in Asia, specifically in Shanghai and Beijing, were opened in 2009. In 2010, the company expanded its London office and added two studios in Munich and Hamburg, as well as one in Toronto in 2011.

On February 26, 2012, Pixomondo won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for its work on the film Hugo. The award was presented to Alex Henning and Ben Grossmann, who were the projects supervisors. With 854 scenes that have a running time of about 62 minutes in the final film, Pixomondo produced about 94% of the films visual effects.[4]

In 2012, Pixomondo acquired the Detroit visual effects studio With A Twist, renaming it Pixomondo DTW.[5]

Pixomondo closed its Detroit office in November 2012, followed by its London office in February 2013.[6] In March 2013, Pixomondo closed its Shanghai office, laying off around 20 animators and artists and moving another 13 to the location in Beijing in the process. At the same time, CEO Thilo Kuther announced, the company would start focusing more on design and conceptual work again and distance itself from the feature film industry. When asked about the number of recent location closures, Kuther is quoted as saying “I believe in the philosophy that every seven years your company has to reinvent itself. For two to three years you build up, five years you run your business, and six to eight you come up with a new idea and the business has to adapt."[7] On May 31, 2013, the company also closed its Berlin office, naming restructuring processes as a reason for the closure and announced on their Facebook site, that the closure would strengthen the other locations.[8] In August 2013, it became known, Pixomondo was experiencing a cash crunch, which resulted in late, or no paychecks at all for various freelancers.[9] As of 2014, the office in Shanghai has been reopened.[10]

Locations

Currently, Pixomondo has offices in the following locations:[10]

Filmography

Movies

TV shows

TV productions

  • 2005: Atlantropa - Der Traum vom neuen Kontinent
  • 2009: Vulkan
  • 2009: Crashpoint - 90 Minuten bis zum Absturz
  • 2010: Terra X: Supertiere
  • 2011: Hindenburg
  • 2012: Terra X: Supertiere 2
  • 2013: Terra X: Supertiere 3
  • 2013: Helden – Wenn dein Land dich braucht

Awards and Nominations

The following list of awards and nominations for Pixomondo lists accolades that have been presented to a team containing at least one employee of Pixomondo.

Year Nominated work Award For Result
2012 Hugo Academy Award Best Visual Effects Won
VES Award Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
International 3D Society Award Live Action 3D Feature/3D Moment of the Year for the Opening Scene / Stereography – Live Action
Satellite Award 2012 Best Visual Effects
BAFTA Film Award 2012 Special Visual Effects Nominated
Game of Thrones Creative Arts Emmy Award Outstanding Special Visual Effects (Episode "Valar Morghulis"[11]) Won
AEAF Award "Fascinating VFX Work on season two"[12] (In category TV series)
Animago Award Best Post Production (Season 2) Nominated
2013 Creative Arts Emmy Award Outstanding Special Visual Effects (Episode "Valar Dohaeris"[13]) Won
2014 VES Award Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program (Episode "Valar Dohaeris"[14])
Creative Arts Emmy Award Outstanding Special Visual Effects (Episode "The Children"[15])
2015 VES Award Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Broadcast Program (Episode "The Children")
2015 Gone with the Bullets Asian Film Awards Best Visual Effects

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen der Pixomondo Gruppe" (PDF) (in German). Retrieved 18 February 2015. PIXOMONDO (Studios/Images/München) GmbH & Co KG (Logo)
  2. ↑ Company Locations
  3. ↑ Lang, Brent (August 22, 2013). "VFX House Pixomondo Freelancers Angry Over Late Payments (Exclusive)". TheWrap.
  4. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/oscars/nominations/
  5. ↑ Wolfe, Jennifer (2012-05-29). "Pixomondo Opens Detroit VFX Facility". Animation World Network.
  6. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (2013-02-26). "VFX Group Pixomondo Shuts Down Offices in London". Variety. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  7. ↑ Waxman, Sharon (2013-04-01). "VFX House Pixomondo Shuts Shanghai Office, Will Move Away From Film (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  8. ↑ Lang, Brett (2013-04-29). "Pixomondo, VFX Company for ‘Oblivion,’ Closes Berlin Office". The Wrap. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  9. ↑ Lang, Brent (August 22, 2013). "VFX House Pixomondo Freelancers Angry Over Late Payments (Exclusive)". TheWrap.
  10. 1 2 "Locations/Pixomondo". Pixomondo. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  11. ↑ , emmys.com, Access date: 18 September 2012
  12. ↑ , vfxfestival.com, Access date: 20 September 2012
  13. ↑ , emmys.com, Access date: 9 December 2013
  14. ↑ "PIXOMONDO Wins VES Awards for Work on Game of Thrones". Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "2014 Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects". Retrieved 15 April 2015.
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