Thilo kuther biography books

International visual effects and virtual struggle company

Pixomondo (PXO) is effect Academy and Emmy award-winning global visual effects and virtual origination company with studios in Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and London.

The troop provides virtual production and perceptible effects for feature films, mob, and commercials. As of 2019, PXO employs over 655 generate worldwide.

History

PXO was founded bolster Pfungstadt, Germany as a lay out studio in 2001 by Thilo Kuther. The company began close-fitting work creating video installations spell 3D-animations for high-end corporate business such as Porsche and Bertelsmann.

By the end of 2003, PXO consisted of its lone office in Pfungstadt and 40 employees. In 2005, the bevy first began working in integrity entertainment business by producing honesty visual effects for the Teutonic television film Atlantropa - Ramble Traum vom neuen Kontinent. Attach importance to 2005, a second location, specializing in feature films, opened twist Ludwigsburg, Germany.

At this journey, the company produced nearly grapple the visual effects for honesty international feature film The Self-assured Baron, which was released careful 2008, and earned PXO warmth first international recognition. In justness same year, the first cottage abroad opened in London. Comport yourself 2007 and 2008, studios were opened in Frankfurt and Los Angeles, respectively.

Also in 2008, Pixomondo was commissioned by chief Roland Emmerich to produce go round 100 complete CG-environments for potentate feature film 2012. PXO's premier offices in Asia, specifically drain liquid from Shanghai and Beijing, were open in 2009. In 2011, say publicly company expanded its London command centre and added two studios the same Munich and Hamburg, as athletic as one in Toronto guarantee 2011.

PXO closed its Author office in February 2013.^[2] Mission 2013, PXO closed its Abduct and Berlin offices, naming overhaul processes as a reason purchase the closures.^[3] In 2014, rectitude office in Shanghai reopened.^[4] Load 2018, Mayfair Equity Partners realized a majority investment in PXO.

The deal valued PXO watch $65 million.^[5] Less than a twelvemonth later, Jonny Slow was suitable as global CEO.^[6] In exactly 2019, PXO opened its Metropolis office.^[7] In June 2021 PXO closed its Beijing and Impress offices^[8] and by September difficult to understand announced a new London component that will offer virtual origination services.^[9]

In October 2022, Sony Films Entertainment acquired 100% of Pixomondo from Mayfair Equity Partners.^[10]

Major projects

Virtual production

In September 2020, PXO proclaimed it began construction on marvellous virtual production studio in Toronto, Canada, with Mayfair backing picture new venture with a pivotal new financial commitment.

PXO compact a team of technical partners for the studio that be a factor Epic Games' Unreal Engine, Run manufacturer ROE Visual, Nvidia, enthralled Brompton Technology among others.^[11] Flat January 2021, the inaugural affair to shoot on the computergenerated production stage was Star Trek: Discovery (Season Four) followed wedge the spin-off series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.^[12] In July 2021, PXO, in a stiffen with Canadian TV and fell equipment rental business William Czar.

White International, opened a straightaway any more virtual production studio in Toronto.

Known as Stage 6, service is designed for shorter lifetime shoots, including commercials and refrain videos.^[13] In November 2021, Netflix announced it partnered with PXO on a custom-built virtual preparation facility in Vancouver for treason live-action adaptation of Avatar: Justness Last Airbender.

In 2022, blue blood the gentry Vancouver stage was named representation Largest LED Stage by Player World Records and is featured in the “Guinness World Archives 2023” print edition.^[14]

Academy Award

On Feb 26, 2012, PXO won blue blood the gentry Academy Award for Best Visible Effects for its work fine hair the film Hugo.

The stakes was presented to Alex Henning and Ben Grossmann, who were the supervisors of the design. With 854 scenes that possess a running time of be aware 62 minutes in the terminal film, PXO produced about 94% of the film's visual effects.^[15] In 2014, the company deserved its second Academy Award be directed at Best Visual Effects nomination take over its work on Star Junction Into Darkness.

Star Trek franchise

After a successful collaboration on Star Trek Into Darkness, PXO spread to work on the suffrage, beginning with Star Trek: Discovery, followed by Star Trek: Limited Treks and Star Trek: Picard. The company earned a VFX Emmy nomination for its snitch on Season 2 of Discovery.^[16] PXO also provided the vitality for Short Treks' "The Pup Who Made the Stars" gleam "Ephraim and Dot," both vacation which premiered on December 12, 2019.

They marked a red-letter return to animation for Star Trek, which had not delved into the world of spiritedness since the 1973-1974 The Effervescent Series.^[17] PXO took the dealership in a new direction considering that Discovery Season 4 adopted positive production for the first time and again in the franchise's history.

Strange New Worlds is the be foremost new series to use understood production from its inception.^[12]

Game be more or less Thrones

PXO was brought on hug the HBO television series Game of Thrones in Season 2 and remained through the furthest back season. PXO VFX Supervisor Sven Martin and his team spurious closely with the show's VFX group.

Martin told Forbes Magazine that they wanted to block out the dragons as "living animals with just enough expressions disparagement understand their feelings…similar to justness emotional connection with pets."^[18] "We started with a base baton, which was established in bout 1, but we went inflame a darker, grittier approach," Histrion told Entertainment Weekly.

"We plainspoken a lot of redesign, sense them more spiky, even boring the baby state. It was a little bit of splendid relaunch, but we still unbroken it believable for the audience."^[19]

The key to grounding these fabled creatures, which do not idle in real life, was pact give Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion real-world animal counterparts the assemblage could identify with.

"The dragons were always in close nearing with the actors," says Histrion. "And we were shooting unattainable on real locations. So nature is real and not preconcerted to be a fantasy. Miracle wanted to transfer that."^[19] Foundation bird and bat anatomies artificial the dragons' wingspan design.

Ethics PXO team even dissected dialect trig supermarket chicken to get trig sense of how the paws could move.^[20] Observing geese rationale the ground playing with their own wings was later emulated when the dragons were shown sitting down at ease.^[21] Quality patterns were gleaned from adornment and cheetahs, while crocodiles, lizards, and other reptiles were sedentary for skin structure.^[20]

Martin's team trip over with the show's VFX Foreman Joe Bauer at the depart of each season to review new design elements, as excellence dragons were maturing and growing.^[18] For example, they became broaden guard dog-like as they grew into their roles as Dany's guards.

When they got wrathful or wanted to threaten class enemy, gills popped out break on their necks. "That idea came from the fruit lizard, which does exactly the same matter, just in a different direction," Martin told Entertainment Weekly.^[19] What because Danny started riding Drogon, supplementary spikes were added to him so she'd have something restrain hold on to.^[20]

PXO is recently working on the Game set in motion Thrones prequel, House of position Dragon.

Others

PXO has a longstanding communications with filmmaker Roland Emmerich, obtaining first worked together on 2012, followed by Independence Day: Resurgence, the World War II picture Midway (which PXO co-produced), Moonfall and the upcoming Emmerich-produced street film adaptation of Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Midway was halfway 20 films shortlisted in righteousness Visual Effects category for excellence 92nd Academy Awards®. When Emmerich received the 2019 Visionary Stress out Award from the Visual Tool Society at its 18th one-year awards ceremony, PXO founder Thilo Kuther was among those let go acknowledged from the podium.

On November 1, 2019, PXO was part of Apple TV+'s important launch by providing the VFX for two series, including See and For All Mankind. Position inaugural episode of See, deserved PXO a VES Award election for Outstanding Supporting Visual Goods in a Photoreal Episode which included the company's creation have power over the infamous rockwall sequence.

Prestige following season of See byword PXO receive a nomination production the same category, this pause for the season finale stage. See won, beating out much shows as The Handmaid's Tale and Squid Game among others.^[22]

Themed entertainment

Prior to opening its essential production division, PXO previously difficult to understand a themed entertainment division depart produced digital walkthrough branded memoirs, flying theater rides, immersive curvature installations, digital dark ride transport, and concert installations.

Some a choice of that work can be establish in the New York's Time Square attraction, National Geographic Encounters, where PXO brought to blunted underwater ecosystems including 150 unnaturally intelligence-driven creatures ranging from the deep lions to sharks to medusan via exclusive VR technology.^[23] PXO was part of the July 2018 launch of Warner Bros.

World Abu Dhabi indoor burden park by working on cardinal themed rides including the 4D flying theater experience, Green Ignition Galactic Odyssey.^[24] PXO partnered confident rockband Aerosmith for their Las Vegas residency, Deuces Are Wild, which kicked off on Apr 6, 2019.^[25] Using never-before-seen spectacle from Aerosmith's archives, PXO turn up a 12-screen visual media recoil (including a 140-foot x 40-foot high-definition screen), complete with itch graphics, animations, stream of awareness imagery and flashback moments grow mouldy the band's colorful past.

PXO also brought to life Aerosmith's infamous "wings" logo on surprise, which unfolded to signal high-mindedness band's arrival at the relinquish of the show. Additionally, Pixomondo's 20-minute visual media pre-show took the audience through the band's historic journey, beginning with Woodstock all the way to dignity present, and included abstract figurativeness, as well as the iconic Aerosmith van.^[26] The company's drudgery on Aerosmith's Las Vegas Qualified in earned PXO a 2019 Chessman of Illumination Award (KOI-USA) selection in the Best Concert Disc Content category.^[27]

Locations

As of March 2024, PXO has offices in say publicly following locations:^[4]

Filmography

Feature Films

TV Shows

TV productions

Awards and nominations

The following list long-awaited awards and nominations for Pixomondo lists accolades that have archaic presented to a team as well as at least one employee slant Pixomondo.

See also

References

External links