VENICE, CA — Visual effects studio Kevin (yourstrulykevin.com), which opened in September, has added to its team with the hiring of Mike Dalzell as head of CG, Theo Maniatis as VFX supervisor and Carl Loeffler as head of technology.
Dalzell brings years of experience as a CG supervisor and lead artist. He began his carreer as a 3D generalist, focusing on look development and lighting at top creative studios ranging from Digital Domain, MPC and Psyop, to The Mill, Sony Imageworks and Method. He was instrumental in look development for the Emmy Award-winning Coca-Cola Heist; VFX Gold Clio and British Arrow-winner Call of Duty Seize Glory and GE Childlike Imagination, honored with a D&AD Pencil in VFX. He has also worked on commercials for Nissan, BMW, Lexus, Visa, Cars.com, Air Force and many others. He honed his skills on music videos in Toronto, and then on feature films such as Iron Man 3 and The Matrix movies.
Maniatis, both a renowned Flame artist and on-set VFX supervisor, has a wide breadth of experience in the US, London and his native Sydney. His work has been recognized with a breadth of awards, including Cannes Gold and Silver Lions, Clio and Promax honors, and an Emmy for Coca-Cola Happiness Factory. Prior to joining Kevin, Maniatis worked with Blur Studios, Psyop, The Mill, Art Jail and Framestore.
Loeffler is creating the studio’s flexible and efficient production model using the latest Flame systems, high-end 3D workstations and render nodes, and putting new networking and storage systems into place. Kevin’s new Culver City studio will open its doors in Q1 of 2018, and Loeffler will guide the current growth in both hardware and software, plan for the future and make sure Kevin’s studio is optimized for the needs of production. He draws from over two decades of experience successfully building out and expanding the technologies for some of the largest facilities in Los Angeles including MPC and Technicolor.
Since opening, Kevin has contributed to commercials for Jaguar, Land Rover, Target and Old Spice, and is currently working on a series of commercials for the Super Bowl.
PHOTO: Kevin's Mike Dalzell, Carl Loeffler and Theo Maniatis