LOS ANGELES — Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. (bydeluxe.com), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire visual effects company Atomic Fiction, which has studios in Montreal and San Francisco. Atomic Fiction will join Method Studios, Deluxe’s global VFX brand, as part of its strategy to deepen the company’s talent base and capacity to take on the biggest and most challenging VFX projects for features, episodics, advertising and brands.
Photo (L-R): Baillie, Tudhope and Ulbrich
Founded in 2010, Atomic Fiction has built a reputation for creating high-quality VFX efficiently by powering top creative talent with innovative technology and a focus on craft. Some of the studio’s standout projects have been collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis, including The Walk, Allied, Flight, and the upcoming Welcome to Marwen. The studio has also worked on Star Trek Beyond for Paramount Pictures, Deadpool for 20th Century Fox, Ghost in the Shell for Dreamworks, Stranger Things 2 and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, along with episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, and the upcoming Season 3 of Netflix’s Stranger Things. In addition, the company contributed to the Oscar-winning VFX for Blade Runner 2049.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always felt that it’s important to surround myself with the best of the best in their craft,” says Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis. “Kevin (Baillie) and the team at Atomic Fiction are exactly that and, with the resources of Deluxe and Method behind them, I’m excited to have an even stronger team by my side.”
Bringing together Atomic Fiction and Method extends capacity and talent for both studios, enabling the combined entity to take on the biggest VFX sequences and even full features. Atomic Fiction’s Montreal location will become a flagship studio for Method as part of a larger global strategy that also includes a substantial expansion of Method’s VFX capacity and capabilities in Pune, India that is already underway.
“We’ve been fans of Atomic Fiction’s work for a long time – it is outstanding and clients love them,” says Ed Ulbrich, president, Deluxe VFX and VR/AR for Method Studios. “When we started talking and met (Atomic Fiction founders) Kevin (Baillie) and Ryan (Tudhope), we learned what a great culture they’ve built, and our vision for the business resonated with them as well. It was clear to all of us that we will reach our goals faster together.”
Atomic Fiction co-founder Ryan Tudhope will continue to lead the Montreal team creatively with the new title executive creative director, Method Studios. Atomic Fiction co-founder Kevin Baillie will take on the new role of creative director and senior visual effects supervisor, Method Studios, and will continue to be based out of San Francisco. Both will report to Ulbrich. All of Atomic’s approximately 300 full-time and freelance employees are expected to join Method Studios when the transaction closes.