Deluxe Entertainment Services Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire award-winning visual effects company Atomic Fiction, which has studios in Montreal and San Francisco. Atomic Fiction will join Method Studios, Deluxe’s global VFX brand serving the feature film, episodic, advertising and brand content markets.
Ed Ulbrich, President, Deluxe VFX and VR/AR for Method Studios said, “We’ve been fans of Atomic Fiction’s work for a long time – it is outstanding and clients love them. 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.”
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 Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis, including The Walk, Allied, Flight and the upcoming Welcome to Marwen; as well as Star Trek Beyond for Paramount Pictures; Deadpool for 20th Century Fox; Ghost in the Shell for DreamWorks; Emmy-nominated VFX work on Stranger Things S2 and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey; along with episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and the upcoming third season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. The company also contributed to the Oscar-winning VFX on 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. 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,” commented Zemeckis.
Folding Atomic Fiction into Method extends the capacity ant talent pool for both studios, enabling them to take on major VFX projects, spreak work out across a global studio network to match talent and projects, and offer clients the most advantageous cost structure. Atomic Fiction’s Montreal facility will become a flagship studio for Method as part of a larger strategy that also includes a substantial expansion of Method’s Pune, India operations underway.
Atomic Fiction Co-Founder Ryan Tudhope will continue to lead the Montreal team creatively with the new title Executive Creative Director, Method Studios. 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 (anticipated for Q3 2018, pending closing conditions and regulatory approval).
“We set out to become the best visual effects company in the world, and, from the outset, committed to a forward-thinking approach that places uncompromising value on our people and culture,” said Tudhope. “Joining Method gives us an opportunity to build upon that approach and reach our shared goal of being the best even faster. We couldn’t be more excited to work with Ed and his team to do just that.”
