Visual Effects House CafeFX/ComputerCafe Closing

March of 2010, We posted about the rumors 
of Cafe FX closing it's doors.  

Looks like it's finally happened.

It's sad when I have a section on this blog now for Studios Closing.

CafeFX/ComputerCafe, headquartered in Santa Maria, Calif., is closing its doors, according to a statement from its founders, Jeff Barnes and David Ebner, that is posted on the company website.

"After 17 years in business, CafeFX/ComputerCafe has decided to officially close its doors," the statement began. "The current economic climate and global marketplace have made it unrealistic for us to continue to deliver the highest quality visual effects work, which has been our hallmark, at a competitive price and a sustaining profit."

The company's credits have included Shutter Island, The Kite Runner and Pan's Labyrinth.
The news comes only a month after the closure of another California-based VFX business, Asylum.

via Hollywood Reporter 

p.s. here is a link to equipment for sale.

Asylum VFX CEO Nathan McGuinness

From Bryant Frazer - Studio Blog:  "It’s been a bad week for post-production in Los Angeles. First came word that the 11-year-old Asylum VFX house was closing its doors. Next, word came that Digital Domain had purchased stereo-3D specialist In-Three and was moving its operations to Florida. And finally, Variety reported that Technicolor was going to quit striking 35mm release prints in the U.S., consolidating its North Hollywood operations into a facility in Canada. I spoke this afternoon to the head of Asylum VFX, Nathan McGuinness, to ask what went wrong for his company."

Nathan McGuinness: What happened was we couldn’t compete with the rest of the world. We couldn’t compete with the tax incentives from other countries. The work I’ve seen coming from around the world, the U.K. especially, is stellar. Amazing. We could do the same, but we weren’t given the same playing field. The last days of Asylum, we were on the back foot trying to get forward. We were at capacity, with so much commercial work going on, movies prepping and movies running. It really confused the staff. “Why is Nathan saying we’ll shut the doors today?” It didn’t make any sense to people. But the problem for us is, being an independently run and funded company, I couldn’t — I just couldn’t keep up any longer.


Read more here...

Asylum FX is Gone Baby Gone...

I worked at Asylum twice in my career... both, on National Treasure projects.  It was a really fun studio, and I have some stories :)  One of my favorite studios in LA.  It is a sad thing to hear they are closing their doors.

I open up the comments section of this posting for folks who are looking for work to post their links and details for employers who might be looking.
Best to my friends over there,
Angie

Imagi Studios Auction

Imagi Studios USA
Los Angeles Animation Production Studio
37,000 sq. ft. Production and Post-Production Facility
Computers, monitors, servers, wide format printer, editing bays, furniture,
and much more!
Auction begins March 30, 2010 at 9:00 am PST
Bidding ends April 1 at 2:00 pm PST
Online Auction Only!
To bid online register at www.btesto.com

Inspection & Checkout at:
Sherman Oaks Galleria Complex
Sherman Oaks, CA
Preview dates: March 29 & 30, 9am - 4pm or by appointment
Contact the Auctioneer: 818-592-6592

Update from Variety: CafeFX “Downsizing and retooling, not closing”

I worked on Pan's Labyrinth for Jeff Barnes (see above, generously pimping our book) at Cafe FX years ago and was worried to hear about yet another possible CA VFX studio closing in the past 2 weeks.  Various sources have confirmed that they have laid some people off, but the studio is not closing.  I cannot believe Twitter is now a news source, but this is the age we live in I suppose...

 via VFX Guide...
All week there have been rumors that CafeFX is closing. Today Jeff Barnes responded to this chatter by way of David S. Cohen at Variety who said via Twitter (@Variety_DSCohen):

Jeff Barnes of CafeFX texted me they are “downsizing and retooling, not closing.” and “Barnes of CafeFX also writes “We did NOT lay everyone off. we are still working on a project.” He says no more comments for now.” 

Cohen also mentions he may have more in Wednesday’s TechBytes column in Variety. You can follow the conversation on twitter by using a search for CafeFX via this link.

Update from Variety...

03/24/2010

"As we all know, the industry in California is experiencing a radical course correction as globalization, commoditization, foreign incentives and the economy continue to challenge our country and our state. Labor costs need to come down, overheads reduced, specializations realized, new partnerships solidified and smarter pipelines implemented." Barnes went on to say that CafeFX has "reluctantly reduced our headcount" to make those changes.

read more...

Image Movers Digital Closes 2010

The rumor mill is flowing with news that IMD will be closing end of 2010. Seems really early to be making the decision, but then again...most of the work is going overseas at this point. I guess that train came and went. Another one bites the dust.

Disney to Shutter Image Movers Digital