Former DNEG Bangalore & Chennai head of studio Kiran ‘KP’ Prasad tapped to lead the iconic VFX studio’s latest global expansion; the new full pipeline facility will provide VFX and animation services for film and television, drawing on the region’s extensive local talent base.
Lucasfilm Ltd.’s award-winning VFX division, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), currently headquartered in San Francisco with studios in Vancouver, London, Singapore, and Sydney, has announced the expansion of its global operations with a new full pipeline studio in Mumbai – a region boasting an extensive local talent base. Kiran ‘KP’ Prasad, former head of studio at DNEG Bangalore & Chennai, takes the helm at the new location and will report to ILM SVP and General Manager Janet Lewin.
“With five global studios consistently operating at capacity and continuing to grow, the time was right for ILM to expand once again to meet the industry’s increasing demand for high-caliber visual effects,” explained Lewin. “This new full-fledged visual effects studio in India will allow us to offer even greater capacity while ensuring that we always meet the high-quality bar that our clients expect of us.”
Rob Bredow, SVP, and chief creative officer of ILM, noted, “We’re excited to be building our ILM Studio in India where we can recruit the top artistic and technical talent from the visual effects industry now in India. This is the perfect time for ILM to form our sixth studio where artists will leverage our full pipeline of disciplines working across a wide variety of exciting shows – at the top quality and reliability our creative partners have come to expect from ILM.”
"ILM has always been on the forefront of technological and creative innovation in the visual effects industry, and there is no better time to start our studio in India than now, as the Indian VFX industry is poised for spectacular growth in the coming years,” added Prasad. “It is exciting and an honor to be part of the ILM team at such a key moment in the VFX industry with technological developments pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling. I look forward to working with the executive team to set up the studio from the ground up, building a world-class facility, and bringing the best of the diverse Indian talent together for an opportunity with endless possibilities.”
ILM’s last expansion was its 2019 move to Sydney; that studio currently supports a current roster of 400 people. ILM expects its global studios to see a combined growth to over 2,500 artists, with services provided including visual effects, animation, concept design and development, and virtual production. Projects at all studios range in size and include live-action and animated feature films, television, streaming, and themed attractions.
Source: Industrial Light & Magic
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
