Berlin/Munich, July 20, 2021.
RISE | Visual Effects Studios, the world-renowned visual effects (VFX) company based in Berlin with offices in Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart and London, is establishing its own animation studio in Munich for high-end film and series production.The new animation division in Munich will be operating as an independent creative arm within the RISE Group and primarily handling animation projects from the production slate of RISE PICTURES with a particularly strong focus on visual development and concept art.Office space at the Munich branch in Infanteriestraße is currently being expanded for this purpose. The available space will have increased threefold by the end of July and provide a creative environment initially for up to 80 new employees in the animation studio and finally a workforce of 120.
Sinje Gebauer will take over in August as the new managing director with responsibility for all of the operations at RISE’s southern branch, i.e. management of both the Munich-based VFX office as well as the new animation studio. The established expert in animation and a guest lecturer at the HFF Munich had served most recently as Head of Studio at Studio Isar Animation. Prior to that, she had been working as a senior VFX producer responsible for visual effects on such films as Aquaman, Tomb Raider or Balloon and thus has outstanding references for the Munich branch’s twoareas of work in VFX and animation.
Sinje Gebauer: „I am looking forward to the new challenge. For me, RISE has long been synonymous with innovation and outstanding entrepreneurial spirit. We would now like to take the operations in Munich to an even higher level and see them grow. In addition, the advancement of young and established talents is very important for me. This also includes creating sustainable and long-term jobs.“
She will be taking over the management of the branch from Dominik Trimborn, who is leaving the company at his own request after five years.
Dominik Trimborn, Managing Director of the Munich branch until August, adds: „I would like to thank RISE for an incredibly exciting time with a great team and for the trust placed in me. We started with an empty room -and are now one of the leading companies in Munich. I am extremely proud of what we have achieved and I will miss the friends and companions I’ve made during this time.“
Sven Pannicke, Managing Director RISE | Visual Effects Studios: „With the appointment of Sinje, we will have a managing director in Munich with many years of international experience both in the field of VFX as well as animated film, the latter an area that we’ll now be explicitly expanding at our base in Munich. I very much look forward to working together and seeing many exciting projects being realised in Munich. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dominik, who had played a key role in setting up and then being extremely successful in managing the RISE studio in Munich since 2016. We wish him all the best for the future, which -that much is certain in this small sector -will also bring us together again.“
The studio’s first project with an international dimension is set to be Igraine The Brave, the magical family adventure by the bestselling author Cornelia Funke, which RISE PICTURES, the production arm of RISE | Visual Effects Studios, will produce together with the Oscar winner Volker Engel, Gesa Engel and Lucia Scharbatke of Uncharted Territory. At the same time, an iconic German animation brand is being developed at RISE PICTURES for global distribution as a theatrical film and series.
Ulrich Schwarz, Producer & Head of Production RISE PICTURES: „RISE | Visual Effects Studios enjoys a high reputation worldwide and stands for groundbreaking VFX on such successful films as Avengers -Endgame or The Matrix 4. RISE will also move into this league with its animation work following the creation of the new studio. The 3D CGI-animated feature film DragonRider, which was produced along with Constantin Film, had already demonstrated that we master animation at the highest international level. The new company is ideal for me as a producer since this means that, in addition to the VFX teams for my live-action films like on the sci-fi thriller Stowaway, I will now be able to draw upon on a similarly strong and experienced team who are working in animation. RISE Group is going vertical and now provides a unique combination of production, animation and VFX from a single source.“
About RISE | Visual Effects Studios:
RISE | Visual Effects Studios was founded in Berlin in 2007 by Sven Pannicke, Robert Pinnow, Markus Degen and Florian Gellinger. The company employs 150 people and up to 250 freelance artists at its five locations in Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart and London. RISE has been part of the Marvel family since the first Captain Americamovie (Loki, WandaVision, Avengers franchise, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy) and has provided the VFX for some of the most successful film franchises for companies like Warner Bros, Walt Disney and 20th Century Fox, including The Matrix 4, Fantastic Beasts 3, The King’s Man, Fast & Furious and Dumbo, as well as series from Amazon, Netflix, Apple+ and HBO such as Babylon Berlin, Stranger Things, Dark, Westworld and Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story. In addition , RISE has successfully produced animated films (Dragon Rider, Richard the Stork). www.risefx.com
About RISE PICTURES:
RISE PICTURES acts as a production arm under the RISE banner and produces, finances and co-produces a diverse slate of films and series with storytelling and VFX demands -creating immersive new worlds for global audiences by RISE |Visual Effects Studios. RISE stands for a broad spectrum of commercial and innovative cinema and big-budget series including state-of-the-art VFX and CGI animation. RISE PICTURES most recently produced the sci-fi thriller STOWAWAY, directed by Joe Penna and starring Oscar®nominees Anna Kendrick and Toni Collette www.risepx.com
Pressemitteilung
Als erstes Projekt mit internationaler Ausrichtung wird das Studio Igraine Ohnefurcht aufgreifen,das magische Familienabenteuer von Bestsellerautorin Cornelia Funke, dasRISE PICTURES, der Produktionsarm der RISE I Visual Effects Studios, gemeinsam mit Oscar-Preisträger Volker Engel, Gesa Engel und Lucia Scharbatke von Uncharted Territory produziert. Parallel ist die Umsetzung einer ikonischen deutschen Zeichentrickmarke für die weltweite Kino-und Serienauswertung bei RISE PICTURES in Entwicklung.