Aug 2, 2021

Cine Site Montreal will make 4 senior hires as the studio grows

Cinesite has hired three visual effects supervisors and a feature animation head of production to its fast-growing Montreal studio.

The vfx supervisors are Dottie Starling (Ozark, 12 Years a Slave), Damien Hurgon (Stronger, Pet Sematary), and Ellen Poon (Jurassic Park, Frozen, Raya and the Last Dragon). The trio come with almost 70 years' combined experience. Cinesite's new feature animation head of production is Nathan Santell (Mad Max: Fury Road, Gravity, Iron Man 3), who will lead the team in creating efficiencies and refining pipeline and workflows.

The London-based company launched its Montreal location in 2014. The Montreal studio now has capacity for over 700 employees, and is recruiting across departments and seniority levels. Cinesite Montreal's recent credits include vfx services on MGM's Respect and Netflix's Tribes of Europa, and animation on Warner Bros.'s Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Its next feature animation project is Blazing Samurai, produced as part of a first-look service deal with young U.K. company Aniventure.

Graham Peddie, COO of Cinesite Montreal, said in a statement: “While Cinesite has a strong track-record of promoting artists and staff from within, it's often beneficial to bring in people from elsewhere. We know Nathan, Dottie, Ellen, and Damien will each bring with them new experiences, techniques, and inspiration to help Cinesite Montreal expand its creative palette and meet the growing demand for new high-quality entertainment content.”

Cinesite was founded in 1991 and swiftly established itself as a vfx service studio. It branched out into feature animation in 2014, and in 2017 it bought Vancouver's Nitrogen Studios, thus expanding its animation production capacity. Its London studio now focuses on vfx, Vancouver on animation. Montreal handles both.

Images at top, left to right: Nathan Santell, Ellen Poon, Damien Hurgon, Dottie Starling