Cinesite has announced that it has acquired German vfx and feature animation outfit Trixter.
Cinesite will own 100% of the Trixter business once regulatory and legal work is completed and the existing senior Trixter team will continue to lead the business in Germany. As with Cinesite’s 2015 acquisition of Vancouver-based VFX studio Image Engine Design, Trixter will retain its brand and “creative centre.”
Trixter was founded twenty years ago by Simone Kraus Townsend and Michael Coldewey, Professor at the Munich Filmschool (HFF). The studio has capacity for 220 artists in Munich and Berlin and has worked with Marvel Studios on characters like Iron Man, Black Panther, Rocket and Baby Groot. It has also contributed to projects including Spider Man Homecoming for Columbia Pictures, The Fate of the Furious for Universal Pictures and episodes for Netflix’s Lost in Space and AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Cinesite group CEO Antony Hunt said: “The Trixter team has a fantastic reputation for producing high quality concept art, character design alongside complex VFX and feature animation. In partnering with Trixter, we are executing our strategic objective of enhancing our market position in both visual effects and animation and getting the benefit of an amazing creative team of people in Munich and Berlin.
“The skills transfer, technology collaboration, shared resources and approaches across our international studios brings benefits to all our teams and the quality of the work they create. This is borne out by the success of the Cinesite group, which has continued to grow its market share and has seen its revenue increase 40% year on year since 2014."
"I am incredibly proud of our people and the business and brand equity we have all built," said Christian Sommer, CEO, Trixter. "By joining forces with Cinesite we will benefit from both their global infrastructure and a broader range of clients to further strengthen our position in the international market."
Trixter co-founders, Simone Kraus Townsend and Michael Coldewey commented; "This is an incredibly exciting time for everybody involved and there are huge opportunities for all of us. We are pleased to have found a supportive and forward-thinking partner in Cinesite and are eager to share Trixter’s talents and expertise with the group."
Picture credit: Lost in Space. Property of Legendary. Work done at Trixter
Jon Creamer
Share this story
