Top commercial visual effects and finishing boutique Sea Level VFX
has announced a slate of key new hires, including Executive
Producer Steve Reiss and VFX Artists/Supervisors Christopher
Noellert and Glen Bennett.
“Chris and Glen represent an exciting new direction for our
company,†stated Steve Reiss, Executive Producer, Sea Level
VFX. “Because he’s spent over a decade in Sweden,
Chris’ European footprint is huge, so he’ll definitely
be an asset as we continue to grow our client base internationally.
Glen’s strong commercial and feature film background means he
understands the rigorous demands of big effects jobs. His diverse
design background is evident in his unique visual eye for the edgy
yet beautiful. They’ll both hold up Sea Level VFX’s
legacy as a high-end finishing boutique attracting A-list
directors, agencies and brands, while taking the company into
different markets and services, such as Color Correction and Beauty
for HD. In addition, Chris and Glen will help to expand Sea Level
VFX’s CG capabilities, which are currently being overseen by
our longtime CG Supervisor, Steffen Schubert.â€
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Steve Reiss |
Instrumental in bringing both Noellert and Bennett on board,
industry veteran Steve Reiss joins Sea Level VFX after almost two
decades overseeing commercials, music videos and content for
television, web and film. The Grammy-nominated producer has held
posts at Digital Domain, Speedshape and NBC Productions, and spent
seven years as producer and post supervisor for Propaganda and
Satellite Films. He has also freelanced for Anonymous Content,
SpotWelders, Moving Pixels and Partizan. Reiss has worked with many
top directors, including Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, Phil Joanou,
Michael Bay, Mark Romanek and Joseph Kosinski, among others.
Additional career highlights include co-producing R.E.M.’s
Road Movie for Warner Bros. with director Peter Care, and
channeling his life-long love of music and the art of the music
video by co-creating two books: “Thirty Frames Per Second:
The Visionary Art of the Music Video,†and “Mark
Romanek: Music Video Stills.†For the latter, Reiss also
produced the director’s DVD retrospective for Palm
Pictures.
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Christopher Noellert |
VFX Artist and Supervisor Christopher Noellert has spent the past
12 years working in Stockholm, Sweden, where he helped contribute
to the country's naissance as an international creative hot spot.
While his bread and butter is VFX and online for commercials and
music videos, Noellert has also been recognized for his compositing
work on Autodesk Flame and Inferno systems. From 2003 to 2007, in
addition to his duties as a VFX supervisor and lead artist, he
designed and integrated digital intermediate facilities in Sweden,
Norway and Denmark for major Scandinavian conglomerate NordiskFilm
Post and, in 1999, he co-founded Stockholm post house The
Syndicate. Noellert helped grow the company from a seven-person
operation to a staff of 30 while overseeing promos for Madonna,
Kylie Minogue and Beyoncé, and commercials for Coca Cola,
Mercedes-Benz, Audi and others. Noellert’s first project
since joining Sea Level VFX is an AT&T Olympics spot directed
by Mike Mills.
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Glen Bennett |
Glen Bennett also comes on board as VFX artist and supervisor.
Prior to joining Sea Level VFX, he spent over five years as a
senior compositor at Asylum Visual Effects, working primarily on
A-List commercials for brands such as Chevy, BMW, Adidas, Skittles,
Sprint, Visa, Lexus, Geico, Nike and Toyota, as well as feature
films, including National Treasure, Phantom of the Opera, Pirates
of the Caribbean, King Kong, Domino and Apocalypto. Bennett also
held a three-year post as a VFX artist at legendary 525 Studios,
where he collaborated with directors Mark Romanek, Wayne Isham,
Paul Hunter and Dayton/Faris on some of the most groundbreaking
music videos of the day. From 1992 to 1995, Bennett worked at
Rushes in his native UK, during which he won an International
Monitor Award for Best Visual Effects for the “Enigmaâ€
Guinness commercial helmed by Michael Haussman. Also while at
Rushes, Bennett was instrumental in the technical and artistic
development of the Flame/Onyx finishing system after the post house
became the first in the world to purchase the technology. Since
joining Sea Level VFX, Bennett has wrapped a multi-spot ad campaign
for Guitar Hero, including spots starring American Idol finalists
David Cook and David Archuleta and rock idols Aerosmith.
Both Noellert and Bennett were attracted to Sea Level VFX because
of its boutique atmosphere and client-friendly beachside office
space designed by renowned architect Roy McMakin (who also coined
the name Sea Level), as well as the caliber of directors and brands
that choose to bring their work there. Said Noellert, “After
working at NordiskFilm, which had upward of 5,000 employees,
it’s exhilarating to be back in the boutique environment,
where creativity is the focus and we can design a best-of-class
team to tackle the most demanding jobs.†Added Bennett,
“The fact that Steve recently joined Sea Level VFX was also a
huge plus. He’s a great producer, very well respected in this
industry and extremely well versed in both the VFX and production
worlds.â€
The two new hires round out a team that also includes Ben Looram,
who has been a free agent for Sea Level VFX for the past few years,
and is an integral creative component to the growing team.
Looram’s résumé boasts a seven-year stint at A52 as a
visual effects artist, and a year and a half residency at Sway
Studios as an effects artist specializing in Autodesk Flame
systems. His visual effects work on the U2 and Green Day promo for
the song “The Saints Are Coming†won a VES and MVPA
award, and in 2004, he was part of a team nominated for a Creative
Emmy for Main Title Design for the HBO series Carnivale.
About Sea Level VFX
Founded in 1998, Sea Level VFX is a boutique post-production
company providing high-end finishing and effects for commercials.
Its roster of CG supervisors, VFX producers and Flame and Inferno
visual effects artists have contributed to award-winning spots for
Adidas, Levi’s, Honda, Nike, Miller Light, MGD and Guitar
Hero, among many others. Sea Level VFX works with the
industry’s most groundbreaking directors, including Spike
Jonze, Mike Mills, Fredrik Bond, Patrick Daughters, Mark Romanek,
Tarsem and many others. The company is based in Venice, Calif. For
more information:
www.sealevelvenice.com or call
310-664-0900.
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