Animation director Andy Jones leaves Digital Domain for Sony Pictures Imageworks, where he will serve a similar capacity for the robust animation team. Jones last supervised I, ROBOT, which was nominated today for a Best Visual Effects Oscar.
Jones joins Imageworks as it prepares for SUPERMAN RETURNS, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, MONSTER HOUSE (the all-CG feature utilizing Sonys proprietary Imagemotion performance capture technology), SPIDER-MAN 3 and the first two 3D-animated features from Sony Pictures Animation, OPEN SEASON and SURFS UP.
Sonys team of animation directors and supervisors also includes David Schaub (THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, THE POLAR EXPRESS), Spencer Cook (SPIDER-MAN 3), Sean Mullen (OPEN SEASON), Troy Saliba (MONSTER HOUSE), Pepe Valencia (PETER PAN) and Todd Wilderman (OPEN SEASON).
Andy is a tremendously skilled character animator, whose talent and style are a welcome addition to our established team, said Barry Weiss, svp of animation production at Sony Pictures Imageworks. As a leader and an innovator, Imageworks is attracting the best artists in the business, drawn here to work on diverse and challenging projects.
The animation capabilities of Imageworks have steadily grown in size, skill and artistry over the years since the production of the Academy Award-nominated film STUART LITTLE, resulting in numerous awards and recognitions. Honors include an Oscar for the companys first animated short film THE CHUBBCHUBBS! and, most recently, an AEAF Award (Australian Effects and Animation Festival) for Best Feature Film Animation for THE POLAR EXPRESS. Also recognized for the animation of the character Smokey in POLAR EXPRESS, the team was nominated for a 2005 VES Award (Visual Effects Society) in the Best Character Animation in an Animated Feature Film category. Overall, Imageworks projects are nominated for a total of 12 Visual Effects Society Awards and two British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards.
Other career highlights for Jones include directing THE FLIGHT OF THE OSIRIS episode of THE ANIMATRIX anthology, the motion-capture animated feature FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN and director Roland Emmerichs GODZILLA. Jones was originally recruited by James Cameron to work on TITANIC and the now famous sinking sequence. TITANIC went on to be the most successful film in the history of cinema, with the visual effects earning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. (www.imageworks.com) is an Academy Award-winning, state-of-the-art visual effects and character animation company dedicated to the art and artistry of digital production and character creation.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
