Press Release from Rhino
Rhino (formerly RhinoFX) is pleased to announce the launch of its new Los Angeles-based studio. The recent move expands Rhino's reach and follows 18 months of integrating the company's Connecticut, New York and Tel Aviv offices; transforming it into the Rhino-Gravity Group with offices around the globe. The expanded company will closely collaborate internally on various projects, as well as take a two pronged approach; focusing on film and television projects as a VFX vendor and also serving as an outsourcing solution to the larger houses in the area.
The expansion into Los Angeles maintains Rhino's tradition of operating in markets with feature film incentive programs. The opening of the Connecticut studio owes a large part of its success to that state's favorable tax credits, and Rhino is confident that similar programs in California will help ensure the new studio's long-term success.
"Between the tax credits in New York, Connecticut and Los Angeles, and Rhino's deep roster of highly experienced talent in all three of its locations, our company is now fully equipped to take on any sized visual effects project.", stated Rhino's VP of Features Karin Levinson.
The first key hire for the West Coast roost has already taken place in VFX Supervisor/Flame Artist Elad Offer. "We've been talking about this for several years now, so this is just the end result of a very natural progression," stated Rhino COO/EP Camille Geier. "We wanted to open an LA office to help accommodate studios and directors during the visual effects process."
The addition of the new Los Angeles office will be made seamless by Rhino's experience working with Gravity's global studios, which enhanced both locations' abilities to coordinate projects across far-flung time zones, thousands of miles apart.
"By working from coast-to-coast with outposts all over the globe, we're essentially operating on a 24-hour day," stated Rhino CEO Zviah Eldar. "We've now created a substantial network through which we can integrate creative and technical resources, streamlining our entire operation."
Rhino's immediate emphasis will be to establish and grow the LA studio to become a go-to shop for feature films and television series by seeking out new talent, which compliment its other offices. Feature film credits stemming from the LA studio include Get Smart, Get Bruce and Lloyd, Idlewild and Stomp the Yard. Additionally, the West Coast office has produced numerous commercials for Nike, Reebok, Visa and Acura, as well as more than 200 music videos in the past six years for huge acts like Outkast, some of which have won MVPA and MTV awards for visual effects work.
The LA office joins the company just in time to collaborate with Warner Brothers' A Couple of Dicks, which Rhino will be producing as the sole VFX company through its NY studio. Rhino is also currently in production on The Other Guys and Salt for Sony Pictures and Adjustment Bureau for Universal Pictures. The new features will add to the impressive list of hit movies that have emerged from the offices recently, including Ghost Town (DreamWorks/Paramount), Perfect Stranger (Revolution Studios/Sony Pictures), The Reader (The Weinstein Co.), Soul Men (Dimension Films) and The Nanny Diaries (The Weinstein Co./MGM)
"Rhino has incredible talent, an impressive portfolio, and connections everywhere - all they were missing is an office in Los Angeles," noted Offer. "This is a great opportunity for us to establish a strong foothold in the West Coast's feature film market, and I'm looking forward to helping lead the charge."
Offer brings considerable credentials to Rhino. Several collaborations with esteemed directors and producers in the ad industry illustrate his recent portfolio. Prior to running Digit, Offer founded and acted as the Creative Director for Moneyshots, which quickly became one of the most respected names in visual effects for high-profile music videos and commercials. He has done cutting-edge work on many feature films, including Pearl Harbor and Moulin rouge, and for hit television series Charmed and Roswell, among others. Offer will be reunited with Gravity, where he began his career in 1994.
About Rhino:
Since its launch in 2000, Rhino has created award-winning visual effects, design, and animation for commercials, VFX for feature films, episodic television, webisodic mini-series, and videogame cinematics. The company's principals and artists have also led the industry's exploration into the boundless potential of branded digital content. By cultivating extensive relationships with key brands, advertising agencies, and film/TV studios, Rhino utilizes its creative directors and artists to develop and execute powerful branded entertainment to build both identity and awareness. The company's principals include: CD/Director Vico Sharabani, CD/Director Harry Dorrington, CD/Director Natasha Saenko, COO/EP Camille Geier, Managing Director Rick Wagonheim, and CEO North America Zviah Eldar.