VFX veteran takes the reins from current creative director and two-time Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Paul Franklin, who will continue providing visual effects consulting to the company on features as well as develop and direct new projects.
DNEG VFX and animation studio has promoted Chas Jarrett to creative director, providing additional executive-level support to the company’s continued worldwide growth initiative that aims to expand international headcount to 10,000 employees within the next 12 months.
Based at the company's London studio, Jarrett will work closely with Josh Jaggars, DNEG’s Group President, VFX and Stereo. Working with the studio’s directors and filmmakers, Jarrett will leverage the company’s creative and technological capabilities to service its projects while managing and building working relationships with studio clients. He will also support the progression and development of DNEG’s artists and represent the creative teams at the executive level.
Jarrett joined DNEG in 2019 as a senior VFX supervisor, bringing over 20+ years of creative and technical experience in the entertainment industry. He spent 13 years as a client-side production VFX supervisor with credits including Disney’s live-action Aladdin (2019), Logan, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films, and Sweeney Todd for Tim Burton. He co-founded BlueBolt VFX and previously served on the executive committee of visual effects company MPC.
An active software developer, Jarrett is working with an in-house team at DNEG on developing xSTUDIO, a new playback and review tool to be released as an open source project later this year. Most recently, he was production VFX supervisor on the movie adaptation of the video game franchise Uncharted for Sony Pictures.
“Congratulations to Chas on his well-deserved promotion to creative director of DNEG,” said Jaggers. “He is an outstanding leader and a fine role model for our creative teams, with a talent for developing strong relationships with filmmakers. Chas is an important addition to DNEG’s executive leadership team, and I am looking forward to working closely with him to ensure that our creative output remains second-to-none.”
“DNEG has an incredible brand and reputation in our industry,” said Jarrett. “Part of my new responsibilities as creative director will be to ensure that DNEG maintains its position as the go-to house for incredibly realistic, huge-scale visual effects while also expanding our capabilities to bring new and enhanced specialisms and technologies to our filmmaking partners. Equally important to me is the nurturing of our teams of highly skilled creatives across the globe. I will be focused on ensuring that our creative teams have the structure and support necessary to continue delivering the amazing, industry-leading work that DNEG is known for.”
Jarrett takes the reins from the incumbent DNEG creative director and two-time Oscar-winning VFX supervisor, Paul Franklin, who will continue with the studio as visual effects consultant. It is a role he previously filled on notable projects, including Blade Runner 2049, First Man, Jungle Cruise, and Venom: Let more There Be Carnage.
Franklin’s other focus is on developing new and original scripts. He is already attached to several of these projects as director. Fireworks, directed by Franklin and produced in collaboration with DNEG, Wilder Films, and Dimension Studio, was one of the first short films in the UK to be shot using real-time Virtual Production technology within an LED volume.
“This is a very well-deserved promotion for Chas, who has a wealth of experience at the highest levels of VFX supervision,” noted Franklin. “I am confident that the DNEG creative director post is in very capable hands. Personally, I’m incredibly excited to have this opportunity to press forward with the original projects that we have been developing and to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with new creative technologies, including virtual production, which is creating some game-changing opportunities for filmmakers.”
Speaking on Franklin, DNEG chairman and CEO Namit Malhotra added, “I wish to extend my thanks to Paul Franklin, who has been instrumental in building DNEG’s reputation as one of the world’s leading visual effects companies since the very beginnings of the company. I am delighted that Paul will continue to be an important part of the culture of excellence here at DNEG while also taking this opportunity to move forward with the many exciting new filmmaking projects that he has in development.”
Source: DNEG
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
