UK animation and VFX house names longtime industry producer to manage inhouse team; studio affirms plan to add 50 jobs in Westby and Manchester.
British/Lancashire/Manchester/North West digital animation, cinematics and visual effects studio Realtime has appointed Fiona York as their new Senior VFX Producer.
York celebrates 30 years in TV next year; she began her award-winning career as a production manager for the BBC. She has since taken roles as Head of Production; Senior VFX/Animation Producer; and for three years, co-owner of a VFX company. In 2015, York worked with Realtime on Mummies Alive for Impossible Pictures.
Career highlights include Stephen Hawking’s Universe for Channel Four; Battlefield Britain for BBC; Headcases for ITV; How to Train Your Dragon Homecoming for DreamWorks Animation and Dracula for the BBC.
York’s client-facing role at Realtime will include scheduling budgets, prioritizing workflows, managing the team and overseeing creative and technician reviews.
“It’s great to be back at Realtime,” she shares. “I already know several of the artists and production staff here from previous roles. And I’m especially pleased to be working alongside them again during such an exciting period of growth for the studio. I love working on great TV projects and the variety in the production role. This senior production position offers me the chance to bring all my experience to bear as we work on a range of exciting new 3D VFX projects for TV.”
Realtime’s expansion follows their work on last year’s three-part BBC adaptation of the classic sci-fi title, The War of the Worlds. The studio was a key VFX partner for the production, creating visual effects for the first-ever British television adaptation of H.G. Wells’ iconic novel.
Realtime CEO, Tony Prosser, comments, “We’re delighted Fiona has agreed to join us. Her career demonstrates a wealth of experience producing VFX programs for TV. We already know she’s a perfect fit with the team. And she’ll help our teams on a wide range of exciting new projects for SKY and BBC America that we have in the pipeline.”
At the end of last year, Realtime confirmed plans to create 50 new jobs. 25 new jobs will be created in Westby near Lytham in Lancashire, with a further 25 new positions in Manchester. The recruitment campaign will see the studio become one of the largest in the North West, employing a mix of up to 100 full-time staff and freelance digital artists by the end of 2021.
Source: Realtime
