While the financially beleaguered Digital Domain gets bought by Beijing Galloping Horse Film Co. and Reliance MediaWorks, The Foundry merges with Luxology in a synergistic move that points toward creative convergence. The Foundry is definitely on the rise with Nuke, Mari, Hiero, and Katana, while Luxology has a reliable design product in modo for modeling and rendering. This move will offer new opportunities for modo’s use in entertainment within The Foundry pipeline and enhance The Foundry’s VFX arsenal.
It turns out that ILM initiated the notion of a merger during a chance meeting organized by John Knoll a year ago: He threw down the challenge of integrating products from both companies and it made sense. “I am a big fan of both Luxology and The Foundry having been using modo for quite a while and Katana here at ILM in the last 18 months. Their marriage is really exciting for the VFX community. Their combined technology and similar approach to working with customers is a very interesting development. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on them.” ILM has also been using modo (including on Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Rango).
“We were impressed by modo’s strong roots in a variety of markets — including VFX, design and games — and by Luxology’s focus on creating artist friendly, highly advanced technologies,” explains Foundry CEO Bill Collis. “Both companies are a great match for each other. The Foundry and Luxology’s products are highly complementary, and we both like our products to be open and flexible, letting the customers choose how they want to work. In the short term we will be continuing to develop the interaction between our products, which will be of immediate benefit to all of our customers. We can’t wait to see what our combined experience and knowledge will allow us to build in the long term.”
“The Foundry has an impressive pedigree in the visual effects industry, where its products and attention to customers are second to none,” adds Luxology president Brad Peebler, who now becomes president of the Americas, and will be responsible for joint operations in North and South America, reporting to Collis. “Creative industries are converging in terms of media, quality and deliverables. Joining forces with The Foundry will allow us to accelerate the development of modo, ushering in a new era for our customers. We simply can not wait to leverage our combined strength to change the landscape for content creators everywhere.”
Arguably the fastest-growing company in the industry, The Foundry is internationally renowned for its product design and its collaborative and open approach.
This year, Luxology has introduced SubD surfaces to Nurbs conversion capability, and CAD Loaders that allow a world of CAD data to imported into modo. They wish to offer tools that allow designers to create ever more compelling design presentations and are looking to The Foundry to help accelerate this development.
The brands will remain the same, existing teams will remain the same, the websites will remain the same, and customers can continue to work with both companies in the same way they’ve always done. Internally, they will begin the process of cross-pollination in an effort to leverage the combined strengths and knowledge base. The existing support setup will remain in place. As they get to know each other better, they we will look to offer support for modo through The Foundry’s wider support network using staff from both companies. Luxology, in fact, will be investing in development, sales, and support.