Netflix is merging its visual effects facility, Scanline VFX, and its virtual production specialist Eyeline Studios to create one brand, Eyeline.
The move, which comes nearly four years after Netflix acquired Scanline VFX, will enable the streamer “to push the boundaries of what’s possible in production”, according to a Netflix blog post by Jeffrey Shapiro, CEO of Eyeline.
Founded 36 years ago, Scanline has contributed VFX work to hits such as Stranger Things, Wednesday, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Netflix’s latest film, The Woman in Cabin 10. During this time, the company earned a Scientific and Technical Academy Award for its proprietary fluid simulation software, Flowline. Additionally, last month, Scanline won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or Movie for Andor Season 2.
Likewise, Eyeline Studios, founded in 2019, specialises in virtual production and volumetric capture. It has earned the Visual Effects Society’s inaugural Groundbreaking Technology Award for its stage technology, which was most recently showcased in the creation of Professor Orloff in Wednesday Season 2. Furthermore, its Light Dome – which replicates real-world lighting conditions – was recently used on Happy Gilmore 2 and the upcoming A House of Dynamite. Beyond this, Eyeline has earned a reputation for applying generative AI to production, most notably in Netflix’s Argentine sci-fi series The Eternaut.
The Eyeline team’s work can be seen in upcoming shows and films like Stranger Things Season 5, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, The Witcher Seasons 4 and 5, One Piece Season 2, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, Spider-Man Noir, and Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.
In the blog post, Shapiro stated: “Merging Scanline VFX and Eyeline Studios under one brand enables us to pioneer new tools, facilitate creative collaboration, and drive the future of filmmaking for the most ambitious storytellers around the world.”
Netflix recently teamed with Oscar-winning Director Guillermo del Toro and French animation school Gobelins Paris to launch a stop-motion studio and training centre. Discover more here.
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