US firm’s Cebu unit eyes Manila filmmakers
April 17, 2009 2:32 am
By Eddie Barrita
CEBU CITY, April 16 — The Cebu unit of an American company involved in the conceptualization and design of motion picture-related materials is planning to extend its services to Manila-based movie studios, an official said.
VersaGrafx Designs Philippines Inc. creative director Junny Mahilum said the company is currently making post-production designs for various US-based movie companies, including the Weinstein Company, Lions Gate Entertainment, MGM and Paramount Pictures.
The company is eyeing to provide various post-production services related to graphic design to local movie studios in the Philippines, including Regal Films, at “local” rates.
Mahilum said VersaGrafx started talks last month with Optima Digital, a post-production house in Manila that offers a wide range of services, such as telesine, color grading, visual effects and design, computer-generated images and digital film printing.
Mahilum noted that some movie studies in the country get their post-production collaterals from China that they utilize for promotional purposes in the US.
He said these local studios can make use of homegrown artists based in the Philippines where talent for graphic design is potentially high.
The potential of Cebu in the creative industry has prompted VersaGrafx to consider opening a graphic design academy within the next two years.
The company was established in Asiatown IT Park in Lahug, Cebu City in 2005 as an outsourcing firm, doing home entertainment and promotional materials. Its mother company, VersaGraphic Design Group in the US, has been in operation for more than 20 years.
The company provides designs for custom displays, standees and dump bins, as well as three-dimensional design, animation and movie special effects.
It also offers product and product packaging prototyping and design services to consumer product, pharmaceutical and electronics companies.
The company is currently working on post-production collaterals for several upcoming movies that include Inglorious Bastards (distributed by The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (distributed by Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures). (PNA) DCT/EB/re
Comments