Sony Pictures Imageworks

Sony Pictures Imageworks was formed in 1992 with five employees to use computers to help plan complicated scenes for live-action films.{{cite news|last1=Halbfinger|first1=David M.|title=Sony Said to Be Pondering Partial Sale of Movie Units|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/business/31sony.html|access-date=September 12, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=October 31, 2007|archive-date=September 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912213027/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/business/31sony.html|url-status=live}} Located in the former TriStar building, their first work was a previsualization for the 1993 film Striking Distance.{{cite web|last1=Failes|first1=Ian|title=From Speed to Spidey: 20 years of VFX and animation|url=http://www.fxguide.com/featured/from-speed-to-spidey-20-years-of-vfx-and-animation/|publisher=FX Guide|access-date=September 12, 2014|date=August 30, 2012|archive-date=September 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912014920/https://www.fxguide.com/featured/from-speed-to-spidey-20-years-of-vfx-and-animation/|url-status=live}} In April 1993, the previously unnamed unit received its current name.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1993/film/news/sony-christens-digital-studio-imageworks-106162/|title=Sony christens digital studio Imageworks|first=Matt|last=Rothman|website=Variety|date=April 22, 1993|access-date=January 9, 2025}} In 1997, SPI became part of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Digital Studios unit.{{Cite web|last=Cox|first=Dan|date=1997-01-30|title=SONY STREAMLINING|url=https://variety.com/1997/scene/vpage/sony-streamlining-1117432819/|access-date=2021-08-29|website=Variety|language=en-US}}

To fill the gaps between VFX jobs, SPI decided to partake in a more profitable animation business. Its first independent animated effort was the 5-minute short The ChubbChubbs! directed by Eric Armstrong. In 2002, it won the Oscar for Best Animated Short. Early Bloomer, released in 2003, was the division's second short film and originally made as a storyboarding exercise.{{cite web | author=Tito A. Belgrave | url=http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=1559 | title=Making Waves with Early Bloomer | publisher=CGSociety.org | date=September 8, 2003 | access-date=November 5, 2010 | archive-date=September 24, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924150247/http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=1559 | url-status=dead }} SPI completed its first feature animation project in 2006 with the release of Open Season, which was produced by sister company Sony Pictures Animation.

In 2007, SPI acquired Indian visual effects studio FrameFlow to take advantage of lower labor costs.{{Cite press release | title = Sony Pictures picks up 51% in FrameFlow | publisher = FrameFlow via The Economic Times | date = February 20, 2007 | url = http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/media/entertainment-/entertainment/Sony-Pictures-picks-up-51-in-FrameFlow/articleshow/1646568.cms | access-date = November 23, 2010}} Renamed to Imageworks India, a modern facility was opened in Chennai a year later.{{cn|date=April 2024}} To leverage New Mexico's tax rebates and talent base,{{cite news|last1=Verrier|first1=Richard|title=Sony ImageWorks to Close New Mexico Viz Effects Unit|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/02/sony-imageworks-to-close-new-mexico-viz-effects-unit.html|access-date=August 22, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=February 29, 2012|archive-date=December 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208022945/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/02/sony-imageworks-to-close-new-mexico-viz-effects-unit.html|url-status=live}} a satellite production facility was opened in 2007 in Albuquerque,{{Cite press release | title = Albuquerque Studios Sees Special Effects of SONY Imageworks Deal in New Mexico | publisher = Albuquerque Studios via PRWeb | date = May 20, 2007 | url = http://www.prweb.com/releases/SONYImageworks/AlbuquerqueStudios/prweb527671.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100504182742/http://www.prweb.com/releases/SONYImageworks/AlbuquerqueStudios/prweb527671.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = May 4, 2010 | access-date = November 23, 2010}} becoming the largest post-production operation in the state.{{cite news|last=Kamercik|first=Megan|title=Sony Pictures Imageworks to leave New Mexico|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2012/02/29/sony-pictures-imageworks-to-leave-nm.html?page=all|access-date=March 1, 2012|newspaper=New Mexico Business Weekly|date=February 29, 2012|archive-date=February 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228130022/http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2012/02/29/sony-pictures-imageworks-to-leave-nm.html?page=all|url-status=live}} In 2010, SPI opened a production studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, in order to take advantage of the local talent pool and government film production incentives.{{cite news|last1=MacInnis|first1=Tara|title=How Sony's Vancouver studios give Canadian animators home field advantage|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/how-sonys-vancouver-studios-give-canadian-animators-home-field-advantage|access-date=August 22, 2015|work=National Post|date=August 14, 2012}} Two years later, the studio doubled its Vancouver facilities.{{cite news|last1=Etan|first1=Vlessing|title=Sony Pictures Imageworks Expands Canadian Outpost|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-pictures-imageworks-expands-canadian-286980|access-date=August 22, 2015|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=February 3, 2012|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924202245/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-pictures-imageworks-expands-canadian-286980|url-status=live}} At the same time, the Albuquerque studio was closed down due to declining New Mexico's subsidies and difficulty with attracting artists to move there.

In the beginning of 2014, as part of Sony's cost-cutting move, SPI transferred a portion of its technology team from its headquarters in Culver City to Vancouver.{{cite news|last1=S. Cohen|first1=David|title=Sony Imageworks Shifting Staff From L.A. to Vancouver; Layoffs Feared|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-imageworks-shifts-jobs-from-l-a-to-vancouver-layoffs-feared-1201066205/|access-date=August 22, 2015|work=Variety|date=January 21, 2014|archive-date=October 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031075023/https://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-imageworks-shifts-jobs-from-l-a-to-vancouver-layoffs-feared-1201066205/|url-status=live}} By May 2014, entire headquarters and production had been moved to Vancouver, with only a small office remaining in Culver City.{{cite news|last1=S. Cohen|first1=David|title=Sony Imageworks Moving HQ to Vancouver|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-imageworks-moving-hq-to-vancouver-1201197891/|access-date=August 22, 2015|work=Variety|date=May 29, 2014|archive-date=September 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901000900/http://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-imageworks-moving-hq-to-vancouver-1201197891/|url-status=live}} At the same time, SPI closed down its Indian studio, laying off around 100 employees.{{cite news|last=S. Cohen|first=David|title=Sony Imageworks India to Shut Down (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2014/biz/news/sony-imageworks-india-shutting-down-1201077215/|access-date=January 30, 2014|newspaper=Variety|date=January 29, 2014|archive-date=January 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113150349/http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/sony-imageworks-india-shutting-down-1201077215/|url-status=live}} A year later, over 700 artists moved into a new 74,000-square feet headquarters in Vancouver.{{cite news|last1=Marchand|first1=Francois|title=Sony Pictures Imageworks unveils new Vancouver headquarters|url=https://vancouversun.com/Sony+Pictures+Imageworks+unveils+Vancouver+headquarters/11201700/story.html|access-date=August 22, 2015|work=The Vancouver Sun|date=July 10, 2015|archive-date=July 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150718051133/http://www.vancouversun.com/Sony+Pictures+Imageworks+unveils+Vancouver+headquarters/11201700/story.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Lu|first1=Cecilia|title=12 photos inside Sony Pictures Imageworks new downtown Vancouver HQ|work=Vancity Buzz |url=http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/07/sony-pictures-imageworks-vancouver-office-photos/|access-date=August 22, 2015|date=July 29, 2015|archive-date=August 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150829003258/http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/07/sony-pictures-imageworks-vancouver-office-photos/|url-status=live}}

On October 6, 2023, Cartoon Brew reported that DreamWorks Animation was moving away from producing films in-house at their Glendale campus to rely more heavily on outside studios after 2024, as part of a layoff by chief operating officer Randy Lake in a series of meetings the previous month. According to the report, SPI was named as the animation service for a then-unannounced DreamWorks sequel (The Bad Guys 2) scheduled for 2025. The film will use a "mixed production model", in which pre-production would be done in-house at DreamWorks along with approximately 50% of the asset build and one hour of production, while SPI will handle the other 50% of asset builds and 20 minutes of shot production.{{cite web |last1=Amidi |first1=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |title=Dreamworks Shifting Away From In-House Production In Los Angeles; Sony Imageworks Is A New Production Partner |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/studios/dreamworks-shifting-away-from-in-house-production-in-los-angeles-sony-imageworks-is-new-production-partner-233466.html| website=Cartoon Brew |access-date=8 October 2023 |date=6 October 2023}}

During 2009–2010, SPI made transition from traditional biased, multi-pass rendering system to a largely singlepass, global illumination system incorporating modern ray-tracing and physically based shading techniques. They have achieved that with Arnold Renderer, an unbiased stochastic ray tracer. Arnold, started in 1997 by Marcos Fajardo, was co-developed between 2004 and 2009 with SPI, where Marcos was employed, and a commercial branch is being developed by Marcos' Madrid based company Solid Angle SL (now owned by Autodesk). Arnold was used on projects such as Monster House, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 2012, Alice in Wonderland, The Smurfs, Arthur Christmas and is being used on all upcoming SPI's films.{{cite news | last = Haines | first = Eric | title = Marcos and Arnold | newspaper = Ray Tracing News | date = July 20, 2010 | url = http://tog.acm.org/resources/RTNews/html/rtnv23n1.html#art3 | access-date = November 24, 2010 | archive-date = November 4, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101104115148/http://tog.acm.org/resources/RTNews/html/rtnv23n1.html#art3 | url-status = live }}

Sony Pictures Imageworks has provided visual effects and digital animation for the following films:{{cite web|title=About|url=http://www.imageworks.com/about|website=Sony Pictures Imageworks|publisher=Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.|access-date=October 3, 2018|archive-date=September 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903171933/http://www.imageworks.com/about|url-status=live}}

• The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest ("The Edge of Yesterday")
• Stuart Little: The Animated Series (CGI animation and visual effects)
• Love, Death & Robots ("Lucky 13" and "In Vaulted Halls Entombed")
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ("One World, One People")
• Hawkeye (2 episodes)
• The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (TV special)

In an article published by Vulture in June 2023, several animators quit Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse due to unstable working conditions. According to the Animation Guild, while Imageworks is associated with Sony Pictures Animation, Imageworks remains non-union.{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Chris |date=2023-06-23 |title=Spider-Verse Artists Say Working on the Sequel Was 'Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts' |url=https://www.vulture.com/2023/06/spider-verse-animation-four-artists-on-making-the-sequel.html |url-access=limited |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}

• Sony Pictures Animation
• Pixomondo
• List of animation studios owned by Sony

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.imageworks.com/}}

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Category:Companies based in Culver City, California

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Category:American animation studios

Category:Mass media companies established in 1992

Category:Canadian animation studios

Category:Computer animation

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Category:Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners

Category:Adult animation studios