11/06/2009
Pixel Magic Announces New Digital Media Studio In Lafayette
Leading digital effects company could create
40 direct new jobs in three years
LAFAYETTE, La. -- Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined Lafayette
City-Parish President Joey Durel, Pixel Magic Vice President and
General Manager Ray Scalice, Pixel Magic Vice President and VFX
Supervisor Raymond McIntyre Jr., University of Louisiana at
Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie, Lafayette Economic
Development Authority President and CEO Gregg Gothreaux and
Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise CEO Henry Florsheim to
announce Pixel Magic will open a Louisiana studio at LITE in
Lafayette. The company plans to create 12 jobs within a year,
ramping up to a total of 40 jobs in three years.
"Pixel Magic is a great example of the kind of companies we
hoped to position Louisiana to secure when we strengthened
Louisiana's film production and digital interactive media tax
credits during the last legislative session," said Gov. Jindal.
"Pixel Magic's decision to locate in Louisiana will send a signal
to Hollywood and to other leading digital media companies that
Louisiana is a major player in the digital media industry. This win
will help accelerate the development of Lafayette as a hub for
digital media and film production, and of course it will help
create more good jobs for our children so that they can pursue
their dreams right here in Louisiana."
Pixel Magic provides digital visual effects for motion pictures
and television. Its capabilities include a full range of visual
effects services in 2-D and 3-D, including digital compositing, set
extensions, wire and rig removals, digital opticals and crowd
duplication. Pixel Magic has done work for Miramax, Warner Bros.,
20th Century Fox and DreamWorks on major films, such as Marley
& Me, Get Smart, 300, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Last Samurai.
Louisiana Economic Development's Office of Entertainment
Development, working with regional and local partners, encouraged
Pixel Magic to expand in Louisiana in conjunction with its work on
Disney's film Secretariat, currently filming in Acadiana.
"After reviewing opportunities in Canada, Louisiana, New Mexico
and other states, we chose Louisiana because of its variety of
locations and diverse environments, the growth of film production
in the state, and its industry specific tax incentives," said
Scalice. "LITE has the skilled personnel and experience in digital
media, and the business community of Lafayette has a reputation of
innovation that made our decision to open an office in Lafayette a
clear choice. This relationship will enable Pixel Magic to utilize
LITE's cutting-edge tools for visual effects creation and high
speed infrastructure in the rendering and transfer of data to our
clients."
Pixel Magic will benefit from Louisiana's recently strengthened
film production tax credits and could also use the new digital
interactive media tax credits for projects in the near future.
Additionally, Pixel Magic expects to enroll in the Louisiana
FastStart™ program, a turnkey workforce solution for
expanding companies, which will help recruit and train qualified
employees to meet its digital production needs.
Pixel Magic also will receive one free year of office space and
will be one of the first tenants of the business accelerator at
LITE, which was created by LEDA, LITE and the University of
Louisiana at Lafayette. The accelerator is designed to encourage
the creation of new and innovative technology businesses in
Acadiana through startups, joint ventures of existing businesses
and the recruitment of out-of-state technology companies.
"Pixel Magic is exactly the type of company LITE was designed
for. LITE's infrastructure and economic development mission allow
us to develop custom computing solutions for Pixel Magic, providing
them with a reason to locate in Louisiana instead of other
locations," said Florsheim. "We weren't the only state they were
looking at, but we were the most aggressive -- in terms of
incentives, technology and other assistance, including employee
training and recruitment. This is a great step in developing a true
film production economy in Louisiana."
"Lafayette has been at the forefront of technology in
industries, such as energy and health care for decades, and it is a
natural progression for our community to move toward another
tech-intensive industry to make our mark," said Gothreaux. "The
establishment of the business accelerator at LITE and having Pixel
Magic as its first tenant is a perfect example of Lafayette's
wildcatter mentality and technological savvy converging to create
the future of innovative and creative business in Acadiana
today."
To learn more about Pixel Magic, visit www.PixelMagicfx.com. Individuals interested in
applying for a job at Pixel Magic may submit a résumé
to jobs@lafayette.org.
