11/6/2009

Pixel Magic Announces New Digital Media Studio In Lafayette

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.