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Digital Domain

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Digital Domain
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryVisual effects, CGI animation
Founded1993
FounderJames Cameron, Scott Ross, Stan Winston
Key people
Michael Bay, John Textor, Cliff Plumer, Mark Miller, Gloria Borders, Ed Ulbrich, Kevin Weston
Websitedigitaldomain.com

Digital Domain is a visual effects and animation company founded by Canadian film director James Cameron and special effects artist Stan Winston. It is based in Venice, Los Angeles, California. The company is known for creating state-of-the-art digital imagery for feature films, television advertising, interactive visual media and the video game industry. Digital Domain also provides technical software solutions for the visual effects and animation industry.

History

The company began producing visual effects in 1993, its first three films being True Lies, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, and Color of Night in 1994.

It has produced effects for more than 60 films including Titanic, Apollo 13, What Dreams May Come, The Fifth Element, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Armageddon, Star Trek: Nemesis and The Day After Tomorrow. More recent films include I, Robot, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Flags of Our Fathers, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Transformers, Speed Racer, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, 2012 and most recently, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Tron: Legacy with Thor coming soon.[1]

Digital Domain was started by ex-Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) General Manager Scott Ross after he left the Lucasfilm organization. Ross wrote the business plan, and was then contacted by director James Cameron who had heard through the grapevine that Ross was starting a new visual effects company to directly compete with ILM. Cameron suggested that his long-time friend and associate Stan Winston join the company as its third founder. The company had IBM as its initial investor with 50% interest and was its fourth founder. Brion Shimamoto and Nick Tredennick wrote IBM's portion of the business plan in June and July of 1991. Then, in 1996, Ross hired investment banker Lehman Brothers to bring in new capital partners. Cox Enterprises then acquired a 33% ownership in Digital Domain. In 1998, after the box office success of Titanic, James Cameron and Stan Winston severed their working relationship with Digital Domain, and resigned from its Board of Directors.

In February 2002, in furtherance of CEO/founder Scott Ross's efforts to have the company produce its own feature films, Digital Domain entered into a three-picture deal with writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and their production company, Scheherazade Productions.[2] The following year marked the release of Secondhand Lions, Digital Domain's first feature-length film production. The picture was produced for New Line Cinema by Digital Domain's Scott Ross, and David Kirschner and Corey Sienega of David Kirschner Productions.[3]

From the film Stealth: the fictional F/A-37 Talon on USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).

In October 2002, Digital Domain launched a subsidiary, D2 Software, to market and distribute its Academy Award-winning compositing software, Nuke.[4] The move was partially motivated by Apple's acquisition of a similar program, Shake.[4]

In May 2006, Digital Domain was purchased by an affiliate of Wyndcrest Holdings, LLC, an investment firm whose principals include Wyndcrest founder John Textor, director Michael Bay, former Microsoft executive Carl Stork, former NFL player and sports television commentator Dan Marino, and Jonathan Teaford.[5]

In September 2006, it was announced that Digital Domain had hired a trio of top senior executives from ILM. Mark Miller (a 22-year veteran ILM, most recently VP of production and marketing) was initially named President, Cliff Plumer (Chief Technical Officer of Lucasfilm Ltd., the parent company of ILM) was named CTO, and Kim Libreri (a visual effects supervisor at ILM) joined Digital Domain as VP, Advanced Strategy.[5][6] In November 2007, Mark Miller was promoted to CEO, replacing Carl Stork who had been serving as CEO in an interim capacity since the Wyndcrest acquisition.[7]

Awards

Digital Domain's business units have been recognized with awards from many top industry organizations.

As of March 2009, Digital Domain has won seven Academy Awards: three for Best Visual Effects (Titanic, What Dreams May Come, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button);[8] and four for Scientific and Technical Achievement for its proprietary technology—i.e., for Track (proprietary tracking software),[9] for Nuke (proprietary compositing software),[10] for Storm (proprietary volumetric renderer),[11] and for its proprietary fluid simulation system.[12]

The company has also been nominated for three other Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects (Apollo 13, True Lies, I, Robot). In addition, its excellence in digital imagery and animation has earned Digital Domain multiple British Academy (BAFTA) Awards, and Prix Ars Electronica and Prix Pixel INA awards.[13]

Digital Domain's Commercials division provides digital imagery and animation for television commercials, working with top commercial directors. To date, it has been awarded 34 Clio Awards, 22 AICP awards, 8 Cannes Lion Awards and numerous other advertising honors. The Commercials division has also produced multiple music videos working with artists that include The Rolling Stones, Faith Hill, Creed, Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Björk, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Nine Inch Nails, and has earned Grammy and MTV "Music Video of the Year" Awards.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Digital Domain Announces Vancouver Leadership Team". Digital Domain. 2010-01-12. Retrieved 2010-02-02. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Rowe, Vincent (2002-02-26). "Writing Duo Joins Digital Domain: Effects studio teaming with Shrek scribes for Shadowplay, the first in a three-picture deal". FilmStew.com. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  3. ^ "Full cast and crew for Secondhand Lions". 2003. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  4. ^ a b "Digital Domain launches software unit". 2002-10-10. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  5. ^ a b "Digital Domain Hires Three Creative Senior Executives from Visual Effects Industry". Computer Graphics World. 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2006-06-20. [dead link]
  6. ^ Cohen, David S. (2006-09-19). "Digital Domain nabs trio: F/x house lures three execs away from ILM". Variety. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  7. ^ Fritz, Ben (2007-11-20). "Digital Domain ups Mark Miller: Exec's credits include Transformers, A.I.". Variety. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  8. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (2009-02-23). "'Benjamin Button' is VFX's Holy Grail". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2009-03-15. [dead link]
  9. ^ (Recipient) Roble, Dr. Douglas R. (1999-02-27). "1998 Scientific and Technical Academy Awards: Technical Achievement Awards". AMPAS. Retrieved 2008-06-20. [dead link]
  10. ^ (Recipients) Spitzak, Bill (2002-03-02). "2001 Scientific and Technical Academy Awards: Technical Achievement Awards". AMPAS. Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. Retrieved 2008-06-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ (Recipient) Kapler, Alan (2005-02-12). "2004 Scientific and Technical Academy Awards: Technical Achievement Awards". AMPAS. Archived from the original on 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  12. ^ (Recipients) Roble, Dr. Douglas R. (2008-02-09). "2007 Scientific and Technical Academy Awards: Scientific and Engineering Awards". AMPAS. Archived from the original on 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-06-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ a b "Digital Domain Recruits ILM Trio". VFXWorld. 2006-09-20. Retrieved 2008-06-20.

Further reading

  • Bizony, Piers. (2001) Digital Domain: the leading edge of visual effects, London: Aurum. ISBN 1-85410-707-0
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