Alkemy X Doubles Los Angeles Presence with Key Strategic Hires and New Office
Five years after its initial expansion into Los Angeles, the Los Angeles presence of Alkemy X has exploded, doubling its West Coast staff with key strategic hires and an eye toward continuing to elevate the quality of work for all of its creative partners. On the heels of the exponential growth of the entertainment company’s visual effects division over the past two years, the company has brought on a series of senior-level talent at the intersection of creativity and technology. Ben Benedetti joined as head of production, VFX, Sarah Grieshammer as VFX supervisor, Jimmy Smith and Brian Hayman as compositors, and Anthony Chiarantano as VFX producer, Michael Hall as digital production manager, Cat Shen as CG generalist, Natasha Young as VFX coordinator and Sean Jackson as senior 3D generalist.
The West Coast growth also includes the recent addition of a presence in Vancouver, with head of 2D Michael Porterfield leading the new studio, with large scale projects already underway only months after launching.
The growth will fortify Alkemy X’s VFX team to scale capabilities for a broader volume and scope of work, with recent work on series like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Westworld,” “The Righteous Gemstones,” “The Gilded Age,” “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” and “Fear the Walking Dead,” as well as feature films like the Academy Award-nominated drama “The Whale,” the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark and the film for the acclaimed Lin Manuel Miranda musical In the Heights.
Notes Alkemy X president and CEO Justin Wineburgh: “As the scope of work we are being called upon to produce continues to expand, growing our team with seasoned, best-of-the-best talent has been a top priority. While we maintain a global footprint, Los Angeles has been a key market as we’ve continued to bring on more high-end series work out of some of Hollywood’s top studios. We are continually striving to ensure that our already amazing team continues to grow to reflect the caliber of those projects.”
The most recent growth emphasises the dramatic expansion Alkemy X has seen through its embracing a state-of-the art hybrid work process, with its team balancing working from home with a new Los Angeles office space that will serve as a new base for key Alkemy X staffers across all divisions. The most recent additions join an already robust team including executive creative director Rupert Cresswell leading the design team, executive creative director, VFX Jep Hill overseeing the holistic creative output for the global VFX department, and executive producer/business development, VFX Mark Miller leading the VFX team.