Deluxe Entertainment Services has named veteran production executive Kerry Shea head of its Vancouver studio, overseeing day-to-day operations for Deluxe’s global visual effects (VFX) brand Method Studios and TV post-production/VFX brand Encore. In this role, Shea will lead the studio’s talent and resources to deliver the highest-quality work for feature films and episodics.
Deluxe’s Method Studios is among the largest in terms of worldwide VFX capacity, with studios in Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, New York and India. A key focus for Shea will be to collaborate with worldwide counterparts and Method Global, head of features VFX, Gabby Gourrier to match the talent and capacity of Method’s worldwide studios with clients’ creative and budget needs to provide the right combination of resources and location for any production. As the Encore team continues to raise the bar in visual sophistication for episodics, Shea’s leadership of both teams and studio-wide resources will help to optimize efficiency and quality across all productions.
Deluxe VFX and VR, president and general manager, Ed Ulbrich reports, “We’re working to align all of our VFX teams worldwide to operate as one integrated studio, and having Kerry heading our 500-person Method team in Vancouver is going to be key in the growth of our global capacity for feature films.” Ulbrich further stated, “Kerry’s institutional and operational knowledge of VFX and post is of the highest order. She has great operational skills and is fantastic at building teams, and we’re thrilled to have her overseeing our Vancouver operation.”
Credited on more than 60 feature films, Shea has an extensive background in visual effects and post-production as well as live action, animatronics and creature effects. She joined Deluxe from pre-visualization company ‘The Third Floor’ where she was a Chief Operating Officer. Previously, she was a digital producer at Digital Domain on Disney’s VFX feature Tron: Legacy. She has worked as the Head of digital production at Jim Henson where she spearheaded creation of the digital studio and pipeline for the Emmy award-winning PBS series Sid the Science Kid, production manager at DreamWorks Animation on Madagascar – bidding and scheduling that feature as well as overseeing key departments. She was also a digital production manager at Sony Imageworks for Polar Express and Stuart Little 2, post production manager at Square USA, VFX coordinator at DreamQuest Images, and bidding producer/production manager at Banned from the Ranch. She began working on films at the age of 19, starting her VFX career at 20th Century Fox as a VFX coordinator on Alien Resurrection.
Shea said, “I’ve had the opportunity to work with Method on a number of features and I’ve always been blown away by the quality and inventiveness of the work. When I met the Vancouver teams personally, the camaraderie, the collaboration, and the welcoming environment made me want to join immediately. That culture of teamwork, on top of the talent and massive technical capability of Deluxe overall, made it a very easy decision.”
Method Studios services high-end feature film, commercial and motion graphics clients. Method’s recent feature film VFX projects include Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War.