Deluxe Entertainment Services Group (Deluxe) announced that former Digital Domain, CEO, Ed Ulbrich has joined the company as president and general manager of Deluxe Visual Effects and will be reporting to Deluxe, CEO, John Wallace. He will lead Deluxe’s Method Studios and Iloura, and unify global VFX operations in an attempt to extend the scale and capabilities of services for motion pictures and advertising. Ulbrich will also drive and grow Deluxe VR, a dedicated unit dealing with the creation of virtual and mixed reality experiences for entertainment, communications and commerce.
“Method Studios and Iloura are doing extraordinary work in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York and Australia,” said Ulbrich. “And there’s an enormous opportunity to unify the talented teams in other disciplines across Deluxe into a global VFX force – making the best use of different skill sets and the economics of different geographies to service clients on a much bigger scale. On the VR side, Deluxe has made a significant investment in helping clients in all areas to understand this new medium by building the capabilities of a full service agency and creating ground breaking new experiences. In both VFX and immersive content it’s an exciting time to be joining Deluxe.”
Ulbrich is a producer and former long-time executive of Digital Domain, starting at the company’s inception in 1993. He helped build, grow and manage one of the largest, most acclaimed, Academy Award-winning, digital production studios in the motion picture and advertising industries. In 20 years with Digital Domain, he held roles including executive producer, president of commercials, EVP of production, chief creative officer, and ultimately CEO, and was the architect of its advertising production business. His producing credits include Lionsgate/Summit’s 2013 feature Ender’s Game and the Tupac Shakur “hologram” for Dr. Dre’s and Snoop Dogg’s 2012 Coachella performance. He executive produced the Academy Award-winning visual effects for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Titanic, and What Dreams May Come, along with other top features; music videos for Lady Gaga, Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, and more; and over 500 commercials. He is both a Cannes Lions Titanium Award winner (2012) and former Juror (2013).
Deluxe, CEO, John Wallace said, “Our capabilities in visual effects extend across features, television and advertising, with dedicated specialisation in VR/AR and 2D-3D conversion. Bringing in someone of Ed’s caliber and experience helps us to be a global provider to our content partners, serve them in new ways and at increasing scale, with the highest quality visuals. His strength in leading teams to continually break new ground and his deep experience across the art, technology and business of VFX will be invaluable.”
Deluxe’s Method Studios recently completed 400+ visual effects shots as a lead vendor on Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War and is in production on Marvel’s Dr. Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 along with major features from other studios.
