DNEG, a visual entertainment services company, announced hiring Emmy-nominated producers Ron Ames and Jesse Kobayashi in Los Angeles. Most recently, Ames and Kobayashi led the delivery of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for Amazon Studios, managing the delivery of 9,000 shots and nearly nine hours of content across multiple vendors.
In their new roles as in-house filmmakers at DNEG, the pair will draw on more than 50 years of combined industry experience to provide filmmaking, production, and technical expertise and advice, working directly with DNEG’s in-house teams to improve and advance the company’s service offerings. Additionally, the pair will collaborate with DNEG’s filmmaking partners to help navigate the digital production process, recommending technology approaches and providing creative solutions to filmmaking challenges.
DNEG CEO Namit Malhotra said: “I have always been impressed with the experience, ideas, and clarity of purpose that Ron and Jesse bring to the huge-scale productions they have managed in the past. From streamlining operations by deploying new technologies to fostering seamless inter-departmental collaboration and promoting a healthy work-life balance for their crews, they have always ensured timely and budget-conscious delivery of their work. In their new roles at DNEG, they will bring the benefits of this experience and knowledge to our in-house teams and will work closely with our clients to unlock new efficiencies and new technologies in the digital production process as we considerably ramp up our operations following the industry-wide disruption in 2023.”
Ames commented: “Both Jesse and I have worked with Namit and DNEG on several occasions over the years, most recently on Amazon Studios’ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Watching the studio grow over the last decade to become the biggest player in the visual effects industry has been incredible. There are huge opportunities and efficiencies to be found at the confluence of art-making and film technology, leveraging cloud-based production, game engine integration, and unlocking the power of metadata, relational databases and ontology systems. Jesse and I are excited to bring the benefits of our years of experience to the amazingly talented teams at DNEG and to work closely with filmmakers to rethink the conventions of contemporary production.”
Ames has been a filmmaker and storyteller for his whole career. From producing and directing television commercials in the golden age of advertising to his first feature film experience with Martin Scorsese on The Aviator to Amazon Studios’ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Ames has been involved in every phase of film production, as a first assistant director, producer, VFX producer, post-production supervisor and a producer of Film Technology. His expertise has been integral to more than 20 productions, including Avatar, The Aviator, The Departed, Star Trek: Into Darkness and Star Trek: Beyond, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. On The Lord of the Rings, he produced all the technology departments, from camera capture to final exhibition, including VFX, post-production and sound.
With more than 20 years in the post and VFX sectors, Kobayashi began his career as a filmmaker, directing a series of short films before shifting his focus to the integration of creativity and technology and, more specifically, the transition of dailies from film to digital at both Laser Pacific and Warner Bros. post facilities. As an executive for Legendary Pictures, Kobayashi oversaw VFX production on over a dozen features and television shows, and as a client-side VFX producer, he has worked on a diverse array of projects, including Krampus, Warcraft, and Pacific Rim Uprising. Kobayashi also has experience in the video gaming sector, having held the role of producer of Cinematic Entertainment at Riot Games.