Post-production houses branch out

Brickyard VFX eyes features, longform biz

By DAVID S. COHEN

Sadeghi

With the commercials biz slumping even more than the feature film business, two post companies that made their name in blurbs are diversifying by moving into features and longform.

Brickyard VFX, a visual effects company with offices in Boston and Santa Monica, has brought in Marc Sadeghi as a partner and exec producer for its features unit, Brickyard Filmworks.

Sadeghi, a former principal at now-closed vfx studio the Orphanage, will be based in Santa Monica.

He told Daily Variety that Brickyard Filmworks would avoid the "big smash-up, bang-up, exploding-freeway-system vfx that was my former life at the Orphanage." Such big effects, he said, require large R&D departments that eat up profits.

Instead, Brickyard will focus on invisible or seamless effects, like digital environments.

The Filmworks unit was started a year ago and did vfx on "The Proposal." It is attracting work in part due to the Massachusetts tax incentive.

Brickyard management sought out Sadeghi because they needed high-level management with feature experience.

Sadeghi, who has producer credits on "Legion" and "The Spirit," is also forming a production company unaffiliated with Brickyard.

Separately, Margarita Mix, one of the leading names in audio services on the Hollywood commercials scene, has formed an entertainment division to handle longform, including features; scripted and nonscripted TV; and longform Web promos.

The division is headed by producer and sales rep Whitney Warren.