VFX Group Pixomondo Shuts Down Offices in London

COLOGNE, Germany – VFX Group Pixomondo, an Oscar winner for its visual-effects work on Martin Scorcese's Hugo, has shut down its operations in London, citing the need to cut costs.

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The U.K. operation of the German company was at the center of Pixomondo's work on Hugo.

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The decision comes amid the struggles of other visual-effects houses, such as Rhythm & Hues, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month. The effects house behind the CG tiger in Oscar-winning Life of Pi then hired a financial advisor to help it with the sale of the company.

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Pixomondo COO Christian Vogt said the company proved unable in the past three years to build its local businesses in London so that it could generate its own revenue.

He said the decision to close the operations, however, was not a sign that the German effects house was withdrawing from the international stage. Pixomondo also closed its Detroit facility in November.

Pixomondo worked on sequences of A Good Day to Die Hard and will handle the effects work on upcoming Tom Cruise sci-fi action film Oblivion, as well as the third season of Game of Thrones. The company will create digital dragons for the HBO fantasy series.