Cinesite

A London visual effects and animation studio that has worked on Harry Potter, James Bond, Marvel and Matilda, with its head office in central London.

About Cinesite

Cinesite is a visual effects and animation company, and its London head office is at 10 Little Portland Street. Its effects work includes all eight Harry Potter films and nine James Bond films, as well as Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow, Shang-Chi, Matilda and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. On television it has worked on Moon Knight, The Wheel of Time and The Witcher, whose second season won a 2022 BAFTA craft award.

Cinesite began in Los Angeles in 1991 as a Kodak business, helping to digitally restore Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Its London branch opened in the early 1990s and became the head office. In 2012 Kodak sold it to a UK-based investor, and it is now owned by its management and private investors. We did not find a formal mission or values statement. Group chief executive Antony Hunt joined the London team in 2003 and described the culture in 2021 as a family culture, in which staff are long-serving.

The company moved from Medius House in Soho, where it had been since 2003, towards a larger building in Noho, central London. It also has studios in Montreal and Vancouver, and has added studios in Germany. The pages we read speak of about 1,500 people in the Cinesite group worldwide, not just those in the UK.

Cinesite entered feature animation in 2014 and began a division at its Montreal studio in 2016. Its Aniventure studio made Riverdance: The Animated Adventure, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Upcoming projects include Animal Farm and a Smurfs film. The company also uses real-time tools such as Unreal Engine.

In 2021 Hunt said the industry is a relationship business built on trust, and that artists could work from home through remote systems since the pandemic. Visual effects employs artists, supervisors, producers, technical staff and many others. That mix is typical of the industry. Cinesite's London head office grew from a service business for Kodak's Cineon film system, and its London staff include animation director Eamonn Butler, who joined in 2013. Dave Rosenbaum, formerly of Illumination, became chief creative officer in Montreal in 2016. Visual effects supervisor Simon Stanley-Clamp said that most people in the company know most people, which suggests a close community.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Effects for features and series including Harry Potter, Bond and Marvel.', 'title': 'Visual effects for film and TV'}
• {'desc': 'Animated films, including through its Aniventure studio.', 'title': 'Feature animation'}
• {'desc': 'Work on streaming and broadcast series.', 'title': 'Episodic TV effects'}

Key facts

• Opened in 1991 (Los Angeles) with a London branch in the early 1990s
• Head office at 10 Little Portland Street, London
• Independent since 2012 after Kodak sold it
• Worked on all eight Harry Potter films and nine Bond films
• About 1,500 people across the group worldwide (2021)

Website: www.cinesite.com