Phactory Productions and Ultraviolet Merge and Launch UV Phactory

NEW YORK—Two award-winning companies—PhactoryProductions, specialists in 3D design and animation; and Ultraviolet,formerly Liquid Design Group, known for their broadcast design,live-action, channel branding and packaging—have consolidatedtheir considerable talents and opened the doors at UV Phactory. Theannouncement was made by executive creative director Scott Sindorf,technology director Damijan Saccio, and creative director JeffLinnell.

Born of a collaborative working relationship that has spanned half adozen years, the newly formed creative solutions studio offers 2D and3D design and animation, live-action production, and strategicconceptual thinking and design solutions to advertising agencies andthe broadcast and cable communities, and has already begun work on ahost of jobs including projects for Miramax, HBO, TBS, Sci-Fi Channel,Do-It-Yourself Network, and the cover for GZA's (of the Wu Tang Clan)new album.

The talented management triumvirate for the newly consolidatedventure includes Scott Sindorf, an early animator at Pixel LiberationFront,Los Angeles, head of 3D at Spontaneous Combustion, New York, andan animator at R/GA, New York, before co-founding Phactory Productionsin May 2000 with Damijan Saccio; Damijan Saccio, creative director at3D visualization house IOMedia, New York, and earlier lead animator atCybersites, New York, and a CD-ROM game developer; and Jeff Linnell,former owner/creative director of Ultraviolet and co-founder of theLiquid Design Group, both located in New York.

With similar design aesthetics and clients and a long history ofcollaboration, the pooling of resources under one roof seemed like alogical evolution. "By combining our staff and resources," saysSindorf, "we are able to better serve our present and future clients.Both UV and Phactory have very extensive design, production, andtechnical skills and have been awarded for their efforts. Because eachcompany was conceived as an independent entity, this merger will allowall of us to continue to focus on the highest quality of design andproduction, while maintaining the freedom to experiment, research, andgrow professionally." "We have managed to create an entirely newentity, UV Phactory, without any redundancy by combining the keystrengths of both companies," says Saccio. "Having a larger and fullycapable design team allows us to keep the total design processin-house. This is crucial to continuously producing the strongestdesign content possible. The formation of UV Phactory is a true exampleof a whole that is better than the sum of its parts. Simply put, thisis a win-win situation for our clients and for us."

"It is evident that Phactory's strong 3D production capabilities arethe perfect complement to UV's design team," says Linnell. "In somesense we have been in this relationship for years and now we are movingin together. I have watched Phactory since its inception. Our twocompanies have built similar momentum, and I believe that togetherthere is a great synergy. In a time of increasing competition andbudget reductions, the merger of Phactory and UV makes sense from abusiness standpoint. With both companies independently profitable, ourrisk exposure is limited with a tremendous upside potential."

Rounding out the UV Phactory senior creative team are artdirector/designer Beat Baudenbacher and senior producer Claire Plaskow,both of whom came from Liquid Design Group and helped to launchUltraviolet. Earlier in their careers they were with ATTIK/New York.The new team also consists of a highly trained staff of 2D and 3Ddesigners including Ryan Bradley, Ted Kotsaftis, Jacob Slutsky, andeditor Damien Baskette.

"It is a perfect arrangement," says Plaskow. "UV brings its focusand love of design to Phactory, which in turn provides its designexpertise and resources for production. This merger allows us to meetthe industry's need for excellent design coupled with outstandingproduction, all under one roof."

Phactory co-founders Sindorf and Saccio have worked extensively inthe New York design/fx field and have built, in Phactory, a highlytrained staff, comparable to the largest shops in New York, that hasattracted a diverse client base including Coca-Cola, MTV, Sci-FiChannel, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, ESPN, NBC, CBS, HBO, andCinemax, among others.

Launched in 1996, Ultraviolet's portfolio included high profileprojects for the likes of AT&T, DLJ Direct, Financial Times, HBO,MTV, NASDAQ, SCI-FI Channel, Showtime, Time Warner, NBC, USA Networks,and VH1.

UV Phactory is headquartered at 44 Trinity Place, Suite 3, New York,New York 10006. For more information, or to see a reel, contact ClairePlaskow at (212)483-0040 or visit www.uvphactory.com.