Digital studio Reel FX, (Santa Monica/Dallas) has signed VFX veteran Keith McCabe as General Manager of Reel FX’s commercial division. In this role, McCabe’s primary focus will be to oversee all aspects of commercial production from motion design to CG and VFX work. McCabe comes to Reel FX from Charlex where he supervised CG work on campaigns for top brands including Verizon Wireless, Cover Girl, Clairol, AIG and Hershey’s. In his sixteen years of experience in the advertising and feature film industries, he has garnered numerous accolades for his work including a 2006 AICP Award for Excellence in Animation for his contributions on M&M’s “Kaleidoscope.”

Notes Reel FX Executive Producer Gary Banks, “It’s fantastic to have someone with Keith’s background and experience join us. Our core commercial team has been working together for many years, and Keith immediately showed us that he has the same passion for creative and client service that Reel FX is known for. He’s a great fit for our studio, and already part of our team.”
“I have followed Dale Carman and Reel FX for many years,” says McCabe. “They have a deep pool of talent and a strong reputation for leading jobs of any type from stereoscopic 3D, to CG animation, to turn-key live-action/visual effects and cutting edge design. I’m glad to be part of their team; we’ve got some great things currently underway that we can hopefully share soon.”

New York native McCabe graduated valedictorian with a degree in Digital Media from Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. He immediately dove into the industry working as a Technical Director at VIFX in Los Angeles, crafting particle-based dynamics and visual effects animation for films including Titanic, Blade and Volcano. He continued to work as a Technical Director for top companies including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Asylum Visual Effects, Rhythm & Hues Studios and George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic.

In 2004, McCabe returned to New York as a Technical Director at Blue Sky Studios (a division of 20th Century Fox) on their animated feature Robots. He moved on to Charlex when offered a position as Head of Computer Graphics. While there, he managed and mentored up to forty CG artists, editors, programmers and designers. Additionally, he served as the primary creative contact collaborating with such top agencies as BBDO, McCann Erickson, Grey, Y&R and Mullen, to name a few.

About Reel FX

Reel FX is a streamlined provider of digital content for film, TV, publishing and digital media. It is a one-stop studio for the development and production of CG-animated and effects-driven live-action “family franchise films”, commercials, and special attractions. Reel FX combines top creative talent (writers, directors, animation and effects artists) with seasoned executives and a proven proprietary animation and effects software (developed by Reel FX), which allows artists to work & collaborate more effectively and control rising costs often associated with CG projects. In addition, Reel FX also develops and secures the rights to franchise-worthy literary material. Reel FX is led by a team of industry veterans including Academy Award®-winning, former Industrial Light and Magic Senior Executive, Ed Jones, and former Walden Media CEO, Cary Granat.

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