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A Tragic Loss
I got my start in visual effects and production at a company that has, in many ways, been a significant and positive force in the industry. They bucked trends in favor of an entrepreneurial, DIY approach, and as a result tripled in size every year and turned out some of the best work out there. Their leadership worked tirelessly to support and enrich the industry, and are responsible for several of the best books available on visual effects and film production for the DIY artist. As if that weren’t enough, despite their tiny size and immense workload, they still found time to create some amazing software that is in wide use today.
While you may not have heard of them, the loss of The Orphange is really being felt here in the Bay Area, and represents a dramatic loss for the industry as a whole.
This post is a tad late since they closed up shop in February, but I just felt like sharing this as homage to Stu Maschwitz, Jody and all the others who helped me launch my career. They have been role models for many of us, myself included, and will be missed.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
12 Replies
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WHAT???????????????????
The Orphanage CLOSED????????
Oh man… I had no idea. Guess I live in a cave. Too bad, their work was really absolutely top notch (and had a great logo, too).
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I must live in a cave as well, because I know and worked with a lot of those guys and I only found out today. Such a bummer.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
See this blogpost
https://prolost.blogspot.com/2009/02/ten-years-of-orphanage.html -
Very sad indeed.
Maybe the Orphan-exes should move to Atlanta and work for Walter. He seems to be the only one I know now who always seems to have more work than he can handle.
Oh, except a recent article on MSN had the 10 most “depressing, unhappiest” cities in the U.S. to live in, and Atlanta was #10, right behind Cincinnati. Ouch!!
https://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=18184152#10
Dual 2.5 G5, IO, Kona LH, IO, Medea Raid, UL4D, NVidia 6800, 4Gig RAM
Octocore 8 GB Ram, Radeon card, MBP, MXO
Windows Vista Adobe Studio CS4, Vegas 8.0, Lightwave 9.3, Sound Forge 9, Acid Pro 7, Continuum 5, Boris Red 4, Combustion 2008, Sapphire Effects -
Really??
I rather love Atlanta, every time I get a chance to visit.
Then again, I kinda like Cincy pretty well, too.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I’ve known Stu for many, many years – well before The Orphanage, in fact. They don’t come much better in any walk of life. When I read his ProLost post last month I was stunned by his honesty, and I could feel the loss and heaviness in his heart in the words he wrote.
I wish Stu and all his Orphans well, it’s a crazy,, messy world out there right now.
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[Christopher Wright] “Maybe the Orphan-exes should move to Atlanta and work for Walter. He seems to be the only one I know now who always seems to have more work than he can handle. “
If I could I would.
[Christopher Wright] “Oh, except a recent article on MSN had the 10 most “depressing, unhappiest” cities in the U.S. to live in, and Atlanta was #10, right behind Cincinnati. Ouch!! “
Ah, but Money Magazine rated Buford, GA as the #3 city in American to start and operate a business. Happens to be the town I live in and it’s really really cheap to operate a business here. Maybe that’s why we’re so busy?
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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As an Atlanta and Georgia refugee going on 8 years, I still have nightmares that I live there and this whole California experience has been a dream.
John
Magic Feather Inc. -
True, we probably pay more in rent for our studio than your entire monthly overhead. And let’s not even get into the taxes and fees California levies on its business owners…
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
[Brendan Coots] “True, we probably pay more in rent for our studio than your entire monthly overhead. And let’s not even get into the taxes and fees California levies on its business owners…”
Yep, and now with the tax incentives Georgia initiated last year, we’re in a movie boom right now. Hard for folks to find crews because there are so many movies lined up to shoot here.
High taxes is the main reason why I’ve never relocated back to upstate New York as much as I would love to move my company to Rhinebeck, New York. I absolutely LOVE that area and would still like to move back there one day, but we’re simply not a big enough company to be able to afford the move.
The low taxes and great quality of life up here near the lake are the two main reasons why we’ve stayed in this area and the small size of the company is what has kept us so successful.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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