NEP has acquired Prysm Collective, Lux Machina and Halon Entertainment as it launches a new virtual production business.
The company says the acquisitions are part of the “first phase” of building NEP Virtual Studios business unit, as plans for ICVFX/visualisation solutions, permanent virtual stages, and virtual art department services.
Cliff Plumer will lead the new segment – reporting to NEP’s CEO Brian Sullivan. NEP has appointed Phil Galler and Zach Alexander as co-presidents of the Lux Machina NEP Business Unit, and Daniel Gregoire and Chris Ferriter as executive creative director and president, respectively, of the Halon NEP Business Unit.
“The vision for NEP Virtual Studios is the same as we have for our Broadcast Services and Live Events businesses: to be the world leader in helping clients and creators bring their content to life,” said Sullivan. “When we first started talking to Prysm Collective we were amazed at how closely they were aligned with one of NEP’s newest strategic objectives of building out the leading global virtual production business. It was clear that joining forces would accelerate the path forward for NEP, Prysm, Lux Machina and Halon together.
“We’ve worked closely with many of the people in the new group before and know just how good they are. Having Cliff and the teams from Lux Machina and Halon on board adds some of the most experienced talent in the business to our existing world-class people, leading this charge into the future.”
Prysm Collective, Lux Machina, Halon Entertainment and NEP all have experience with Unreal Engine integration. Prysm Collective is an Epic MegaGrant recipient for development of virtual production cloud workflows; Lux Machina has built multiple LED stages for Epic Games, consulting closely with Unreal Engine developers on new virtual production features; Halon is one of the earliest adopters of Unreal Engine for real-time film and television content creation; and NEP has been using Unreal Engine to service broadcast clients with real-time graphics for several years.
Lux Machina has worked on stage buildouts for The Mandalorian, Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Oscars, Emmys, League of Legends World Championship 2020 and more.
Halon Entertainment is a full-service visualisation company offering animation, design services, virtual art department, and real-time solutions. The company has contributed real time visualisation to productions such as The Mandalorian, The Batman, and Suicide Squad.
