HOT HOUSE: UV Phactory

It’s strange, sometimes, how careers take shape. Who would think, for instance, that studying to become an architect would lead to owning your own post house? But that’s exactly what happened to Scott Sindorf and Damijan Saccio, principals and co-founders of UV Phactory, a motion design studio that’s based in lower Manhattan.

The two met at Columbia University’s School of Architecture, to which they say they owe their exceptional sense of 3D. "It’s very hard to learn 3D well," says Sindorf. "Because of our background, we’re able to bring all the elements together in a way I don’t think a lot of other design companies have the potential or capability to do." Saccio admits it’s not all that unusual for someone studying architecture to go into 3D work. "We’re already thinking volumetrically, so it makes sense."

Their work ranges from network branding and TV spots to ad campaigns and music videos. What started in 2000, when the company launched, as predominantly 3D design and animation work has expanded to include 2D, live action and the integration of it all.

If you caught VH1’s “Metal Month of May,” the music-centric network’s month-long salute to heavy metal, then you’ve seen some of the studio’s work. It delivered a full package for VH1 that blended live-action with high-end graphics and 3D for teasers, ads and additional visuals that tied the month’s programming together. “We really had a chance to show off our chops,” says Sindorff. “We did everything, even the casting for the spots we shot. We were able to bring all the elements together under one roof and really rise to a new level.”

To Watch clip from The Metal Month of May” click below.
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"That’s really important to us," adds Saccio. "I think a lot of our clients like the fact they can come to one place for the entire project – they only have to deal with one studio. Otherwise, they’re dealing with producers who hire designers, designers who hire a production team, etc. It just gets way out of control, too expensive and the lines of communication get way too long."

The studio has also completed projects for BET (Black Entertainment Television), Swatch watches and SciFi Channel.

On top of it all, the studio relocated late last year to a brand new larger space. "We didn’t miss a single day," says Saccio proudly. "We moved over a weekend and we were in full operation that Monday."

One of the most important parts of the new layout (similarly configured in their old space) is the spatial relation from one artist to another- the entire team (including Executive Producer Brian Welsh, Creative Director Alexandre Moors and Business and Production Development Manager Jonathan Lia) sits together in one large room. "There are no executive offices," says Saccio. "When you have a company that really wants to focus on creativity, communication is just crucial."

Saccio and Sindorff – the self-proclaimed "computer geeks" of their class in architecture school- still get just as excited by Sony PlayStation 3 as they do about their recently installed fiber optic system that helps them work on larger-sized HD and 3D files without slowing down the entire network. Their first year at Columbia, in fact, was also the start of a new digital era for the school, explains Sindorf. "It was really the first year the school had high-end software and graphics workstations- SGI was huge at that time," he says. The school’s program was also affiliated with Softimage, which donated the software. "Damijan and I were immediately attracted to it, like moths to a flame," he says.

Today, they’re still using Softimage|XSI (“we really like the workflow,” says Saccio), as well as Maya, Final Cut Pro and a full arsenal of Adobe tools- Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects- all running on workstations from Apple, Boxx and HP.

Which digital tools do they prefer? Saccio believes whatever tool the artist needs is the one that’ll be used. Sindorff adds, "In the end, they’re just tools. It’s really about what the artist can do with them."

UV Phactory is a design, production and motion-graphics studio based in lower Manhattan.

Scott Sindorf (co-owner/founder), Damijan Saccio (co-owner/founder), Brian Welsh (executive producer), Alexandre Moors (creative director), Jonathan Lia (business and production development)

Softimage|XSI
Autodesk Maya
Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator
Apple Final Cut Pro
Boxx workstations
HP workstations

UV Phactory
www.uvph.com
224 Centre St., 2E
New York, NY 10013
ph. 212.483.0040