Simon Holden has joined Company 3 as a Visual Effects Supervisor and Senior Visual Effects Artist. Holden, who has worked freelance for most of his career, brings broad experience in creating visual effects for commercials. He also has numerous credits in feature films. At Company 3, he will primarily focus on advertising work, providing visual effects supervision on the set and through post production, as well as performing hands on visual effects work.
“Simon is a great talent and makes a wonderful addition to Company 3,” said Company 3 President, Stefan Sonnenfeld. “He possesses strong technical skills, he is an excellent creative problem solver and will be an invaluable asset to our clients in planning and executing unique visual effects.”

A U.K. native, Holden has lived and worked in Southern California since 1989. Except for a short tenure as a staff artist at Click 3X, he has spent that time working freelance for many of the industry’s top visual effects houses, including Digital Domain, Method Studios and RIOT. Holden’s recent works include campaigns for Apple’s iPod (TBWA Chiat Day), Volkswagen and Burger King (Crispin, Porter + Bogusky).

Holden began his career in England as an ink and paint artist. In 1982, he co-founded Moon + Parrot Productions (later The Holden Film Company), which specialized in visual effects oriented spots. Through it, he won numerous awards, including a Design and Art Directors Award for Outstanding 20 Second Commercial. He later served as Visual Effects Director with London’s Framestore.

In addition to his commercial work, Holden has credits on more than a dozen films, including Paycheck, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Ghosts of the Abyss. He also worked on the television series Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek: The Next Generation and The X Files.
In discussing his move to Company 3, Holden said that he was attracted by its reputation for creative excellence. “It fits very well with my philosophy,” he said. “Although Company 3 has outstanding technical resources, its approach toward projects is like that of a creative boutique. As an artist himself, Stefan understands the artist’s point of view and is strongly committed to giving artists the support they need to get the job done.”