Workflow Specialist Sabatino Also Comes On Board

Illuminate, the Los Angeles digital services company, has brought on Erick Geisler as president of its Digital Intermediate Services department. Geisler, who has more than two decades of experience in post production and visual effects, will oversee DI projects and direct long-term planning and growth. Geisler previously served as president of the visual effects and design studio Red Engine Productions.
Additionally, Illuminate has hired Ron Sabatino to serve under Geisler as Vice President for Digital Intermediate Services. Sabatino, who is also a highly credentialed post industry veteran, will manage the department’s workflow, technical infrastructure and digital asset management resources. Sabatino arrives from Larry Levinson Productions, where he served as executive producer and general manager.

“Digital intermediate services are among the most important and fastest growing aspects of our business,” said Illuminate CEO Jim Hardy. “We look to Erick and Ron to help us take our DI service to the next level. They bring tremendous experience and technical knowledge. More importantly, they have the leadership skills and vision to build and run a great team of artists.”

For his part, Geisler said that he will work to differentiate Illuminate’s DI service from its competitors by instituting technical and creative innovations. “We want to go beyond what others are doing and develop tools and methodologies that significantly improve quality and efficiency,” he said. “We will also be looking for projects that lend themselves to an innovative approach to DI.”

Geisler has credits on more than three dozen feature films, primarily as a visual effects supervisor. He also has experience in television, video games and alternative media. Prior to Red Engine, a company he co-founded, he was director of 3D animation for Larry Levinson Productions where he supervised visual effects for such films as Jane Doe: Ties That Bind, Mystery Woman: In the Shadows and Pandemic.

Prior to that he was director of technical entertainment for the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas where he produced digital content for a video screen spanning the length of five football fields. His background also includes work with Industrial Light & Magic and Phil Tippett Studios. Trained as both a traditional and digital artist, Geisler received a BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

During his tenure at Larry Levinson Productions, Sabatino oversaw the creation of the company’s digital effects department. He then led the group in producing more than 2400 visual effects shots for six HD mini-series in 12 months. Previously, he was the founder and creative director of the Valley Circle Design, a graphics design studio that produced work for film, television and interactive media. Its clients included Fox Sports, NBC and Time Warner.

Sabatino also served as creative director of Square USA, the U.S. affiliate of the Japanese video game developer Square, makers of the Final Fantasy game franchise. He also held senior creative posts with Pacific Ocean Post, Digital Animation Lab and Empire Video.

In his new role, Sabatino will work to streamline Illuminate’s DI workflow and integrate it fully with the facility’s visual effects operations. “Illuminate offers me the opportunity to put my technical and artistic skills to good use,” he said. “It is also an opportunity to grow further, technically and creatively.”