In response to the pandemic Bron Media in Vancouver launches a new animation studio

Amid the upheavals of the pandemic, Vancouver-based Bron Media Corp. has launched Bron Digital, a new virtual production studio focused on animation.

Here are the details:

• Bron Digital will develop and produce long format animations for TV series, short format content and features. It is directed by vfx veteran Jason Chen (Jojo Rabbit, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Thor: Ragnarok).
• Bron previously produced the animated film The Willoughbys (image above), produced under the Bron Animation banner and provided production services on The Addams family. The division is marrying linear animation pipelines with virtual production workflows based on Epic Games' Unreal Engine. The field of virtual manufacturing has grown rapidly for years, but interest in it has increased during the pandemic, as its virtual scouting and forecasting capabilities lend themselves well to remote working.
• Bron, who mostly has the features of live action, felt the weight of the block. With many of his productions pending, he is focusing on animation, creating the new division with financial support from Creative Wealth Media.

• “We needed to change,” said Bron CEO Aaron L. Gilbert. “The company has directed a large portion of its creative and production teams towards creating and launching this new division. Animation was the only area in Bron capable of being in production during this pandemic as our production team is installed remotely. Most of the company's live-action productions have been suspended; such projects include Candyman, The Green Knight, Fatherhood, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, e Respect.
• Chen added: “Current advances in remote workflows based on virtual production and real-time movie game engines allow Bron productions to be freed from traditional physical studio spaces. It allows our geographically distributed creative teams to collaborate within a purely virtual multi-user experience. "
• The company has revealed that it is in its eighth week of production tales, an animated series “of secular stories that teach timeless lessons, now told in a modern way to engage and teach today's young audience”. The eight-episode series was created by Kevin Turen (producer, Where) and directed by Azazel Jacobs (Gli amanti). Three more original premium animated series and digital film productions will begin this summer.