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Vancouver, BC Digital Domain has named Jason Dowdeswell head of production for its Vancouver studio. The 20-year industry veteran will oversee operations for all of the company’s Vancouver-based productions, talent and teams, as well as collaborations with Digital Domain’s Venice, California, San Francisco, Florida, London and Mumbai Digital Domain visual effects teams.

“Digital Domain is a big player in Vancouver; the company is embarking on huge projects that I’m excited to get involved with,” said Dowdeswell. “It is a very interesting company on a global level as well, with a lot of irons in the fire. The team here is amazing and passionate and I look forward to building the strong creative culture and artist-friendly environment that’s been cultivated, and fostering more efficient collaboration with Digital Domain studios around the world.”

Dowdeswell, a Vancouver native, joins Digital Domain from Vancouver-based Image Engine where he spent two years as head of studio, overseeing visual effects on films including The Thing and Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming Elysium. Prior to that he spent eight years at CIS-Vancouver (now owned by Deluxe) as head of studio and has also worked at Sony Pictures Imageworks and Boss Films, where he got his start in visual effects in 1993. He has been involved in the production of visual effects for features including: Salt, Invictus, Zombieland, Angels & Demons, Twilight, Night at the Museum, The Da Vinci Code, Men in Black II, Star Wars: Episode II, Stuart Little, Godzilla, Starship Troopers, True Lies and many others.

Jody Madden, senior vice president of global studio operations, said, “In just three years our Vancouver studio has grown to become an absolutely integral piece of our global production pipeline. This summer we’ve done amazing work on Jack the Giant Killer, The Watch and G.I. Joe: Retaliation and we have some really big features in the pipeline just behind them. Jason’s experience, good humor and skill in building strong teams bring even more depth to our capabilities in Vancouver. He’s a fantastic addition to Digital Domain’s leadership team.”

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