Creative post-production company, Splice, has launched a new visual effects division and welcomed VFX Supervisor/FLAME Artist Mark Youngren to the studio's award-winning team. Youngren joins Splice from ILM where he contributed his visual effects artistry to such blockbuster hits as "Star Trek," "Transformers 2," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," and "Terminator Salvation."
Splice Executive Producer Kel Nelson, a former ad agency producer, explains that the addition of a powerful artistic force like Youngren signifies a strategic, new direction for Splice. "We are thrilled to have an incredible talent like Mark Youngren join our team," said Nelson. "Mark is well schooled in high-end visual effects for both advertising/commercial projects, as well as major motion pictures. This is just one step in an overall strategy to increase our footprint and reach out globally in our industry - leveraging Mark's talent to lead and expand our capabilities."
VFX Supervisor/FLAME Artist Mark Youngren pioneered leading-edge visual effects and concepts for over 10 years for such commercial clients as Target, BMW, Volvo, Coca-Cola, Mattel, General Mills, and Best Buy, before he segued his extensive experience into a position in the Inferno/Sabre department at ILM. His 20-year background in motion control, animation, lighting and effects combined with on-set supervisory experience allowed him a unique ability to create stunning and complex visual effects. Prior to his work at ILM, Mark held positions at Fischer Edit, Tele-Edit, and Lamb & Co. Mark is a graduate of Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), with an emphasis in Film.
For Youngren, the move to Splice is a return to his creative roots in Minneapolis, as well as the opportunity to collaborate closely with clients again and create visual effects for a diversity of projects. "I really enjoyed my time at ILM and the chance to work on such extraordinary feature films," explained Youngren. "I knew this was a great opportunity for me to manage a team again. I believe Splice is poised to explode in the coming year, and I am energized to be part of it."