Cebuanos’ good (computer-aided) design talents has bring in United States based investor to Cebu, and establish a conceptualization and design facility for cinema standees, and other promotional collaterals for Hollywood movie production companies.
VersaGrafx Designs Philippines Inc., has opened its first and only facility outside of United States in Cebu at the Asia Town IT Park.
This means that Cebu will be one of the brains for design requirements of Hollywood movie production companies, such as MGM, Universal Studios, Warner Bros, Columbia Tristar, among others.
VersaGrafx president Larry Collins said the good pool of talented people in Cebu, especially the high-skilled designers pushed him to initially invest about US$250,000 to set up the facility in Cebu.
The company’s designing process will involve a review of cinematographic materials and on-location shoots and still photographs to be used in the conceptualization and design.
The finished products will be the visual and construction designs of the cinema standees and DVD tower casings in electronic files and the movie webpage designs.
These will be used for the manufacture of cinema standees, which are the promotional materials for movies placed at cinema entrances and DVD retailers.
The web pages on the other hand, will be posted on the Internet to advertise the specific movies.
Collins who also maintains companies in Los Angeles, California, specifically in Beverly Hills, called VersaGrafix Design Group, and the VersaStack Merchandising, has been doing business for big Studios in Hollywood for over 15 years.
“The company’s strength lies in the long and satisfying working relationship between American investors and Hollywood movie producers, which has been developed over the past years,” Collins said.
With the high-quality designing talents of Cebuanos, or Filipinos, he said he is hoping to expand its facility here, and will make the Asia Town-based office as its headquarters.
Collins, who just came to Cebu for scuba diving vacation was impressed by the pool of talented people here, whose works can be well marketed in the most demanding and sophisticated industry in the world, the Hollywood entertainment industry.
VersaGrafx Design, is using CAD, 2D and 3D software solutions. And it will be importing more state-of-the-art and the most updated hardware and software products to aid the production in Cebu.
Aside from expanding its talent pool here, the company is also looking at establishing its own building within the Asia Town I.T. Park in the next one to two years.
The opening of this facility, which offers a new dimension to IT investments in the Philippines, has made the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) director general Lilia de Lima flew to Cebu just to grace the grand opening, Tuesday.
De Lima urged Collins to spread the news to his colleagues and business partners in the U.S., especially in Hollywood of the capability of Filipinos to do outsourcing jobs may it be in design, animation, among others.
She also assured Collins, that the government both in the national and local levels is committed to support in these kinds of investments.Source: Dago-oc, Ehda M. "Graphics facility for Hollywood promotional wares now in Cebu." The Cebu Freeman Online.
March 9, 2005 Cebu, Philippines. 3-9-2005. <http://thefreeman.com/business/index.php?fullstory=1&issue=articles_20050309&id=28068>
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