CRAFTY APES APPOINTS SEAN LOOPER AS CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Leading VFX Studio Names New Key Hire to the Executive Team

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Crafty Apes, a full-service visual effects powerhouse, has expanded its executive team by appointing Sean Looper as their new Chief Technology Officer. 

Looper’s 25 years in digital content creation includes product development, engineering management, software engineering, and business development roles at companies such as Amazon Web Services, DreamWorks Animation, and Sony Pictures Imageworks where he led VFX-focused technology initiatives and new product development.

“I’m excited to join Crafty Apes at this unprecedented time in our industry,” Looper remarked. “There’s great opportunity to facilitate the creativity and productivity of artists around the world by leveraging cutting edge technology—such as AI/ML and cloud infrastructure—to meet the rapidly growing demand for content with the highest visual fidelity. With Crafty Apes ingenuity and extraordinary reputation for delivering results, the potential for innovation is limitless.”

As a patent holder in cloud-driven interactive rendering technologies, with credits on over 50 feature films, Looper will drive technical strategy for Crafty Apes in cloud-based workstations, AI/ML utilization, asset management, and work-from-home enabling technologies. Active in the open-source community, Looper has been a member of the Academy Software Foundation’s Technical Advisory Council for the last three years.

Crafty Apes’ Chief Executive Officer, Craig German, commented, “I first worked with Sean almost 15 years ago when he was already a superstar in VFX solution development. Most recently, we were Amazon colleagues, with Sean leading the software team for a new suite of creative products for AWS. Sean has always been impressive, and we are fortunate to have him join us to continue refining our technology vision and lead our innovation efforts across the company.”

Crafty Apes, a portfolio company of Gemspring Capital, is a full-service visual effects company started in Los Angeles, with additional studios in Atlanta, New York, Baton Rouge, Albuquerque, Montreal and Vancouver. Beginning as a VFX studio for film and TV, Crafty Apes has grown to include a talented roster of creative and production supervisors that offers AI and machine learning research, development and production, virtual production consultation and asset creation, set supervision, plate photography and scanning, concept design and direction for broadcast commercials, 3D CGI previs, environment creation and effects, and high quality 2D compositing. Crafty Apes’ blockbuster film credits include The Batman, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as well as critically acclaimed TV and streaming shows Star Trek: Picard, The Orville, Barry, Westworld, Stranger Things, The Staircase and many more. For more information, visit craftyapes.com

Gemspring Capital, a Westport, Connecticut-based private equity firm with $1.5 billion of capital under management, provides flexible capital solutions to lower middle market companies. Gemspring partners with talented management teams and takes a partnership approach to helping drive revenue growth and value creation. Target companies have up to $500 million in revenue and are in the aerospace & defense, business services, consumer services, financial and insurance services, healthcare services, industrial services, media services, software and tech-enabled services, or specialty manufacturing sectors. For more information, visit www.gemspring.com.

Crafty Apes Media Contact:
Storyline Public Relations
Marilyn Lintel
Marilyn@storylinepublicrelations.com

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SOURCE Crafty Apes