16 Jan – A remarkable number of Malaysia's very own home-grown talents have lent their expertise in 3D animation and visual effects processing for a bevy of renowned Hollywood movies from 2009, according to Mandeep Singh, Rhythm & Hues Malaysia's Assistant Manager of Digital Production. "Rhythm & Hues Malaysia is one of the four facilities of the US-based 3D and visual effects company that started out in Los Angeles 23 years ago and have noteworthy Hollywood titles under its belt like 'Alvin & The Chipmunk: The Squeakquel', 'The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe', 'Night At The Museum' and the 2010's 'Meet The Parents: Little Fockers', among other popular titles. One of the more recent movies that the company has finished works on would be the upcoming "Yogi Bear 3D" where it will be the studio's first stereo 3D feature film with significant contribution from the Malaysian facility as Senior Manager Hasnul Samsudin said, "We had 42 artists who had worked on the 3D animation and visual effects for "Yogi Bear (3D)" as it was our first co-production for Rhythm & Hues." Currently housing more than 95 personnel, it is learned that 90% are fresh graduates from Malaysian universities specialising in multimedia and 3D designs. The company is targeting to train more than 150 skilled employees by 2012.
The studio is currently working on the 3D animation and effects for a lot of potentially hit feature films in 2011 such as "Hop", "Everybody Loves Whales", "Red Riding Hood", "X-Men First Class" and "Mr. Popper's Penguins".