08/05/2021
STARNO.NET JOINS RODEO FX
Matte painting department expands with world-class talent
MONTREAL, QC—Rodeo FX is thrilled to announce that the talented team of visual effects artists from Starno.net will be joining the Rodeo FX family. Frédéric St-Arnaud, founder and president of Starno, with more than 25 years of experience, will now head the matte painting department at Rodeo. In merging these mighty creative teams, this department will continue to evolve as one of the best in the world. “We were really on a roll, had the wind in our sails...and then Sébastien [Moreau, CEO of Rodeo FX] arrived with a really interesting proposition,” says Frédéric St-Arnaud. “We’d worked together years ago and had a great rapport so when he approached me and offered a return to Rodeo with the ambition of making a super high-end matte painting department, I was excited.”
At Rodeo’s humble beginnings, Frédéric worked as a matte painter as the company grew from 5 employees to 85. After that period, he left to pursue his own career around the world in some of the most renowned visual effects companies, and eventually came back to Montreal to start his own boutique studio.
“Frédéric is an excellent artist and we have a great relationship so it’s a powerful merging of talent to bring our two teams together at this stage, especially when things are moving ahead so quickly for both of our companies. The potential is endless,” remarks Sébastien Moreau, CEO of Rodeo FX. A versatile studio, Starno has just wrapped up a project with a major Montreal film studio and has several virtual production projects on the go. Starno’s employees and its current projects will be relocated inside Rodeo FX.
About Rodeo FX
Rodeo FX was recently nominated for three Emmy Awards for its work on the series Lovecraft Country, WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Rodeo FX is a full-service, visual effects house for acclaimed films, groundbreaking series and unforgettable ads. Founded in 2006, Rodeo FX boasts close to 600 accomplished artists, with studios in Montréal, Los Angeles, Québec and Munich. Notable projects include Academy Award®-winner Blade Runner
2049, IT Chapter 2, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Aquaman, Arrival, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Stranger Things Season 3, Watchmen, Lovecraft Country, and WandaVision. Rodeo FX recently won two VES Awards for its work on Netflix’s Stranger Things Season 3 and a 2019 VES Award for its work on Amazon’s Jack Ryan. Emmy® honours include three awards for Game of Thrones in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
