Studio PHD Launches in Los Angeles

Published on June 6, 2017

A new creative collective called PHD has opened its doors in Los Angeles, led by visual effects industry veterans John Hughes (co-founder, Rhythm & Hues) and Helena Packer (VFX supervisor, 21 Jump Street, Charlie Wilson’s War) and film/TV/commercials director Kevin Donovan. The shop will offer full service post-production across VR/AR, indie films, documentaries, select TV projects and commercials, as well as live-action production services.

“In a sense, our new company is a reconfigured version of R&H, but now we are much smarter, much more nimble, and much more results driven,” said Hughes. “We have very little overhead to deal with. Our team is among the best in the world, and has worked on hundreds of award winning films and commercials, many of which have featured highly acclaimed digital animals, such as the Oscar-winning Life of Pi.”

PHD is capable of providing soup-to-nuts services, including all post-production, color grading, off and online editorial, high quality VFX, and deliver all on a cost-efficient fee structure for its diverse worldwide clients. Since launching, PHD has already worked on a number of projects, including several PSAs for climate change organization 5 to Do Today and animal advocacy group WildAid.

“The word ‘Value’ is of utmost importance to us when it comes to our clients. PHD is a highly efficient new company – we have digital artists here in Los Angeles, as well as in India, Malaysia and South Africa. Our combined team has extensive experience in prepping, shooting and handling all aspects of production and post-production for visual effects,” added Packer. “The team is based upon creating world-class, VFX storytelling with the hands-on involvement of all the principals on every project. Because of our vast network of worldwide talent, we are able to produce stunning results in the most efficient, timely, and cost-effective manner possible.”