Platige Image

Platige Image was founded by Jarosław Sawko and Piotr Sikora in Warsaw, in 1997. The two met in an MBA degree program and their trust in the development potential of the animation and post-production market led them establish their own company. They raised start-up capital by selling 300 studio lamps of their own design. The company debuted with VFX work for the music video for Justyna Steczkowska's Niekochani (1997), which went on to win the Machiner award. The turning point for the studio came with their redesign of the visuals for TVP1, Poland state-owned television channel. Platige received the Golden Eagle award in 1999 for the redesign which paved its way into the world of advertising work.

Since its inception, Platige has been collaborating with the largest Polish and international advertising agencies, including BBDO, DDB, Gray, Havas Worldwide, JWT, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, PZL, Publicis, and Young and Rubicam. The steady increase of advertising jobs and commissions allowed Platige to expand its staff and operations.

The VFX work for Quo Vadis (2001) directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz was Platige's first big film challenge. A special piece of software was created solely for the purpose of automatic cloning of characters that were to populate the Roman Colosseum depicted in the movie.

Simultaneously, Platige was involved in purely artistic pursuits. Tomek Bagiński's The Cathedral, the first animated short produced by Platige was released in 2002. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Animated Short Film category a year later. The success of The Cathedral opened up the way for more original in-house productions and Platige released its next short, Marcin Waśko's Undo, in that same year.

In 2004, Platige moved into its new headquarters at Racławicka 99 in Fort Mokotów, one of the forts comprising Fortress Warsaw, a ring of fortifications constructed in the 19th century.[29]

Two years after The Cathedral, Tomek Bagiński released Fallen Art. The short received the Jury Award at the SIGGRAPH festival and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award in the Best Short Animation category.

Ça Ira, an opera by Roger Waters, had its world premiere in Poznań in 2006. Platige was commissioned by the opera's director, Janusz Józefowicz, to create the visuals for the performance. The resulting two-hour-long animation, composed of archival footage and animated sequences, was used as digital set design for the performance, accompanying the actors on stage.

In 2007, Platige released Ark, a short film directed by Grzegorz Jonkajtys. The movie was shot using MILO Motion control, a system that combined realistic set designs with computer animation.[30] Ark was screened at multiple international movie festivals and received numerous awards and honors, including the Best of Show Award at the SIGGRAPH festival, and a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival.[31]

Another landmark event of 2007 that opened up new development avenues for Platige was the collaboration with CD Projekt Red, a video game development and publishing house. As a result of that collaboration, Tomek Bagiński directed Platige's first video game cinematic for “The Witcher.” The cutscene was nominated for a Visual Effects Society award.

Also in 2007, Platige was once again involved in a theater production. The studio, in cooperation with the Warsaw-based Roma Theater, created digital stage designs for The Academy of Mr. Kleks.

Platige was subsequently commissioned to create digital set designs for “Seven Gates of Jerusalem,” a performance prepared for Krzysztof Penderecki's 75th birthday. The animation was directed by Tomek Bagiński. The show was nominated for an Emmy Award.

In 2009, two major historical motion pictures were released, both containing VFX work by Platige Image: Rafał Wieczyński's Popiełuszko: Wolność jest w nas and Andrzej Wajda's Katyń. The latter was the first Polish movie with digital post-production done in 4K resolution technology – that is in nearly thirty times the resolution of typical television productions. Platige processed over 160 shots, totaling over 15 minutes of the entire movie.

Also in 2009, the Danish production house Zentropa commissioned Platige Image to do visual effects for Lars von Trier's Antichrist.[32] The project resulted in a subsequent collaboration on the director's next movie, Melancholia, which was later nominated for the Golden Palm at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Tomek Bagiński's follow-up effort, The Kinematograph, was also released in 2009. The movie was the result of Bagiński's collaboration with Jakub Jabłoński, an illustrator who designed the visuals and served as the film's animation director. Inspired by Victorian fairy tales, Jabłoński used Mateusz Skutnik's comic, “Revolutions 3. Monochrome,” as basis for his concept art for the movie.

In that same year, Platige produced its first commercial short that utilized stereoscopy, LECH Run. The experienced enabled the studio to get involved in 3D filmmaking and similar projects.

In 2010, the studio completed three important special projects that exhibited use of animation in service of both: art and education.

Platige was commissioned by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development to create animated movies that would promote Poland at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai. One was called The Animated History of Poland and was directed by Tomek Bagiński, while the other, directed by Rafał Wojtunik, was called The Animated Guide to Polish Success.

For the Warsaw Uprising Museum, the studio created City of Ruins – the first ever digital stereoscopic reconstruction of a razed city. The film recreates the flight of a B-24 Liberator bomber over the ruins of Warsaw that took place in the spring of 1945.[33]

The National Museum in Warsaw commissioned the studio to create the first ever stereoscopic interpretation of Jan Matejko's “Battle of Grunwald (painting)” for the battle's 600th anniversary.

Commissioned by the National Culture Centre, Tomek Bagiński directed a series of ads called The Battle of the Sexcentenary for the campaign promoting the events commemorating the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald. Meanwhile, another director with a very clear and recognizable style, Damian Nenow, emerged from the Platige staff. His second short (after The Great Escape), the first he created at Platige, called Paths of Hate, received multiple awards at numerous international festivals, including the Best of Show award at SIGGRAPH, a Special Distinction at the Annecy IAFF and was nominated for a Visual Effects Society award.[34]

In 2011, Platige faced a whole new challenge: preparing a complex image campaign for the Polish Tourism Organization that would promote Poland at ITB Berlin, the largest tourism trade fair in the world. The campaign slogan: Move Your Imagination. The studio undertook a successful attempt to radically overhaul Poland's image abroad using modern design and the possibilities offered by computer animation. The campaign featured a series of animated movies, the use of massive sculptures of the campaign characters in various public spots in Berlin and outdoor advertising, as well as an interactive stereoscopic show for the 5,000 people that participated in the opening ceremony of the trade fair.

The end of 2011 brought three more important events.

On December 14, 2011, Platige became a publicly traded company by entering the NewConnect stock market. On the day of its stock exchange debut, the price of Platige shares soared by 32.1%, leveling out at 21 PLN. A year later, the price of Platige shares (identified by the PLI symbol) has risen by another 76%.[35]

A design of the permanent exhibition at the Museum of Polish History, developed jointly by Platige and the WWAA architecture design studio, has been selected as the winner of an international contest organized by the Museum authorities. Also in 2011, the studio established a working relationship with the Qatari government to produce “Dream 2030,” an animated short directed by Grzegorz Jonkajtys and Rafał Wojtunik. It was Platige's first production for the new market.

The year 2012 opened up new avenues for development. The company started a subsidiaries based in New York City – Platige Image, LLC and Platige Image, US, and in São Paulo, Platige established relations with Jarbas Agnelli, an acclaimed director from Brazil, and his agency, AD Studio.

Also in 2012, the studio produced the opening cinematic for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. The animation received numerous awards and honors, including the prestigious Gold Award at the London International Awards. [36]

On December 18, 2012, on Qatar National Day, the studio released its biggest movie production yet. The film, called Hero and Message and produced for the Qatari government, is a 25-minute-long animation composed of over 500 shots that took 6 months to complete.

In January 2013, the studio released another cinematic, Cyberpunk 2077, a new title developed by CD Projekt Red.[37]

The Platige Image Group Companies consists of:[38]

1. DOBRO sp. z o.o.

   A Warsaw-based entity specializes in film production and organization of film sets.

2. Platige Films sp. z o.o.

   Headquartered in Warsaw, engages in self-production of film projects and intellectual property management. Presently, Platige Image S.A. owns 400 shares worth PLN 200,000, equivalent to 100% of the company's share capital.

3. Fatima Film sp. z o.o. and Fatima Film sp. z o.o. sp. k.

   Both based in Warsaw, were acquired by the Issuer, which now holds 100% of the capital of Fatima sp. z o.o. The latter company serves as the sole general partner of Fatima sp. z o.o. sp. k., which has the Issuer as its only limited partner. These entities were established to implement a new system for managing large-scale projects through separate entities. This structure allows for the implementation of different financing strategies for various projects and for attracting partners for individual productions. The purpose of the Fatima companies is to transfer the Fatima project from Platige Films sp. z o.o. and secure financing for its completion.

4. Platige sp. z o.o. and Platige sp. z o.o. sp. k.

   Headquarters in Warsaw. The Issuer has acquired 100% of the share capital of Platige sp. z o.o. with a value of PLN 5,000. Platige sp. z o.o. is the only limited partner of Platige sp. z o.o. sp. k. The Issuer is the only general partner in Platige sp. z o.o. sp. k. The task of these companies is to acquire new projects for the Platige Image Group S.A. and develop business contacts with new partners.

5. IMAGE GAMES S.A.

   Based in Warsaw, has a share capital of PLN 106,444.50, with the Issuer holding 24.43% of the total number of votes. The issue price of the subscribed shares corresponds to their par value. The company operates both domestically and internationally, with a focus on creating and commercializing games in the AA segment.

6. PJ GAMES sp. z o.o.

   Headquarters in Warsaw. The share capital of PJ GAMES sp. z o.o. is PLN 105,000, of which 80% is subscribed by the Issuer and 20% by Juggler Games sp. z o.o. The issue price and sale price of shares correspond to their nominal value. The share of votes in PJ GAMES is equal to the share of the share capital. The aim of PJ GAMES' activity is to develop a computer game project, initiated by Juggler Games and agreed upon by the Issuer and Juggler Games, to the so-called gold master version (i.e. the final version of the game) and its commercial distribution.

7. PLATIGE INC.

   Represents the broad interests of Platige Image S.A. in the United States.

8. PLATIGE US LLC.

   Represents the broad interests of Platige Image S.A. in the United States. Platige INC. holds 75% of the capital and voting shares of Platige US LLC.

• Platige Image
• Shorts of Platige Image with their descriptions and biographies of directors
• Platige Image profile on Behance, where the company presented background information about their productions