The Chennai-headquartered Basilic Fly Studio has made a major investment in the BAFTA and Emmy award-winning London and Paris-based VFX house, One of Us.
The deal will see the partnering of two studios whose growth has been founded on a reputation for quality. The combined skills and technologies of the two companies will create a more agile VFX partner for film, streaming, and TV content producers, in tune with the changing demands of the sector. The existing leadership will continue to lead One of Us on a day-to-day basis. The investment sees Basilic Fly take a 70% stake in One of Us, and together the studios will have capacity for over 900 artists.
Basilic Fly Studio (BFS) started with a small team of artists in Chennai over a decade ago. From these beginnings, BFS has grown into a more than 500-strong workforce with studios in Chennai, Pune, Vancouver, and London. BFS has been part of iconic projects including Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, and The Last of Us. The company’s journey includes getting listed on the India Stock Exchange, driven by a commitment to doing great work and growing the organization.
One of Us (OOU) works across film and TV, with its VFX studios in London and Paris having capacity for more than 450 artists. Founded in 2004 by Rachael Penfold, Dominic Parker, and Tom Debenham, One of Us has won two BAFTA TV awards for its work on both The Crown and The Witcher, and an Emmy for The Alienist, alongside other awards and nominations.
Over the last 5 years, BFS has worked with OOU on many of their most important projects, including: Bridgerton (Season 1 and 2); Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore; Napoleon; The Zone of Interest; and Luther: The Fallen Sun.
By uniting, BFS and OOU bring together their expertise for generating outstanding VFX, and their shared love for work that delights audiences at home and in cinemas worldwide. The deal will allow the studios to pool talent, creativity, and resources to enhance their client service offerings. Driven by the two founder-led teams, each with rich experience in VFX artistry, the studios will solidify their positions in the industry, with an even stronger framework for the imagination and inventiveness required to undertake bigger, more complex projects.
At a time of great change in the entertainment industry, with studios increasing their use of technologies such as AI, partnering will allow the studios to bolster their IT stacks and further explore ways of harnessing the vision of skilled VFX artists.
The film industry is full of challenges, and VFX is often front line – inventing new ways to realise the creative appetites and imaginations of filmmakers and creators alike. The opportunity to combine with a fast-growing studio like BFS – working closely with Bala, Yoga and their fantastic leadership is very exciting for us. It allows us to expand in ways we would not easily achieve on our own. We will bring together our brilliant and talented teams, offering a greater diversity of choice within the sector and more exciting opportunities into the hands of our artists. This will be a powerful and agile offering, at a time when the industry is transforming itself, and engaging with the work requires new and innovative thinking. On a day-to-day basis, it will remain business as usual, with myself and the founders overseeing the London studio, and Emmanuel Pichereau providing leadership in Paris.
Rachael Penfold, CEO and Co-Founder of One of Us
Since founding Basilic Fly Studios with my colleagues back in 2013, we have always wanted to create an international partner for film, TV and streaming industry and today’s deal with One of Us is an important milestone in this vision. Over the years, we have worked together on multiple projects, so we know each other incredibly well. It was immediately clear that we shared a belief in the central role of talented artists within a wider vision and culture. Throughout our relationship, I have been blown away by the skill of the One of Us team, and together with the talent of the BFS team, I am certain that we can achieve great things together.
Balakrishnan, CEO and Co-Founder of Basilic Fly Studios
