Artjail
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2008
- Employees
- 11-50
- Offices
- 3
About Artjail
Artjail is an independent, artist-driven visual-effects and finishing boutique founded in New York City by Steve Mottershead. The studio combines high-end 2D compositing, 3D CGI, animation, colour grading, design and commercial finishing for advertising, entertainment and cultural work.
Its craft-oriented model is built around close collaboration with directors, agencies and production companies, positioning Artjail as a nimble alternative to large multinational post-production facilities. The company works across commercial campaigns, feature films, streaming and episodic projects, music videos, and museum or video-art installations.
Capabilities
- Visual effects and compositing: complex shot integration, clean-up, rig removal, screen replacement, beauty work and automotive VFX.
- CGI and motion design: asset creation, texturing, lighting, simulation, character and photoreal effects, motion graphics, title design and look development.
- Colour and finishing: DI and commercial grading using FilmLight Baselight and DaVinci workflows.
- Production support: on-set VFX supervision, HDRI capture, camera-tracking data and technical consultation for directors and agencies.
Artjail expanded from its original New York operation to Toronto in 2019 and Santa Monica in 2022, maintaining unified creative management and resource sharing across its studios. Its technical workflows incorporate tools including Flame, Flare, Nuke, Maya, 3ds Max, Ceta and Baselight.
Selected work spans campaigns for Apple, Squarespace, IKEA, Budweiser, Nike, Ford, Lincoln, GE and Smartwater, alongside long-form and cultural projects. Credits include Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Cutie and the Boxer, A Man Called Otto, Slumberland, The Mandalorian, All the Light We Cannot See, Kanye West’s “Power,” and work for OK Go and Florence and the Machine.
More about Artjail
Leadership
- Steve Mottershead is founder, Chief Creative Officer and partner.
- John Skeffington serves as Managing Director, Executive Producer and partner; JD Yepes is Executive Creative Director and partner for Los Angeles.
- Toronto leadership includes partners Andres Kirejew, Head of 2D, and Gene Dreitser, Head of 3D. Christoph Schröer is Creative Director and partner.
- In 2024, Grammy-winning industry veteran Patrick Nugent joined as Executive Producer and Head of Sales for the New York and Los Angeles studios.
Studio practice
Artjail describes its operating model as collaborative and craft-oriented, with shared resources and unified creative management across its studios. Its Toronto facility was designed by StudioAC as an architectural destination space.
Notable credits
17 creditsOffices
Where Artjail is based
- 50 Eldridge Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10002New York, United States
Artjail New York
HeadquartersFounding flagship studio in Manhattan's Chinatown.
- 1621 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M6K 1V2Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Artjail Toronto
Opened 2019
Direct Artjail studio established in 2019; it provides localized finishing, Baselight colour grading and CGI work.
- 1524 Cloverfield Blvd, Suite A, Santa Monica, CA 90404Santa Monica, California, United States
Artjail Los Angeles
Opened 2022
Direct West Coast studio serving the Los Angeles market; opened in September 2022.
Open roles
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