The company adds Jason Billington and Javier ‘Roca’ Roca, and promotes Brian Kubovcik and Phil Prates, as creative directors across its global studios.
Pitch Black has appointed Jason Billington, Javier “Roca” Roca, Brian Kubovcik, and Phil Prates as creative directors across its global studio network, reinforcing leadership across Rising Sun Pictures, El Ranchito, and FOLKS.
Together, the four bring decades of experience from studios including ILM, MPC, Wētā FX, and Rodeo FX, with credits spanning Academy Award- and BAFTA-recognized films, Emmy-nominated series, and multiple VES Award-winning projects.
Billington joins Rising Sun Pictures as creative director and senior VFX supervisor, bringing experience across feature film and episodic production. His recent credits include Lilo & Stitch, Primate, Strays, and Mortal Kombat. He previously led VFX teams on Deepwater Horizon, which earned him an Academy Award nomination, and Thirteen Lives, which was recognized with a VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.
Roca joins Pitch Black as creative director and senior VFX supervisor, initially focused on creative leadership and client engagement for El Ranchito. His recent work includes John Wick: Chapter 4 and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, along with Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian, and See. He is a VES and HPA Award winner and Emmy nominee.
Kubovcik and Prates move into creative director roles while continuing as senior VFX supervisors at FOLKS, strengthening the studio’s creative leadership across film and episodic work. Kubovcik’s credits include Cape Fear, M.I.A., Chad Powers, Yellowstone, 1923, Lioness, Landman, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Prates’ recent credits include The Creator, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Wednesday, Daredevil: Born Again, and The Black Phone 2.
The four will serve as senior creative partners to clients across development, bidding, and production, working with filmmakers and studios to shape visual strategies, develop solutions, and support creative collaboration from concept through final delivery.
“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Jason and Roca, and to see Phil and Brian step into these roles,” said Sebastien Bergeron, CEO at Pitch Black. “They each bring a rare combination of creative instinct, technical expertise, and leadership. They are trusted partners to filmmakers, showrunners, and studios, which is exactly how we see our role as Pitch Black.”
They join a roster of more than 40 VFX supervisors across Pitch Black, adding to a group with decades of combined experience, award-winning expertise, and credits on numerous film and episodic projects. Recent credits across the group include Michael, Sinners, Heated Rivalry, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Marty Supreme, Wicked for Good, and IT: Welcome to Derry.
Pitch Black Creative, operating as Pitch Black, is a global collective of creative brands with a history in digital production for film, television, and streaming media. The group brings together visual effects studios FOLKS, Rising Sun Pictures, El Ranchito, and Square One, and maintains 14 studio locations worldwide.
Source: Pitch Black Creative
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
