
A still from the visual effects work by Rising Sun Pictures for X-Men: Apocalypse. (Image copyright © 2016 20th Century Fox)
A-Z: Top Australia and New Zealand VFX Studios
A quick guide to just some of the most active visual effects studios based in Australia and New Zealand.
Alt.vfx. The largest commercial VFX studio in the Asia Pacific, with studios in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Los Angeles. The company gained notoriety for a popular TVC for beer brand Tooheys that utilized CG deer. Other commercials it has worked on for overseas clients, including the Pepsi ‘Momotaro’ series for Japan, have generated a huge following. www.altvfx.com
Animal Logic. This Sydney-based studio, which now also has an office in Vancouver, has been operating for more than 25 years. It began in traditional VFX and continues to do so with projects like Peter Rabbit and several Marvel films, as well as in animated features such as the LEGO movies, while also developing its own IP. www.animallogic.com
Assembly. Auckland’s Assembly is strong on character animation for commercials and promos, but also regularly delivers traditional visual effects work. www.assemblyltd.com
Blockhead. Blockhead has Auckland and Sydney offices, and works predominantly in commercials while also representing several colorists. www.blockheadvfx.com
Cause+FX. Auckland’s Cause+FX studio mixes film, television and commercials work. It had particular success with realizing massive battles and fight scenes for the Spartacus TV series. www.causefx.nz
Cutting Edge. A long-time player in the Australian post-production industry, Cutting Edge is in some ways one of the few diverse studios that works in editing, visual effects and grading. www.cuttingedge.com.au
Digipost. Digipost hails from Auckland and has been in operation since 1990. Some of its stand-out work in recent years includes work on the Spartacus TV series and a number of feature films and other television shows. www.digipost.co.nz
Fin. Sydney-based Fin is a small studio with a heavy bent on design in commercials and stand-alone film VFX sequences. www.findesign.com.au
Luma Pictures. After opening a Melbourne office to join its Santa Monica operation, Luma Pictures has specialized in providing high-end VFX work for stand-out sequences in major effects films, including Black Panther, Doctor Strange and Thor: Ragnarok. www.lumapictures.com
Method Studios. Formerly Iloura – a studio with a 20-year history in Melbourne – Method Studios now operates in Sydney and Melbourne (as well as several locations around the globe). It contributed to such projects as Game of Thrones, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Mad Max: Fury Road. www.methodstudios.com
Plastic Wax. A specialist cinematics studio, Plastic Wax in Sydney works not only in executing ‘cut scenes’ and promo trailers for games, but also in story development and motion capture for them. www.plasticwax.com
Resin. Resin is one of the few VFX studios in Adelaide, and has recently ramped up its TV production on such shows as Tidelands, The Tick and Electric Dreams. www.resin.tv
Rising Sun Pictures. Adelaide-based Rising Sun Pictures is well known for one-off VFX magical moments in the films it works on, most spectacularly with the slow-motion Quicksilver sequences in X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse. www.rsp.com.au
Weta Digital. A powerhouse visual effects studio, Wellington’s Weta Digital has amassed a quarter century of iconic VFX work, ranging from Lord of the Rings to the Planet of the Apes reboot. Its sister company, Weta Workshop, is also iconic in the practical and miniature effects world. www.wetafx.co.nz