RISING TALENT 2023 - VFX AND ANIMATION

VFX AND ANIMATION

So impressed are we with the industry’s up-and-comers, we have decided to make our Rising Talent list an annual fixture. These are the people we think the industry needs to sit up and take notice of; the names you’ll need to know and want to work with in the years ahead. Some faces are relatively new, while others have recently moved up the chain into leadership positions where they are making change.

Thank you again to everyone who helped us put this list together, including the hundreds of submissions we received through our public call out. We know this list is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the talent in this industry, but we hope it hints towards its future.

ALANA LENNIE

Alana Lennie is lead lighting technical director for Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) Sydney.

With over 10 years of experience in the visual effects industry, Lennie has built a career in CGI lighting and rendering for feature film and episodic work.

Starting her career at Iloura Melbourne in 2012, Lennie has worked across three continents at studios such as Digital Domain and Framestore. After years abroad, Lennie returned to Australia to land her current role at ILM.

Her credits include Star Wars: Episode VIII, Ready Player One, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and most recently The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Passionate about the space where film, technology and creativity intersect, Lennie’s lighting TD role sits at the end of the 3D pipeline and leverages 3D software such as Maya and Katana and render engines such as Renderman to realise the vision and creative direction of the client and visual effects supervisor.

Often handling complex computer-generated assets, effects simulations and animation, Alana’s workday ranges from technical problem solving for physically-based rendering to using creative knowledge of composition, colour and lighting to enhance storytelling within film.

Lennie loves the different voices, backgrounds and talents that come together within visual effects and is passionate about promoting and inspiring gender diversity within the industry.

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MATT CRUMP

Matt Crump is an effects lead for Rising Sun Pictures, based in Brisbane. Crump has worked as a visual effects and motion design artist for more than 10 years, working at Cutting Edge as Houdini FX TD prior to joining Rising Sun Pictures as senior effects artist in 2021.

Throughout his career, he has contributed to various projects, including Thor: Love and Thunder, working on some of the most challenging RSP sequences in the film, as well as The Boys, Winchester, Jungle and Tidelands. He is currently working as an effects lead on a high-profile film for which he has developed and instituted crucial workflows.

Colleagues have recognised Crump for his dedication, attitude and passion for his craft, coupled with his genuine personality.

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TESSA BRIGHT

Tessa Bright is the animation director for Flying Bark Productions on series LEGO: Monkie Kid. Bright studied Bachelor of Arts (Animation) at QUT from 2008-2011, and started as a junior at Flying Bark in 2016. She quickly rose to animation director, managing 40 animators, in a short space of time – striking a balance of traditional and contemporary animation techniques.

Bright’s other credits include Nickelodeon’s Glitch Techs, Nickelodeon’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Netflix’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, and the recently revealed Hades II trailer.

LEGO: Monkie Kid is a high stakes action comedy series that is an amalgamation of frenetic goofy animation styles and Anime-influenced action sequences. Bright’s team hand draws every frame in the show.

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JORDAN MCINNES

Jordan McInnes was a freelance character rigger at various studios around Sydney, before coming to Alt.vfx for what was to be a short one-month stint back in 2014. Recognising his skills and potential, Alt offered him a full-time role immediately, and he has been with the company ever since.

McInnes has been an instrumental part of Alt’s creature animation team, alongside his animation partner Chris Renatoul. Together, the team have created creatures for multiple films and TV shows such as The Power of the Dog, La Brea, and Penguin Bloom.

Promoted to CG Supervisor in 2019, McInnes helps oversee Alt’s entire pipeline of work across film, television and commercials, and has helped find and train the next generation of animation and VFX artists, a mentoring role that continues to this day. He has become an integral part of the technical and creative team, and the company’s motion capture and virtual production facility – Steelbridge Studio – helping to raise the profile of Brisbane as a creative hub.

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JOHN BASTIAN AND BEN WARD

AI experts and post-doctoral researchers Dr. John Bastian and Dr. Ben Ward joined Rising Sun Pictures in 2021 and contributed to sequences for Marvel Studios’ ShangChi and the Legend of the Ten Rings by developing a technique for facial replacement.

Since then, the duo has helped evolve this technique and technology, which has enabled RSP to accomplish more photo-realistic results. Their work has been considered fundamental to innovating RSP’s VFX pipeline and AI capabilities.

Prior to joining RSP, the pair worked at Australian Institute for Machine Learning for three years researching and developing machine learning and computer vision technology.

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