Rising Sun Pictures (RSP) is an Australian visual effects company headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia, co-founded and headed by Tony Clark. Since April 2021 it has been owned by FuseFX. Its film and television credits include Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Deadpool & Wolverine, Charlotte's Web (2006 film), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (film) and Knuckles (TV series).
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Visual effects |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Flinders Street, , |
Key people | Jennie Zeiher (Company President) |
| Parent | Pitch Black Company |
| Website | www |
History
editThe company was founded in 1995 by Tony Clark, Wayne Lewis, and Gail Fuller in Adelaide. It is named after the Rising Sun Inn in the Adelaide suburb of Kensington,[1] where they held their first meeting.[2]
In 2015, RSP formed a partnership with the University of South Australia whereby nine Bachelor of Media Arts students would work at RSP as part of their degree.[3] This collaboration continues as of 2022, with graduates in high demand and several subsequently employed at RSP.[4]
In 2016, the company launched a production office in Sydney, located at Fox Studios Australia. This is intended to support both local Australian filmmakers (many of whom are based nearby and use Fox for shooting, editorial and other production and post-production work) as well as its ongoing work with international clients. Having a base in Sydney would allow RSP to become involved at an earlier stage of production. This office has since been closed down.[5]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia's relative insulation from the worst effects allowed film and television production to continue in near-normal conditions, including the production of Mortal Kombat in Adelaide.
In March 2021 RSP expanded its offices and studios.[6] In mid-2021, it opened a small production studio in Southbank precinct of Brisbane, Queensland.[4]
In April 2021, Los Angeles-based FuseFX acquired Rising Sun Pictures.[1][7] No operational changes were planned at the company, which would continue to maintain its brand, but the acquisition would allow it to expand further.[8]
Rising Sun has worked with the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, enabling it to develop some cutting-edge new tools.[9]
In January 2023, the Pitch Black Company[10] was founded to encompass all of the brands owned by the now defunct Fuse Group. This includes Folks VFX, FuseFX, Rising Sun Pictures and El Ranchito VFX.
Description and people
editRSP's offices are located on Flinders Street, in Adelaide.
As of June 2022[update] Tony Clark,[11] leads the studio under the Rising Sun Pictures brand. Meredith Meyer-Nichols is head of production and executive producer.[12] In 2021 there were around 270 staff employed in Adelaide.[8]
Awards
editThe company has won many awards, including AEAF Special Merit Awards for Mortal Kombat and series 2 of The Boys in 2021.[13]
In 2022, RSP won two AEAF Bronze Awards, for Jungle Cruise and Cowboy Bebop.[13] In the same year, VFX supervisor Julian Hutchens was co-winner of the AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation for the team's work on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.[14]
ARIA Music Awards
editThe ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARIA Music Awards of 2003 | Rising Sun Pictures for Rogue Traders' "One of My Kind" | Best Video | Nominated | [15] |
- Ahsoka (2023)
- Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
- Andor (Season 1) (2022)
- Animal World (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
- Black Widow (2021)
- Candyman (2021)
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Cocaine Bear (2023)
- Cowboy Bebop (2021)
- Deadpool & Wolverine (Upcoming)
- Dumbo (2019)
- Elvis (2022)
- Ford v Ferrari (2019)
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
- Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
- Gravity (2013)
- Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
- Hawkeye (2021)
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
- Jungle Cruise (2021)
- Knuckles (Upcoming)
- Loki (Season 2) (2023)
- Logan (2017)
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023)
- Mortal Kombat (2021)
- One Piece (2023)
- Peter Rabbit (2018)
- See (Season 3) (2022)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
- Superman Returns (2006)
- The Boys (Season 2) (2020)
- The Boys (Season 3) (2022)
- The Fall Guy (2024)
- The Hunger Games (2012)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
- The Marvels (2023)
- The Predator (2018)
- The Wolverine (2013)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Tomb Raider (2018)
- X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Involvement in open source projects
editProjects sponsored by Rising Sun Pictures include:[17]
- Earth - a utility for finding files across a large network of machines and track disk usage in real time
- pyshake - integrates Python with Shake[further explanation needed]
- Affogato - a plugin for Avid's Softimage XSI 3D animation software
- Sun Grid Engine - added Array Job Interdependencies
See also
edit- Cospective, software company that started as Rising Sun Research
- List of film production companies
- List of television production companies
References
edit- ^ a b "Our Story". Rising Sun Pictures. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Mary (22 April 2015). "The Forager: New dawn for Rising Sun". InDaily. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ "Rising Sun collaboration – a new dawn for UniSA media arts students". UniSA. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Rising Sun Pictures launches studio in Brisbane". Ausfilm. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Rising Sun Pictures launches production office in Sydney". FilmInk. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Rising Sun Pictures Expands Studio and Staff As Production Rebounds In Australia". SHOOTonline. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Adelaide visual effects studio Rising Sun Pictures acquired by US giant". Business News Australia. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ a b Spence, Andrew (9 April 2021). "Rising Sun Pictures sold to Hollywood studio". InDaily. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Excellence in Science & Industry Collaboration". SA Science Excellence and Innovation Awards. 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "The Fuse Group is now the Pitch Black Company". FuseFX. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
- ^ "Ausfilm member spotlight: Tony Clark, Rising Sun Pictures". Ausfilm. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Our Team Archive". Rising Sun Pictures. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Awards and Nominations" (PDF). 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Newman, Crystel (5 December 2022). "2022 AACTA Award win". RSP. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ ARIA Award previous winners. "Winners by Award – Artisan Awards – Best Video". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "Filmography". Rising Sun Pictures. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Projects at Open Source at Rising Sun Pictures". Rising Sun Pictures. Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2007.