The story of Rising Sun Pictures starts 22 years ago at the cosy Norwood pub the Rising Sun.
Presumably over a glass of wine, a small crew had the bright idea to create a visual effects company in what was then a still-burgeoning industry.
Today, of that small crew, current-day directors Tony Clark, Wayne Lewis and Gail Fuller remain, and the company they’ve built has become world-renowned, contributing to such films as Charlotte’s Web, Gravity, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the soon-to-be-released Thor: Ragnarok.
It’s an incredible story of South Australian success, but as the visual effects industry continues to grow, the team at Rising Sun Pictures show no signs of resting on its laurels.
It is operating in an increasingly competitive field, and so is continually investing in building the next generation of visual effects pioneers, through the job opportunities on offer, as well as through its UniSA-accredited courses.
These will be the topics of discussion for Anna Hodge, Rising Sun Pictures’ manager of training and education, when she brings the company to South Australia’s largest career expo, JOBEX.
“It would be great to get people into what we offer through accredited trainings through the University of South Australia. It would also be a great opportunity to get locals employed, and that’s what we’re about – we’re about employing locals as much as possible,” Hodge says.
There is a misconception, she says, that visual effects is a purely creative industry, but there is much more opportunity than people might realise.
“We’re always looking for good people that are coordinators or production managers that can lead teams – and so… promoting it as a career, because there are so many different disciplines within visual effects, not just animation.”
Because the company is engaged in both industry and education, the skills its students acquire meet the current expectations of the industry, meaning they can harness a range of employment opportunities.
“It is a great career choice, and we are the largest company here in Adelaide, but there are other companies too, and I think if you’re passionate and you want to work in visual effects, you can get there,” Hodge says.
Rising Sun Pictures’ head of sales and business development, Jennie Zeiher, agrees: “There’s a lot of really interesting innovators here in South Australia.
“I look at Mighty Kingdom; they’re not obviously visual effects, but they’re doing really, really interesting things and really growing. There’s also companies like Resin, who are also doing interesting things. A lot of television and commercial-based projects as well.”
To find out more about the opportunities at Rising Sun Pictures, and the broader visual effects and film industries here in South Australia, head to the JOBEX website, register for your free ticket, and go along to the expo.
Solstice Media has partnered with the South Australian Government to provide information on the job opportunities in emerging industries being exhibited at JOBEX.
