Veteran of the visual effects sector Alaric McAusland has been appointed Executive Director of DNEG’s new VFX and Animation studio in Sydney, Australia. He holds the position from January 2023.
A former director of technology company Deluxe Entertainment Service Group Australia (which included Iloura in Melbourne and Method Studios in Sydney), McAusland was also previously COO of Los Angeles-based production company Grace: A Storytelling Company.
Earlier in his career, McAusland was a member of the Foundation staff, VFX Producer and GM for Australian VFX company, DFILM, which won an Academy Award for its work on “The Matrix”.
In addition, McAusland was a former Chairman of the Australian Film Promotion Authority Ausfilm and was Executive Director of the Australian Directors Guild.
Alaric has an impressive history of significant contributions to the film industry. Merzin Tavaria, DNEG’s Head of Production and Global Operations, said his extensive industry experience and extensive list of contacts will be an invaluable asset to DNEG as we continue to solidify our local presence in Sydney and integrate our new studio into our global network. .
The global effects and post-production giant confirmed last month that it is opening a new full-service VFX studio in Pyrmont, Sydney. The unit is located in Sydney’s Tech Central area and is scheduled to open in early 2023 and will have a total seating capacity of 500.
She is set to take the lead on complex visual effects projects for film and episodic television projects, with visual effects work on George Miller’s highly anticipated Mad Max movie “Furiosa” among his first assignments. The facility will also be home to a new studio for DNEG Animation, the animation studio behind Kid Cudi’s Netflix animated love story “Entergalactic.”
Academy Award-winning and Australian VFX supervisor Andrew Jackson (“Tenet,” Christopher Nolan’s upcoming “Oppenheimer,” “Mad Max: Fury Road.”) has moved from DNEG London to head up the studio’s work as creative director for DNEG Sydney, it was announced Last month.
At the end of a record year for the Australian visual effects industry and with Australia’s film industry going from strength to strength, attracting more international films and series, as well as bolstering a slate of amazing local projects such as Furiosa, I can’t think of a better time for DNEG to open their newest studio. Cosmopolitan in Sydney,” McAusland said.
A Screen Australia report recently showed that post digital and visual effects expenditures on Australian and foreign drama titles reached A$553 million ($378 million) from July 2021 to June 2022. That was up 71% in 2020-2021 and 56% above the average 5 years. “The result was PDV spending of A$289 million ($197 million) on foreign PDV titles alone, more than double the previous year, and 93% above the 5-year average,” the report states. PDV spend by Australian titles was A$196 million ($134 million) – the highest level since 2009-10 – up 51% in 2020-21 and 17% above the 5-year average. PDV’s total spend on foreign shooting titles for 2021/22 was a record A$69 million ($47 million), up 21% in 2020-21 and 86% above the 5-year average.
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