Moonraker VFX, an award-winning VFX studio based in Bristol, has secured half a million in funding from Creative England to produce their own original immersive, 3D content for theatres in science museums and planetariums around the world.
Moonraker has a long history as a creative partner in large screen projects for museums and attractions, including the recent Thea Award winning Fram Museum in Oslo, but the funding comes as a game-changing opportunity for the business, who have been keen to produce their own original content for the attraction space for some time.
The funding from Creative England will make this possible for the first time, enabling the production of a ‘Moonraker Originals’ - an IMAX film with spectacular visuals and immersive 3D moments as audiences witness meteors flying past them or volcanoes erupting right before their eyes.
Simon Clarke, Creative Director at Moonraker, commented; “As a VFX studio, we have the technical tools and expertise to realise moving images that are often hard to capture in camera. This gives us an edge to take the audiences to worlds they could never imagine - so why not package this with a great story into our own film.”
The film will play to Moonraker’s strengths and legacy of their work in the natural history and science-doc genre, and will be of high scientific value with the potential to appear on digital education platforms and link to the science curriculum.
While the initial two year project will be produced for the big screen, Moonraker anticipates spin offs in other formats, to include television, augmented reality and Flying Theatres.
Creative England empowers and invests in creative companies nationwide and their funding has been an essential component to make this a reality for Moonraker and they will have a significant input during the project. Jon Grafton, Managing Director of Moonraker, commented, “We’re delighted to be working with Creative England on this project. They will be highly invested and proactive in helping us move forward and will be important partners on the journey.”
Simon Clarke, Creative Director at Moonraker, added; “This is a hugely exciting time for Moonraker and the funding by Creative England is a real opportunity for us to drive forward our own original content and have a lot more creative and editorial control.”
“Not only will this project create ongoing revenue as we create licensable 3D content for theatres across the globe, but the films will act as a brilliant piece of marketing as we look to expand global awareness of the Moonraker brand,” he concluded.
