Creativity, Creativity, Creativity: Here’s How ROHTAU Is Reinventing VFX

It had never been my intention to set up a visual effects studio; far from it. Still, as you grow as an artist and person, your views start to be refined into a consistent vision. It’s hard to bury the feeling that those ideas are the foundation of something potentially game-changing. The thrill of once more stepping into the breach to challenge the status quo was too strong to ignore and, after all, what was the worst that could happen? That we learn a lot?

And I will save you the wait - these ideas are deceivingly simple. First of all, what motivated me to start ROHTAU is simply that I want to work with the very best artists and producers, regardless of their geographical location. Second, I want to give our clients the very best creative service possible - an extremely agile and flexible approach to tackle any project, no matter how difficult. The end result would be a way to help clients tell the best stories they could, with as little reliance on VFX as possible. 

When I look back, I consider myself the luckiest person in the world. I came to London for three weeks to work at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and 23 years later I am still here. Somehow, I’ve managed to work with some of the best directors and production companies, inspired by incredible creatives and supported by the best post houses and talent there is. And yet, we have so much more inside, so much great work to be done that it is hard not to get excited when we see a great script with the potential to break the rules.

Above: A still from ROHTAU's work for Bombay Sapphire. 

Today’s industry is living through some tectonic shifts. From the exponential advance in technology and AI, to the commodification of VFX and a pandemic that disrupted everything, these changes have to be reflected in our industry. As such, ROHTAU exists as part of a constantly shifting landscape that demands bold innovation and radical problem-solving. We needed a new model that does not rely on legacy technologies or ideas, a model that puts the artists, producers and clients at the centre of every decision. I want to think we are not yet another post house, we are building an environment where the best artists and clients come together to create something magical.

The journey for a reluctant CEO like myself has not been easy. After all, I am just a nerdy Spanish CG artist. So not only do I have to attend to things I was not well versed with (like contracts), dedicate time to things I never thought would require so much time (like taxes), and learn from mistakes I have made. But I couldn’t be more excited, because we are creating a culture of excellence and that resonates with us. Every time an artist comes back their first word is “wow”, because we keep evolving at speed and what was broken yesterday is already fixed.

So, what makes us different? And how are we solving solutions for our friends? Well, we are building a fantasy football team, if you like, for every single project., What would you ultimately prefer - a normal team, or your dream team? It is so easy to grasp, I still wonder how it’s possible that we are not better known. I guess I have to take the blame for this - marketing and sales have never been in my blood and as painful as it is, we have made some mistakes on the way. Some things we have addressed, others we are still figuring out.

This new distributed artistic model brings new possibilities, but also new problems that we have had to solve. Some are hard to fix, most notably how we communicate with a workforce that extends from Taiwan to Brazil via Alaska in one unified (and secure) environment. But, through trust, we found a solution.

In the same way we strive to build trust with our clients, we are doing exactly that with our collaborators and the results are truly spectacular. Because when you hire one of the most experienced groom artists in the world, you shouldn’t get in their way. When you get one of the best sculptors in the world, I’d rather shut up and let them do their thing. And guess what - unsurprisingly, it works. Talented people only need light touch management, and the results are loved by our clients as much as they are loved by every single artist involved, resulting in a healthy competition to excel.

Above: A still from ROHTAU's work with the NBA.

And yes, recruiting is super hard. We are on an always-on recruitment mode, a by-invitation-only approach where we identify exceptional artists and build the relationship that will allow us to work together. Not surprisingly, this is our key differentiator. We can assemble a dream team relatively easily because we are insiders, not an HR department or an artist agency. We speak the same language and have the same priorities, and we take very good care of them.

But I couldn’t have done this alone. ROHTAU was founded by a group of like-minded individuals and although we have changed quite a bit in these four years in business, we have reinforced our production team with Josh King as our head of production. Josh comes with a wealth of experience (and awards) earned over the course of a two-decade career in VFX. He’s also helping to bring our sustainability goals into sharp focus. 

We also bring Sam Napper, our new EP, to help us improve our client experience and running of projects. His impact has been equally important, and thanks to him we are reinvigorated - and more focused than ever.

What remains at our core is a passion for helping our clients tell great stories using as few visual effects as possible. Honest and lovely people alongside an army of exceptionally talented artists, motivated by the art and craft of supporting your story to make something beautiful and unique.