Industry Performance capture Website Official website Type of business Production company | Area served Worldwide Founded 2011 | |
Services Film production
Video game development Headquarters Ealing, London, United Kingdom Key people Andy Serkis, Jonathan Cavendish | ||
The Imaginarium Studios (also known as The Imaginarium) is a British digital studio based in London, founded by actor-director Andy Serkis and producer Jonathan Cavendish in 2011. The studio specializes in applying motion capture technology in film, television and video games. Since 2011, it has provided performance capture for international films including Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015).
Contents
History
Serkis first became interested in "cyber-thespianism" when he first worked with Peter Jackson at his Weta Workshop in New Zealand for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong (2005). Serkis stated, "People come out of film schools not equipped with the skills for doing anything other than shooting kitchen sink dramas. We need to change our mindset, cross-fertilise our talent and encourage writers, directors and producers to think on a much larger scale."
Serkis partnered with Cavendish in 2009, opening The Imaginarium officially in 2011 after securing a permanent place at Ealing Studios in London. In January 2012 the studio signed an agreement with Vicon, the world's largest supplier of precision motion tracking systems.
Upcoming projects
On 20 October 2012 it was announced that The Imaginarium had secured film rights for Samantha Shannon's novel The Bone Season, along with rights to a new adaptation of Animal Farm. “The dystopian world created by Samantha in The Bone Season series offers a fantastic setting for a truly extraordinary and thrilling narrative,” said Serkis. “We are honoured that she chose to collaborate with us in the adaptation of her work." Serkis and Cavendish will produce The Bone Season while Serkis will direct, and possibly star in Animal Farm. The studio will handle all motion capture for future Star Wars movies, beginning with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. The Imaginarium is also handling the motion capturing for the 2015 Marvel Studios film Avengers: Age of Ultron. Serkis' studio will also be aiding in the performance capture for the upcoming video game Star Citizen. Serkis will use the studios for his directorial debut, Jungle Book, in 2018.