The Imaginarium, also known as Imaginarium Productions, is a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

linked to a digital performance-capture studio based in London, founded by actor-director

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Go ...

and film producer Jonathan Cavendish in 2011. The studio is dedicated to the invention of believable, emotionally engaging digital characters using performance capture technology. It specialises 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 ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2011 American science fiction film directed by Rupert Wyatt from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is a reboot of the ''Planet of the Apes'' film franchise, which is based on the 1963 nov ...

'' (2011), '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), and '' Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens'' (2015).

History

first became interested in "cyber-thespianism" when he worked with Peter Jackson at his Weta Workshop in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

for ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' trilogy and ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'' (2005). Serkis stated, "People come out of

film school A film school is an educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training ar ...

s not equipped with the skills for doing anything other than shooting

kitchen sink drama Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose protagonists usually could be described as "angry young men" w ...

. 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 Jonathan Cavendish in 2009, opening The Imaginarium officially in 2011 after securing a permanent place at

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

in London. In January 2012 the studio signed an agreement with Vicon, the world's largest supplier of precision motion tracking systems. In May 2017, The Imaginarium Studios was subject to a management buyout having lost £4.2 million over the preceding two years. The company went into administration on 15 May 2017 facing insolvency due to project delays. The first feature film produced by The Imaginarium, '' Breathe'', directed by Serkis (also the story of Robin Cavendish, the father of Serkis' business partner, Jonathan) and starring

Andrew Garfield Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. ''Time' ...

Claire Foy Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

Tom Hollander Thomas Anthony Hollander (; born 25 August 1967) is an English actor. As a child Hollander trained with the National Youth Theatre and was later involved in stage productions as a member of the Footlights and was president of the Marlowe Soc ...

, and

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams (born 10 November 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey''. His performance on the show earned him a no ...

, was the opening night gala presentation of the 2017 BFI London Film Festival.

Filmography

*''

'' (2011) *''

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ''Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2014 American science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves from a screenplay by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is the sequel to ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' (2011), and the second in ...

'' (2014) *'' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015) *'' Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens'' (2015) *''

War for the Planet of the Apes ''War for the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2017 American science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves from a screenplay by Reeves and Mark Bomback, and produced by Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is the sequel to ''Daw ...

'' (2017) * '' Breathe'' (2017; production studio) * '' The Ritual'' (2017; production studio) *'' Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi'' (2017) *'' Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle'' (2018; production studio) *''

No One Gets Out Alive ''No One Gets Out Alive'' is a 2014 horror novel by British author Adam Nevill. It was published in the United Kingdom in 2014 by Pan MacMillan and United States in 2015 by St. Martin's Press and focuses on a young woman who moves into a cheap a ...

'' (2021) *'' Venom: Let There Be Carnage'' (2021)

Upcoming

* '' Next Goal Wins'' (2023; production studio) * ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to c ...

'' (TBA) * ''The Last House on Needless Street'' (TBA)

TV shows

* ''

Fungus The Bogeyman ''Fungus the Bogeyman'' is a 1977 children's picture book by British artist Raymond Briggs. It follows one day in the life of the title character, a working class Bogeyman with the mundane job of scaring human beings. The character and all relate ...

'' (2015) * '' Death and Nightingales'' (2018) * ''

The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself ''The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself'' is a British fantasy drama television series created by Joe Barton, based on the novel '' Half Bad'' by Sally Green. The series tells the story of Nathan Byrne, a young man discovering his true identity a ...

'' (2022)

Music videos

Adventure of a Lifetime "Adventure of a Lifetime" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was released on 6 November 2015 as the lead single from their seventh studio album, ''A Head Full of Dreams'' (2015). The track reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart an ...

" by

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

(2015)

Theatre

*'' The Tempest'', part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2016-17 season.

Video games

*'' Battlefield 1'' (2016) *'' Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice'' (2017) *'' Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier'' (2017) *''

Star Citizen Logo Cloud Imperium Games ''Star Citizen'' is an in-development multiplayer, space trading and combat simulation game. The game is being developed and published by Cloud Imperium Games for Microsoft Windows. An extended retry of unrealized plans ...

'' (TBA)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Film production companies of the United Kingdom