“Adobe software is so intrinsic in the creation of media and content that it’s an enormous part of our history here at Rising Sun Pictures. For us to be able to do what we do, we need Adobe Creative Cloud.”

Ian Cope
VFX and Bidding Producer, Rising Sun Pictures

Visual effects powerhouse

Behind an unassuming shopfront in the heart of Adelaide, Australia a team of talented artists inject the “super” into superhero movies and conjure up magic for the Harry Potter franchise. Established in 1995, Rising Sun Pictures is a visual effects powerhouse boasting more than 100 project credits. Recent work includes more than 170 shots for Marvel’s new blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok, 230 shots for Logan—Hugh Jackman’s final hurrah as the iconic Wolverine—and the creation of Game of Thrones’ Great Sept of Baelor, which the Rising Sun team promptly burned to the ground via a digital inferno of green fire.

“Rising Sun has used Adobe creative software since the 1990s. That’s a pretty longstanding relationship, which gives us a lot of confidence in terms of reliability.”

Ian Cope
VFX and Bidding Producer, Rising Sun Pictures

A story of growth

By harnessing the latest technology in Adobe Creative Cloud for teams, Rising Sun’s team pushes the boundaries of film and television effects, surpassing audience expectations at every turn and delivering the story in the most visually spectacular way possible.

“What we do requires a combination of creativity and technology,” says Ian Cope, VFX and Bidding Producer for Rising Sun Pictures. “It’s all about supporting the storytelling for the film, and creating scenes that are a combination of live and sometimes computer-generated materials. Adobe software is so intrinsic in the creation of media and content, that it’s an enormous part of our history here at Rising Sun Pictures. For us to be able to do what we do, we need Adobe Creative Cloud.”

Adobe software has been an integral part of Rising Sun’s operation since the very beginning, providing reliable and effective tools, which have evolved with the company. “Rising Sun has used Adobe creative software since the 1990s,” says Cope. “That’s a pretty longstanding relationship, which gives us a lot of confidence in terms of reliability. I have worked at Rising Sun Pictures for over 17 years and every day we use Adobe applications.”

“Adobe continues to add applications and services to Adobe Creative Cloud, improve accessibility for more people, and enhance ease-of-use. Things just make sense.”

Ian Cope
VFX and Bidding Producer, Rising Sun Pictures

A cloud-based workflow

With Adobe Creative Cloud, Rising Sun’s employees can spend more time focusing on visuals that blow audiences away and less time thinking about the software itself. “Essentially, Adobe Creative Cloud and the easy access it provides to creative software, allows us to do our jobs more efficiently,” says Cope. “This ultimately means we spend less time dealing with files or technical issues, and more time just purely creating.”

“Adobe continues to add applications and services to Adobe Creative Cloud, improve accessibility for more people, and enhance ease-of-use,” he continues. “Things just make sense. I come from the days where using software made by other companies meant always having to find workarounds and hacks just to get your job done. Now, we have a comprehensive Adobe workflow that lets us work easily and efficiently.”    

Effective marketing materials

Without the ability to promote its skills, Rising Sun’s workload would soon dry up. Fortunately, Adobe Creative Cloud is just as effective at enabling the creation of promotional materials as it is at supporting the visual effects work, for which Rising Sun is known.

“We are big fans of using Adobe software to create and generate all of the content that we use to market the company, and the films that we work on,” says Cope. “When we’re looking to create a demo reel, we’ll cut a montage of all our videos for our demo reel together in Adobe Premiere Pro, with elements of Adobe After Effects included, demonstrating how the shots came together. And all the content for our website, and any print materials—be it advertisements or still images—goes through Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.”

Training next generation artists

Despite the deep integration of Adobe Creative Cloud into Rising Sun Pictures’ daily operations, there are ways the studio is looking to expand its use.

“I know that internally, for our artists and some educational opportunities, further leveraging of Adobe software is something we’re certainly interested in pursuing,” says Cope. “We have a strategic alignment with the local University of South Australia and we teach both undergraduate and graduate certificate courses in the areas of modelling, texturing, compositing, tracking, dynamic effects, and lighting. We want to include Adobe Creative Cloud in those courses, so we can train people on how we use applications such as Photoshop to create digital matte paintings, do concept design, and pitch work. It’s about looking for opportunities to train more people in areas where there is the most demand for visual effects artists.”

It’s the people Rising Sun trains today who will become the visual effects wizards of tomorrow. By harnessing the powerful set of applications and services that make up Adobe Creative Cloud the next generation of filmmakers will be able to bring to life their creative visions.