Floating Rock Studio

Floating Rock Studio is a Wellington-based CG animation, visual effects and real-time entertainment production company founded in 2020. It combines client-service production with the development of original intellectual property, working across feature film, television and streaming, games, advertising, music videos and cultural campaigns.

The studio’s work spans photorealistic and stylized character and creature animation, asset creation, creature modelling, digital doubles, facial rigging, look development and compositing. Its artists also deliver creature FX and physical simulations for cloth, hair, muscle and dynamic skin, alongside previsualization, lighting and shading.

Real-time production

A significant part of the studio’s capability is real-time game cinematics and in-game cutscenes made with Unreal Engine 5. Its game and interactive credits include Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, 007 First Light, Criminals Within, Sleight of Hand and Iron Harvest.

The company also supports commercial and campaign work, including creature animation, character animation, VFX and compositing for projects associated with Air New Zealand, UberEats, TKMaxx, PETA, Westpac and Genesis Owusu.

Original IP

Alongside vendor production, Floating Rock is developing Kyōryū, an original post-apocalyptic samurai-dinosaur property conceived as both an animated television series and an action-adventure game. The project uses the studio’s “cineplay” approach to connect narrative events and character viewpoints across the two formats.

Its original-IP activity also includes Pitchfest, an annual creator accelerator for local storytellers working in animation, games and immersive VR. The initiative offers development funding, mentorship and pitch packaging support.

Founded by animation and VFX veterans Lukas Niklaus, Garrick Rawlingson, Stephanie Parker and Laurent Herveic, the studio draws on experience across major international production environments while operating from New Zealand’s film and digital-entertainment sector.