Undertone FX
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2017
- Employees
- 11-50
- Offices
- 1
About Undertone FX
Undertone FX is an independent studio specializing in real-time visual effects for games, with additional work in virtual reality, augmented reality and digital entertainment. Founded in 2017 and based in Savannah, Georgia, it provides outsourced production and co-development support to game developers and publishers. Its physical studio hub works alongside a globally distributed network of artists and technical directors.
The studio creates effects that run inside game engines, spanning gameplay interactions and cinematic sequences. Its production work includes combat effects, weapon impacts, magic, environmental particles, fluid effects and large-scale destruction. Projects range from AAA console and PC games to stylized independent productions, with effects tailored to each project's visual direction and technical requirements.
Production and technical capabilities
Undertone FX combines visual effects authoring with technical art, shader development and engine integration. Its supported toolsets include Unreal Engine's Niagara and Cascade systems, together with Unity's VFX Graph and Shuriken. The studio also develops HLSL and custom compute shaders, builds pipeline tools and editor scripts, and supports material optimization and performance profiling.
Simulation integration forms another part of its production work. The team incorporates tools such as Houdini and EmberGen into real-time pipelines, alongside optical flow vector fields and motion-vectored texture packing. These capabilities support both gameplay effects and real-time cinematics, including cutscenes and character introductions. Its services also extend to real-time asset creation for virtual production and optimization for immersive applications.
External production partnerships
The studio works as an external effects partner for developers and publishers including Blizzard Entertainment, id Software, Bethesda Softworks, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Games and Amazon Games. Its role encompasses custom effects production as well as the technical work needed to integrate and optimize those effects within a client's engine pipeline. Beyond commissioned game production, Undertone FX contributes to commercial effects assets and participates in demonstrations of real-time simulation workflows.
More about Undertone FX
Leadership and industry involvement
- David "DJ" Johnson is founder, CEO and Creative Director. His earlier career includes leading visual effects at Infinity Ward and contributing to Bungie's Halo and Destiny. The report identifies him personally as a two-time Visual Effects Society Award winner, a VES Fellow and a co-founder of the RealTimeVFX community; these distinctions belong to Johnson rather than the studio.
- Elsa Johnson is co-founder and Corporate Legal/Operations Lead. Her background includes more than 25 years of corporate legal experience, including work with Univision/Entravision and Roll Global.
Workplace and talent development
The studio describes an anti-crunch operating model with manageable schedules and paid overtime. Its distributed production infrastructure predates the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its connection with the Savannah College of Art and Design includes student mentoring, collaboration with faculty and recruitment pathways into AAA production.
Production collaborations
In its ActionVFX collaboration, the studio converted high-speed 4K practical elements into optimized engine-ready effects, including optical flow motion vector support. Its collaboration with JangaFX includes public demonstrations of EmberGen simulation workflows for game engines.
Notable credits
23 creditsOffices
Where Undertone FX is based
- 536 E 44th St, Savannah, GA 31405, United StatesSavannah, Georgia, United States
Savannah office
HeadquartersPhysical headquarters and studio hub, operating alongside a globally distributed remote workforce.
Open roles
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