What does it take to create the visual worlds of modern cinema?

Recorded on location at RENDR 2026 in Belfast, we catch up with CG & On-Set Supervisor Noel O’Malley and BAFTA-winning DFX Supervisor Dean Koonjul of Union VFX. With credits spanning Ex Machina to 28 Years Later and Poor Things, they discuss their exciting careers, creative collaboration, and the changing demands of high-end visual effects across film and TV.

After, (at timecode 31:37) we speak to James Carson, CG Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, whose work includes KPop Demon Hunters and the upcoming feature Project Hail Mary starring Ryan Gosling. In this conversation, he reflects on his career journey from Belfast to supervising major international productions, sharing insights into working in animation and live-action, and working with teams on ambitious projects.

This series of talks was recorded in The Spinners Mill Studio, a podcast and DJ studio based in Banana Block offering tailored solutions for DJ sessions, small-scale events and podcasting from concept to final distribution.

We are delighted to present a very special speaker series in partnership with RENDR Festival and supported by the National Talent Academy for VFX.

James Carson - CG Supervisor

James is a CG Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, most recently working on the global phenomenon KPOP Demon Hunters for Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix. Carson is currently supervising the live-action feature Project Hail Mary, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and starring Ryan Gosling. His other CG Supervisor credits include the animated feature In Your Dreams and the Academy Award®-nominated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Carson joined Imageworks in 2015 and has served as a Lighting TD and Lighting Lead, working on both animated and live-action projects. His additional Imageworks credits include: In Vaulted Halls Entombed, Mulan, the Academy Award®-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Smurfs: The Lost Village, The Angry Birds Movie 2, The Meg, and Alice Through the Looking Glass. Prior to Imageworks, Carson worked in various roles at Image Engine, ScanlineVFX, Prime Focus World, MPC, DNEG, and Zoic Studios. Carson is from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Union VFX

Headquartered in Soho, London with a sister company in Montréal, Union has established an unrivalled reputation for seamless invisible effects on a wide range of projects building strong creative relationships with really interesting directors including Danny Boyle, Susanne Bier, Martin McDonagh, Marjane Satrapi, Sam Mendes, Fernando Meirelles & Yorgos Lanthimos. The studio’s regular clients number some of the world’s top filmmakers, who return to Union time and again as a trusted technical partner and creative ally. The team works closely with clients throughout every phase of the creative process. Union has been the sole visual effects studio behind many prestigious film projects, including Three Billboards Outside, Ebbing Missouri, Florence Foster Jenkins, T2: Trainspotting, 127 Hours, Black Sea, The Two Popes, Radioactive, The Dig, Stan & Ollie, Mamma Mia! Here we go again, The Gentlemen, Empire of Light, The Banshees of Inisherin and Poor Things. Episodic projects include Black Mirror, The Regime, Moon Knight, Trust, The Third Day, The Irregulars, Pistol, The Undoing, Happy!, The Crown, Outlander, For All Mankind, The Wheel of Time, The Sandman, The Power and Slow Horses. A significant highlight on the Union roster saw the company joining Danny Boyle’s creative team to deliver the short films for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony.

RENDR FESTIVAL

This is a unique event celebrating creative craft and artistry in a fully immersive two-day festival exploring the space between Creativity and Technology. Ignite your imagination with inspiring speakers from the worlds of Film, Gaming, Animation, Immersive, and more! Learn from the best, with 30+ creatives from the likes of Netflix, Pixar, Walt Disney Studios and Epic Games among others.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

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