ROHTAU: Reinventing Visual Effects

In the dynamic world of visual effects (VFX), where creativity and possibilities should know no boundaries, ROHTAU emerges as a visionary force, reshaping the landscape with its pioneering approach to distributed creativity. At the core of ROHTAU's success are a number of commitments: centring creativity, harnessing the power of a novel distributed model, a global network of over a thousand artists, and proprietary technology to access top talent while optimising resources and driving sustainable practices. What ROHTAU is on a path to prove is that it’s possible to create world-class visuals, in the company of great people, with minimal CO2e impact.

Not too long ago, the notion of working remotely or in a distributed fashion seemed foreign, unattainable, and perhaps even impractical. Despite this prevailing sentiment, Jordi Bares, the founder, VFX supervisor, and creative director, forged ahead with his vision, even though he harboured doubts about its reception. "No one was going to understand what I was trying to do, but I was going to try anyway," reflects Jordi. In 2020, ROHTAU stopped being an idea and became a reality. Jordi, whose background spans architecture and systems programming before venturing into the realm of VFX, never envisaged himself at the helm of his own company. "I never wanted to open my own creative studio or post-production house - never. I felt forced to because otherwise my ideas wouldn’t materialise," he explains.

Jordi recognised the potential to assemble a team of top-tier artists from around the globe and unlock the doors to extraordinary creative output. "I glimpsed the essence of this entire concept in 2014," Jordi reminisces. "I've always aspired to collaborate with artists who surpass my own skills, whether they're designers in Brazil or animators in Tokyo." Hence, ROHTAU was purposefully crafted as a creative studio operating in a distributed fashion, distinct from a conventional remote post-production house, Jordi emphasises. Embedded within this approach is a straightforward ethos: "We aim to collaborate with the finest artists money can secure, enabling us to undertake projects that others might shy away from."

Watching ROHTAU's work, including projects like BMW's 'Make It Real', Bombay Sapphire's 'World Gallery', Levi's 'Buy Better', and Vodafone's 'Greener Together', reveals the studio's expansive approach to VFX. According to Jordi, this approach is "rooted in reality with a physical dimension. What I mean by this is when I task the team with building anything, it's always with the mindset that it should be feasible to construct it in real life, including accepting the physical limitations of real life." This philosophy reflects Jordi's background as an architect, where the emphasis was on crafting entities with a tangible form - grounded physicality, even when venturing into the realm of fantasy.

While ROHTAU is Jordi's brainchild, he is complemented by the expertise of Josh King, who serves as the head of production and sustainability. Their professional relationship dates back to their days at Glassworks and Framestore, where they formed a bond based on mutual respect and a shared passion for tackling challenges and pioneering innovation. "We've always had total respect for each other and we both work similarly. We like challenges, doing what hasn't been done before; we bounce off each other," they affirm in unison.

Josh’s 20 years of award-winning VFX experience is bolstered by a foundation in accountancy, material science engineering and, more recently, carbon literacy and sustainability management credentials from CISL and AIEMA, Josh has not only enriched the company with his expertise but also introduced an unexpected dimension: sustainability. Josh was wrapping up his latest role at a post-production house and was considering expanding his sustainability consultancy after recognising sustainability’s critical importance within the industry.

Josh ran into Jordi and a casual catch-up conversation between the two sparked a collaborative idea: "Why don't we do this together?" suggested Josh. What began as an improvised proposition evolved into something much more significant. "Today, we're able to merge both my passions under one roof," he explains. For ROHTAU, the integration of VFX and sustainability is not taken lightly. The company meticulously tracks its carbon footprint on every project, demonstrating its commitment to delivering top-tier visual effects with minimal environmental impact. "We're not just paying lip service; we're actively demonstrating our dedication to sustainability, which I believe is incredibly important," asserts Josh.

When ROHTAU first started, sustainability wasn't on our radar," Jordi openly admits. "But it became a critical aspect of our approach thanks to Josh”. From the start, we made sure to be ultra-efficient and mindful of our resources and energy consumption. For example, we don't need 300 machines running all day and night, so we shut them down automatically when not in use; it's the same with servers, disks, services, etc. So it was only natural that our efforts translated into highly efficient operations and low CO2e emissions, but it was a surprise to see the numbers being so low, to the point I had to ask a physicist friend of mine to double-check them,” Jordi says.

Today, ROHTAU is on track to not just achieve carbon neutrality but to become carbon negative. "Incredibly, we measure our emissions in kilos rather than tonnes," Jordi adds. The company champions a modern approach to resource management and operates fully in the cloud, relying on services like AWS (Amazon Web Services) for all their needs.

Some clients are passionate about sustainability as Jordi and Josh, and when ROHTAU teamed up with Droga5 on LEGO's ‘Play is Your Superpower’, they shared ROHTAU's sustainability report with them. This helped to ensure everyone involved in the project was on the same page about going green. While not all clients share ROHTAU’s attitude about sustainability, the team is hopeful that their reporting process will spark a positive change across the industry. "We're hoping that this will be a watershed moment for everyone in the project’s life cycle to start paying more attention to their consumption rates," Josh adds with a smile.

”Though sustainability is now a central pillar for Rohtau, it never displaces creativity - the studio’s raison d’etre - with Josh and Jordi confirming that “every pixel has to speak for itself.” ROHTAU is set up to handle projects of all sizes and complexities, but the team truly excels when they have the chance to do something extraordinary.

One such opportunity arose in BMW's 'Make It Real' project with Media.Monks and BWGTBLD's Stefanie Soho, featuring the digital influencer Lil Miquela. "We faced a challenge when integrating Lil Miquela traditionally using a 3D head, which typically doesn't yield good results," explains Jordi. "I felt creatively driven to find a better solution, one that would push the boundaries of traditional VFX work and release the director to direct, unhindered. I thought, what if we reinvented part of the process by using a novel approach without using CGI? This idea made the project feasible."

During the shoot, Jordi put his hypothesis to the test, and the outcome exceeded everyone's expectations. "From that moment on, the project expanded. Instead of the eight shots initially planned, we ended up with 31, all within budget."

“This innovative approach has opened up new possibilities for face replacement technology, empowering directors and creatives to explore new avenues in facial puppeteering while allowing directors to focus on directing, which is what everyone wants," Jordi explains. In Lil Miquela's case, Stephanie could concentrate on directing the actress and capturing the right performance, which could then be seamlessly transferred to Lil Miquela, resulting in an authentic portrayal.

Delivering the highest-grade pixels for each project involves tapping into ROHTAU's extensive network of trusted artists. "It started with around a hundred friends and acquaintances I knew and had worked with. Now, we collaborate with artists through referrals or when I come across exceptional work and reach out to the artist directly,” Jordi explains. He takes pride in personally interviewing every artist ROHTAU works with. "I believe artists should talk to artists, they are not bums on seats," he says with a smile. "We maintain a well-organised database that allows us to search for the right artists for the job."

And how does this benefit the client? "The client gets to work with an expert who is passionate about their field, and the difference is huge, it's incredible," Jordi adds. "While their services are more expensive, we compensate for this by not having a physical office and, instead, we put the money into the pixels."

After four years of operation, ROHTAU is confidently positioned to take on projects of any size, from traditional Flame work to hundreds of shots with CGI animals, fluids, and data-intensive tasks, “our goal is to start putting some serious energy on these complex projects,” both confirm.

“In parallel, we want to help creatives to see what is possible and we want to re-invest by creating innovative content and start experimenting and testing visuals and techniques, Because no one is going to come and ask us to do it, we prefer to take the initiative ourselves and demonstrate to the industry what's achievable," Jordi explains.

To realise these ambitions, Jordi and Josh will expand the core team, although details are currently confidential. This expansion will likely include growing the production team and adding another creative director and head of CGI, allowing ROHTAU to further flex its creative muscles.

ROHTAU finds joy in helping bring order to complexity, a sentiment reflected in its name. An anagram of 'author’, ROHTAU sees a connection between "the world where a director is considered an author (or an 'auteur') and our role in that creative process," Jordi explains. For ROHTAU that looks like walking towards the impossible and the never-done before, without losing sight of what’s most important: how to best support the narrative with their work.