This month, we take a deep dive into Koala FX – a studio of creative storytellers and visual innovators
Koala FX is not just another VFX studio that tries to ship as many shots as possible without taking care of the overall story. Since Koala’s inception in 2020, the management team has lived by the notion that they ‘don’t do VFX, they make films.’ They are a bunch of storytellers and visionaries who have dared to dream their ideal VFX studio set-up into reality.
Founded in 2020, Koala FX was created by Dasha Sherman (CEO) and her partner Menelaos Pampoukidis (Creative Director). Their core team had previously met and worked on DAU – one of the most ambitious and controversial artistic projects of the century. The non-traditional formation of the team served as a masterclass in doing things their own way. From Dasha’s foray into post-production strategy for DAU to Menelaos’ specific techniques he had perfected during his work on the project, the two founders are steering the ship with the grit and expertise of innovators who have built from scratch before.
From Rags to Riches
Starting from nothing but a core team that had worked together on a visionary project and a big dream, Koala had a long way to go. But the team faced this creative challenge with real determination to succeed, and their progress has been nothing short of astonishing.
“Within a week Koala had a first tiny job for 1k; within a month Koala had to get the ex-DAU VFX core team to join forces to execute 10k worth of work; within three months Koala had its first feature film as an exclusive VFX vendor.”
Dasha Sherman, CEO of Koala FX
Koala’s first productions as a solo vendor were: ‘Love at First Sight’, collaborating with producers from ‘Fall’ and ‘47/3’, ‘Dali Land’, working with the producer Chris Curling and director Mary Harron from ‘American Psycho’. Now their roster has grown to encompass several impressive productions, including the Oscar-shortlisted ‘The Pearl Comb’, ‘Palestine 36’ as well as the Oscar-winning film ‘The Brutalist’.
The Secret Sauce of Koala’s Success
Dasha Sherman and Menelaos Pampoukidis are running a tight ship of hugely talented artists. While the number of team members has grown from 5 to 250, the team’s productivity has hugely increased too, and one could easily imagine they are in fact employing over a thousand artists. The heart and brain of the company, which is comprised of their 15 core members of staff, are all based together out of their London office, while the others work remotely. They never outsource work and their remote teams operate within Koala’s pipeline, delivering scripts together with shots. This has resulted in an organic approach whereby everyone working on any given project is so well-interconnected that the best quality is achieved.
“We started implementing AI before it became a hype. Our pipelines are widely developed with AI optimisation, and we keep on trying and testing further AI potential. We don’t want to grow big; we want to be effective while delivering the best quality. It’s always been quality over quantity for us, and we’d like to keep it this way. We approach VFX as a creative and technically advanced tool to tell stories, not as a goal of filmmaking. People come to a cinema for experience; VFX enables the stories to be told, not the other way around.”
Dasha Sherman
Work Hard, Play Hard Culture
While the team has worked exceptionally hard to achieve such stellar growth within a relatively short space of time, the management team have really put their heart and soul into creating a nurturing environment where storytellers can thrive and potential clients can immediately sense that this is a studio that takes stories seriously. You only need to visit the studio once to be fully immersed in its visionary and innovative essence.
“We’ve built a certain culture within the team and office premises, which we believe breaks the idea of a traditional “business-only” vibe. We’d like to create a narrative of our approach to filmmaking and life itself, as these two are interconnected.”
Dasha Sherman
The events organised at the studio are the perfect personification for the interconnectedness Dasha talks about. From exclusive film screenings to big parties attracting both friends and clients, the team is making the most of their wonderful space in an attempt to keep the team and the community engaged. They even have a swimming pool with plastic balls set up there for themed parties!
What’s next?
The future of VFX, according to Dasha Sherman and her team, is about taking story seriously and not being afraid to break the mold and experiment with new technologies. This is definitely a team that believes in a ‘fail fast, learn faster’ approach.
“What we’ve built up to now is something which, from what we are seeing right now in the industry, lots wish they had built. It was not knowledge or experience, but really the lack of it. The sort of place where the only decisions you take are either intuitive or make sense only to you. The space where you are constantly questioned and judged only by yourself, with very little reference to ‘how things should be’.”
Dasha Sherman
With a team that’s willing to take risks and experiment like this, there is no doubt that the sky is the limit for the studio’s future.
