A Soho, London software company that makes the creative tools, such as Nuke and Mari, used to create the visual effects in many of the world's biggest films.
Foundry makes software for people who create images for film, television, advertising and design. Its best-known products are Nuke, a node-based tool for compositing (combining many layers of footage and computer graphics into one finished shot), Mari, a 3D paint tool for models and environments, and Katana, a tool for look development and lighting. It also makes Flix, a story development tool, Nuke Stage for virtual production, and Hiero for conforming, editorial and review. If you have watched a big visual effects film, the chances are that artists used Foundry software to finish it.
The company was founded in London in 1996, and its About page describes a 30-year heritage. It does not name the founders, so we have not guessed. The page says Foundry works with studios and post-production houses to solve visualisation problems, with the aim of helping them turn incredible ideas into reality, and to advance the art and technology of visual experience alongside leaders in the creative industry. It also talks about a People First culture and says customers' needs are at the heart of the business. The page has no formal mission or values statement beyond that.
Foundry's headquarters is at 5 Golden Square in Soho, London, and the legal entity, The Foundry Visionmongers Limited, is registered in England and Wales. The company says it has more than 275 people worldwide. Its software is used by studios that have large UK teams, and its named partners include ILM, DNEG, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Wetā FX, Pixar, Marvel, Netflix, Framestore and Skydance Animation. A 2015 company press release also describes it as being proud of its British roots and as having been named in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 that year, which is why it appears in a fastest-growing sweep, though that listing is old.
On people, the About page names a leadership team that includes Jody Madden as chief executive, who joined in 2013 as chief operating officer and became chief executive in July 2019, Christy Anzelmo as chief product officer, Steven Shapiro as chief technology officer, and Jess Barlow as chief people officer. The company says its software has been part of every Academy Award-winning visual effects film since 2007, and that it has won four Academy Sci-Tech awards, for Mari, Katana, Nuke and Furnace, plus an Engineering Emmy for Nuke. These are the company's own claims.
A software company like this employs many kinds of people. Software engineers write the code behind the tools, and many have studied computer science, maths or physics. Product and support specialists, often people with a background in visual effects, work with studios to understand what artists need. Alongside them are designers, marketing, sales, finance and people teams. If you like both art and technology, this is a place where the two meet. Check the company's own website for what is open now.
Website: www.foundry.com
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