Visual effects supervisor, Martyn Culpitt plays a central role at Image Engine, where his technical expertise and natural leadership style have been drawn upon for some of the company’s most challenging film projects.
Martyn started his career in film set construction in New Zealand but soon switched to digital in the editorial department, becoming senior editor within the first few years. Following his interest in visual effects, he moved to the TV, film and visual effects company Sauce, where he implemented the use of the new Smoke and Flame systems and developed a reputation within the industry for his expertise.
In 2000, he was recruited to work at Oktobor Films as a senior inferno artist, where he was responsible for the 2D department, training, and improving efficiencies. He contributed to visual effects on many major television commercials and high-profile feature films including Without a Paddle, Spooked, and all films in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Martyn left his native New Zealand in 2004 to move to British Columbia, where he spent a short stint brushing up on his snowboarding skills as an instructor on Vancouver’s Cypress Mountain, before taking on the role of compositing supervisor at CIS/Deluxe. There, he made impressive contributions to numerous feature films including Tropic Thunder, Twilight, Angels & Demons, Invictus, Salt and The Green Hornet.
Since joining Image Engine, Martyn Culpitt has led the compositing crew for R.I.P.D., before taking on the role of VFX supervisor for many of Image Engine’s projects such as Willow, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Bloodshot, Birds of Prey, Sextuplets, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, White House Down, Jurassic World, Independence Day Resurgence, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, and Logan.
Under the expert leadership of Martyn, the visual effects work in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was nominated for a Visual Effects Society Award for ‘Outstanding Effects Simulation in a Photoreal Feature’ in 2023. Martyn’s oversight played a pivotal role in achieving this recognition, making this a proud moment for the entire team.