Image Engine, a Vancouver-based visual effects studio for feature films and television, has won the Emmy Award in Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie for its remarkable VFX work on the Star Wars adventure, The Book of Boba Fett.

At the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles hosted on September 4, 2022, the award was presented to Image Engine’s Visual Effects Supervisor Robin Hackl, as well as Richard Bluff, Visual Effects Supervisor; Abbigail Keller, Visual Effects Producer; Paul Kavanagh, Animation Supervisor; Cameron Neilson, Assoc. Visual Effects Supervisor; Scott Fisher, Special Effects Supervisor; John Rosengrant, Legacy Effects Supervisor; Enrico Damm, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor; and Landis Fields, Virtual Production Visualization Supervisor. Learn more on the Emmys website. 

Well-versed in the planets, creatures, droids, and aesthetic of Star Wars already from working on the show’s predecessor, The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2, Image Engine was able to jump into the fray to create extensive Mos Espa cityscapes, jetpack-powered shootouts, Scorpenek droids with indomitable energy shields, speeder bikes driven by the cyborg street gang, and more for Lucasfilm’s Disney+ Original series The Book of Boba Fett. 

“We are fortunate to have such a collaborative partnership with the team at Lucasfilm. Without Richard Bluff’s leadership and trust in us, we wouldn’t have been able to produce the quality and the volume of work we were able to accomplish. The Image Engine team really rose to the challenge and executed brilliantly on every shot, from the simple to the insane,” explained Robin Hackl, Visual Effects Supervisor at Image Engine. “It makes me extremely proud to see both the phenomenal work the team put up on screen and the teamwork they displayed in getting it there during a pandemic. It’s an honour to accept this Emmy Award for Outstanding Visual Effects on behalf of the entire team.” 

Driven by his passions for art and technology Robin made his mark in the burgeoning Vancouver visual effects market back in 1987 and is a founding member of Image Engine. His expertise and creativity allowed him to successfully lead the Image Engine team, alongside Visual Effects Producer, Cara Davies on The Book of Boba Fett to deliver 686 shots in Chapter 1 and Chapter 7. Contributions from the Image Engine team include a complex assassin attack with electrically charged shields and spears, an epic shootout that occurs across almost the entire finale episode, and more.

“It’s such an honour to be recognized with this Emmy Award for the work that Image Engine contributed to on The Book of Boba Fett,” beamed Cara Davies Visual Effects Producer. “It’s not every show you get this level of acknowledgement of the hard work, dedication and artistry each member of the team puts into each project and I’m so incredibly proud of each and every single person that contributed, not only directly, but indirectly to the show in helping us win this incredible achievement.” 

Having recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, Image Engine also received an Emmy nomination for Snowpiercer and a VES Award nomination for Venom: Let There Be Carnage this year. 

“The level of sophistication and shot count keeps heading north with each successive Lucasfilm job we take on,” revealed Executive Producer Shawn Walsh. “Winning this Emmy Award goes to show how our entire team puts their heart and soul into the work that we do and rises to the challenge to create progressively more complex work each time. I’m thrilled to see Robin accept this recognition on behalf of our studio.”

Image Engine has continued to work with Lucasfilm on Obi-Wan Kenobi and is currently in production for The Mandalorian season 3, Willow, The School for Good and Evil, and The Three-Body Problem.