DNEG
VFX
DNEG (www.dneg.com) is a world-leading visual effects, animation, and creative technologies company for the creation of film, TV, and immersive content, with worldwide offices and studios across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
With over 25 years of industry experience, DNEG has been honoured with seven Academy Awards® for ‘Best Visual Effects’ since 2011, and numerous BAFTA, Primetime EMMY®, and Visual Effects Society Awards for its critically acclaimed work.
Primary Activity: VFX
Other Activities: Animation
Locksmith Animation
Animation Production
Locksmith Animation is an independent, global animation studio developing and producing high-quality features, series, and shorts for audiences of all ages. Based in London and Los Angeles, Locksmith brings together a team of accomplished industry leaders and world-class creative talent in a filmmaker-led studio. The studio tells contemporary stories that make people laugh, think, and feel.
Locksmith’s debut feature, Ron’s Gone Wrong, was a critical and commercial success, released in partnership with 20th Century Studios. The studio’s follow-up, That Christmas, based on Richard Curtis’s best-selling children’s books, became the #1 original animated film on Netflix in 2024. It was longlisted for a BAFTA and nominated for six Annie Awards.
Locksmith has a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Pictures and is currently in production on Bad Fairies, an original animated musical. The studio is also developing The Lunar Chronicles, a trilogy of films based on Marissa Meyer’s bestselling novels. Their first animated short film, Cardboard, directed by JP Vine and produced in association with DNEG Animation and Ritzy Animation, premiered at Annecy Film Festival in June 2025.
With an exciting slate of projects in the works, Locksmith is committed to creating groundbreaking entertainment that resonates globally with audiences of all ages.
Primary Activity: Animation Production
NextGen Skills Academy
Education and Training
Founded in 2015 by government and employers following the Next Gen Report by Ian Livingston and Alex Hope, NextGen Skills Academy (NextGen) is an industry-led education initiative to develop the next generation of talent for the Games, Animation and VFX industries.
NextGen brings industry and education together to develop a networked pipeline with aim of training, upskilling, and supporting people into employment or on to the next stage of their career journey. They do this via the development of formal qualifications, Apprenticeship Standards, short courses, bootcamps, and other training opportunities that are designed to meet the skills needs of employers.
NextGen’s flagship qualification, the NextGen AIM Level 3 Extended Diploma in Games, Animation and VFX Skills, was developed and is updated in collaboration with industry for students 16+. It is currently delivered by 14 Further Education Centres in England. These centres are approved by employers and, along with the industry written curriculum, students receive professional masterclasses, live streams, project feedback, work experience, and more quality industry engagement opportunities.
NextGen is led by an Employer Steering Group of studios from across Games, Animation and VFX, including Framestore, Creative Assembly, Blue Zoo, Media Molecule, Sumo Digital, Flipbook, ILM, Playground Games, Centroid, Payload, Sony Interactive Entertainment, DNEG, Ubisoft, and Game Dev Bootcamps.
Primary Activity: Education and Training
