Monkeystack

09/07/2024

Follow the Augmented Revolution trail to discover six artworks by contemporary First Nations artists brought to life through AR, every night until 21 July at Illuminate Adelaide.

You can find each Augmented Revolution location and more details on the amazing (and free!) City Lights program here: https://www.illuminateadelaide.com/city-lights-2024/

City Lights supported by Experience Adelaide City of Adelaide

02/07/2024

We’re absolutely thrilled to share that Thin Ice VR is landing at the Australian Museum in Sydney this weekend!

Launching this Saturday 6 July with daily VR sessions and an immersive special exhibition – it’s not to be missed.

🧊 Discover more and book your tickets here: https://australian.museum/exhibition/thin-ice-vr/
In 1914, polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton led one of history’s greatest stories of leadership and survival: the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Over 100 years later we follow in the footsteps of Shackleton with Tim Jarvis AM, experiencing the adventure first-hand to see the effect climate change has had on the Antarctic region through immersive VR.

Torrens University Australia | South Australian Film Corporation | Screen Australia | Adelaide Film Festival | Kathmandu | Documentary Australia

In 1914, polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton led the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, regarded as the last major expedition of the 'Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration'. The first to attempt to cross Antarctica coast-to-coast, Shackleton failed to achieve his goal, but the events that transpired form one of history’s greatest stories of survival.

In this immersive VR experience, produced by award-winning studio Monkeystack, you can follow in Shackleton's footsteps with adventurer Tim Jarvis AM and also witness the effect climate change has had on the Antarctic region over the last 100 years.

Thin Ice VR opens this week on Saturday, 6 July, at the Australian Museum.

Book your spot now: https://australian.museum/exhibition/thin-ice-vr/

20/06/2024

How can you use the power of smart devices to enhance your visitor experience?
Our CBO Rhys Sandery took to the stage at the 2024 Tourism Industry Council South Australia - TICSA Conference to talk about our work in the evolving world of storytelling, placemaking using digital technologies including AR, and creating memorable experiences for audiences.

Thank you to TiCSA for a fantastic event and if anyone would like to find out more, we want to hear from you!

17/06/2024

🌟 Hike has been nominated at the 2024 South Australian Screen Awards (SASA) for Best Animation!🌟

We are incredibly proud to continue Hike’s journey with our talented team, Director Alex Rodeghiero-Smith and Director & Producer Justin Wight. A huge thank you to The Mercury, category sponsor University of South Australia, and to Hike’s supporters South Australian Film Corporation, Epic Games and Unreal Engine.

21/05/2024

Monkeystack’s CBO Rhys Sandery, and our founders Justin Wight and Troy Bellchambers, are helping our great friends at Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation to normalise the conversation around mental health and to help raise vital funds for a Su***de Prevention Fellowship in Men’s Mental Health.

You can support the team with a donation and learn more about the important cause here:

THE BIGGEST MEN'S MEALS AND MENTAL HEALTH DINNER : Make a donation today to support Men's Mental Health

01/05/2024

Augmented Revolution returns for a second year at Illuminate Adelaide 💚

We’re thrilled to be working with Illuminate Adelaide and bring the stunning works of contemporary First Nations artists to life through AR as part of City Lights.

Curated by Dearna Newchurch, with artists Carly Tarkari Dodd, Jaydenlee Tong, and Temaana Yundu Sanderson-Bromley, you can see more of Augmented Revolution in the freshly dropped program: https://www.illuminateadelaide.com/city-lights-2024/

City Lights supported by Adelaide Economic Development Agency City of Adelaide

29/04/2024

🌟 Get hands-on practical training with Monkeystack’s 2D Animation Industry Intensive Short Course 🌟

Monkeystack, in collaboration with CDW Studios, invite 2D Animators and Illustrators who want first-hand training and experience to apply for our 2D Animation Intensive Industry Short Course.

There’s also the opportunity to land a role at Monkeystack on our upcoming production of 2D adult animated series ‘YOLO: Rainbow Trinity’ - the third instalment of Michael Cusack’s YOLO series for Adult Swim!

Set over three weeks and run by industry professionals (and YOLO Lead Animators), the course is designed to prepare animators, and illustrators interested in becoming animators, to launch headfirst into their first industry role.

The three-week intensive course is designed for:
🎨 Expanding creative skills
💡 Participation in a simulated production project
🧠 Understanding industry-standard expectations
⚡ Growing your portfolio

Here’s what you need to know:
• The course will run across three weeks starting late May 2024
• Located in Adelaide, South Australia or online via live webinars
• Course cost AU$475 (subsidised from AU$950 by Monkeystack)
• Applications close 12 May 2024

FIND OUT MORE AND APPLY: https://monkeystack.com.au/2d-animation-industry-intensive-short-course/

24/04/2024

🚨 Monkeystack are recruiting multiple roles for an upcoming 2D adult animated series production 🚨

We have multiple team positions available for the upcoming production of YOLO: Rainbow Trinity! That’s right – Michael Cusack’s creation that Adult Swim crowned “one of the weirdest things we will ever air” is returning for more hectic fun, and we’re strapped in for a third round with our chums Princess Pictures.

• Animator / 2D Artist (Mid-level)
• Effects Animator / 2D Artist (Mid/Senior level)

Sounds like you? Find full role descriptions and how to apply here: https://monkeystack.com.au/careers/

Applications close 17 May 2024.

There are multiple short-term contracts available to join our team onsite at our studios in Adelaide.

Applicants must be able to work in Australia (as a citizen, resident or with an appropriate work visa). We are unable to offer sponsorship for visas or relocation.

Preferred candidates will be South Australian based and able to work onsite in our studio. However, we may consider applicants with exceptional experience from elsewhere in Australia.

04/04/2024

Here’s a peek behind the scenes (or behind the screens) of our ‘Proximity’ project in collaboration with University of South Australia.

We spent the day filming Proximity in action with Professor Susan Hillier, Professor of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, and Saran Chamberlain, who’s lived experience has helped to develop this project into a rehabilitation tool for stroke survivors.

More of this fantastic project developed by people with lived experience, researchers and clinicians, and creative technologies coming soon.

🎥 The Forward Co

27/03/2024

Applications for our 3D Artist / Technical Artist roles close Monday 1st April!

Find out more and apply via LinkedIn:
Senior 3D Artist / Technical Artist - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3834993060/
3D Artist / Technical Artist - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3837163734/

📸 Wansolmoana at Australian Museum.

22/02/2024

📣 We are hiring!

If you’re a skilled hybrid of a 3D Artist / Technical Artist and passionate about creating interactive and linear content for a variety of mediums and platforms, then we’d love to hear from you.

Find out more and apply here:
Senior 3D Artist / Technical Artist - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3834993060/
3D Artist / Technical Artist - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3837163734/

19/02/2024

Fantastic to see ‘NUN HIT WONDER’ on 7NEWS Adelaide FLASHBACK, marking half a century since Adelaide’s own Sister Janet Mead’s extraordinary rise from Mercy Sister to Grammy nominee.

Monkeystack partnered with Adelaide Film Festival in 2022 and brought a diverse range of creatives and project partners together to produce and present NUN HIT WONDER, a 5-minute animation formatted for large-scale projection that turned the physical space of Palace Nova Cinemas into a canvas for immersive visual storytelling.

See more: https://monkeystack.com.au/projects/tales-in-light/

Epson ANAT State Library of South Australia Wakefield Press Writers SA Arts South Australia SA Government AJS Lighting Sound Events

19/12/2023

The Monkeystack team wish you a safe and happy Christmas season and a marvellous start to the New Year! ✨

Our studio will be closed for the holiday period from Wednesday 20th December, reopening and ready for business on Monday 8th January 2024.

Thank you, as always, to everyone that made 2023 so special. Here’s to what 2024 will bring!

From Justin, Troy, Rhys and the whole Monkeystack team. 🐵

13/12/2023

You better watch out… 🎅
Check out the series of 2D animations we produced for Smartraveller, the travel advice service provided by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and make sure you 'know before you go’.
This one goes out to all the hopeless romantics, those who do it for the ‘gram, and everyone in between!
https://monkeystack.com.au/projects/smartraveller-know-before-you-go/

30/11/2023

Creating educational resources in music video form can be the golden formula to engage a young audience! 🎶

We are excited to share ‘Brain Break Bops’, a 2D animated series we produced for Education Services Australia that helps early years students build interoception awareness (feeling more connected with your body and your bodily signals).

Our team gained triple threat status as not only did they produce a 2D animated series, they also wrote the lyrics, composed the music and even performed some of the dances as a reference to animate from (we have video evidence somewhere…).

Pilot studies are producing some fantastic feedback, with the ‘Rocking Bug’ animation – a muscle stretch movement that we evolved into a band of rock ‘n’ roll insects – proving to be an instant hit and requested multiple times in a row!

This is just a little snippet of Rocking Bug with some production BTS revealing the music composition process, animatic vs final piece and a peek in the recording booth! Head to our site to see all of the animations (don’t blame us if you have the songs stuck in your head for the rest of the day).
https://monkeystack.com.au/projects/education-services-australia-brain-break-bops/

Educators can access ‘Brain Break Bops’ on the Student Wellbeing Hub, developed by Education Services Australia and funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, as resources to build safe, inclusive and connected school communities.

22/11/2023

Take a journey across the Pasifika sea of islands on the interactive touchscreen experience we produced for the Australian Museum’s new permanent gallery, Wansolmoana (One Salt Ocean). 🌊

We designed the experience as an interactive map for visitors to explore up to 48 Pacific locations from Aotearoa (New Zealand) to West Papua, with a digital catalogue of items from the Museum’s collection of over 60,000 objects at their fingertips. Approximately 600 sets of item images and over 2000 individual images of collection items make up the interactive, in addition to the gallery’s total of 300 objects and artifacts on display together with newly commissioned objects by prominent Pacific Island artists and knowledge holders.

Curated by the Australian Museum’s Pasifika staff and cultural knowledge holders in Australia and from around the Pacific, physical and digital storytelling elements of this new permanent exhibition come together to celebrate the complex, varied and dynamic cultures and languages of today's Pasifika peoples.

See the interactive in action: https://monkeystack.com.au/projects/australian-museum-wansolmoana-one-salt-ocean/
Image credit Mel Koutchavalis.

15/11/2023

The Adelaide Crows are courageous, stronger, faster… their skill and nerve will see them through the Adelaide Football Club Ultimate Draftee AR filter!

We swapped our Monkeystack tshirts for footy guernseys to produce the AFC Ultimate Draftee AR filter, now available on Instagram and Facebook mobile apps. Check out the boys having a go to see how it’s done (and how to win an epic prize).

Crows fans can build their perfect draft pick using ‘nod to stop’ and drag and drop AR elements and create their own player card – complete with a selfie opportunity to share.

31/10/2023

Congratulations to the recently announced South Australian nominees for the 2024 Australian of the Year Awards! We have spotted a few familiar names on the list...

Presenter and Executive Producer of Thin Ice VR, environmental scientist and adventurer, Tim Jarvis AM nominated for Australian of the Year,
Climate change solutions company CH4 Global's Tiahni Adamson for Young Australian of the Year,
and Chris McDermott, Founder of Little Heroes Foundation and Local Hero nominee, who we work with on Big Talks for Little People mental health classroom module with Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation and Flinders University (and let’s not forget his time as the inaugural captain of Adelaide Football Club!).

We are proud of these amazing people and even prouder to work with them, including our work on Embrace Kids with Current Australian of the Year, Taryn Brumfitt (Body Image Movement).

26/10/2023

What better way to learn cyber safety than by battling bots! 🤖

Cyber Safety Dash is released TODAY for Cyber Security Awareness month. Aimed at 6-11 year olds, Cyber Safety Dash is a free web-based game for computer or device focused on building an understanding of cyber safety and digital awareness.

This project is a natural fit for Monkeystack’s experience in developing serious games that deliver important messages while entertaining and engaging an audience. Congratulations to Mockingbird Consultancy on such an awesome initiative and to collaborators Operational Systems Australia.

Try your hand at Cyber Safety Dash here: https://www.mockingbirdconsultancy.com.au/cyber-safety-dash

23/10/2023

Last week was rounded off in true (crime) style as we attended the special preview of Speedway at the Adelaide Film Festival Opening Weekend Gala!
Monkeystack are proud to have produced motion graphics for Speedway and work with the brilliant team including Directors Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien, and Producers Bonnie Mcbride, Anna Vincent, Louise Nathanson and Lisa Scott.

If locally made films that demand every single bit of your attention from the get-go are your thing, then don’t miss the final AFF screening of Speedway on 29 October.

An incredible amount of South Australian talent went into making this AFF Investment Fund film, with support from South Australian Film Corporation and Screen Australia. We can’t wait to see its journey from here.

20/10/2023

Video game and motor enthusiasts, start your engines!
Heading to the National Motor Museum - Australia for the historic Bay to Birdwood motoring event this weekend? Head inside the museum and get revved up with Game Engine: Digital Legends, an exciting exhibition that we built that looks at the relationship between and history of motoring and video gaming.

Try your hand on the giant joystick to play one of the first motor-influenced video games, Night Driver (1976) on a giant screen or throw back to the '90s with Crazy Taxi (a firm favourite among the Monkeystack team!).

Government of South Australia History Trust of South Australia
Image from National Motor Museum.

29/09/2023

Two of our projects were selected as finalists in the Awards Australian Effects & Animation Festival (AEAF) Awards 2023 🥳

You may have heard talking about how our work spans industries from entertainment to defence – here is the physical proof of two 3D animations at either end of the scale.

We are so proud for South Australian Film Corporation, Epic Games and Unreal Engine supported Hike to have another laurel to its name as a finalist in the Short Film category and the 3D visualisation of STRIX for BAE Systems Australia’s launch at the Avalon Airshow in Geelong, Australia, as a Corporate Video finalist. It’s always a thrill to be selected among other inspired creative studios and producers from all around the world.

27/09/2023

Bringing art to life is always a joy!
State Theatre Company South Australia asked us to animate the beautiful cover artwork of The Dictionary of Lost Words for their World Premiere stage production presented with Sydney Theatre Company.
We love seeing this collision of the arts in full bloom, from paper to digital to stage.

Adelaide Festival Centre Sydney Opera House

13/09/2023

We accepted the quest to produce a digital game for Rize Above, developed by Relationships Australia SA in partnership with the City of Salisbury, SA, Australia.

Young people can enter the mythical world of Magic & Mayhem, choosing their own adventure as they are faced with multiple choice options related to the game's narrative of consent in all relationships. Topics such as alcohol and drugs, enthusiastic consent and body language test the user's understanding of their actions, delivering educational learnings in an entertaining and engaging way.

We are proud to have produced this game that supports Rize Above’s work to assist young people to develop skills to have healthier more equal relationships.
Find out more and play Magic & Mayhem: https://monkeystack.com.au/projects/rize-above-magic-mayhem/
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08/09/2023

Last week saw a fantastic few days at the inaugural Australian Children's Content Summit in the beautiful setting of Coffs Harbour, NSW.

We spent three days with old and new friends from the children’s and family entertainment world to talk about all things screen content.
Congratulations to the team for an outstanding inaugural event and a big thank you to the South Australian Film Corporation for supporting our attendance. It was great to be among such a strong representation from South Australia.

Through the conversations we had, we hope that we can bring the production of some great children's content to SA and provide more opportunities for those in the craft to work where they live. The success of animated children's stories is a great wave to be riding! 🌊

SLR Productions Australian Children's Television Foundation | Screen Australia Screen NSW | Australian Children's Producers Screen Producers Australia ScreenWorks | City of Coffs Harbour National Cartoon Gallery

30/08/2023

A day of hands-on learning that ignites imagination and fuels curiosity! ✨
Monkeystack produced a suite of captivating interactive learning stations for the Marine Discovery Centre in Henley Beach, taking young minds on an engaging educational journey with touchscreen tables, digital games and motion sensitive projections.

Explore South Australia’s landscape with 'Climate Change Chaos' on a large digital touchscreen with multiple touchpoints allowing simultaneous users, take a deep dive with ‘Discovery Island’, an innovative game we produced with Positure that is controlled by body movement using 'The Grip', an optimised ergonomic handset, submerge in virtual marine life with ‘Shoaling and Schooling’ motion-detecting projections and get tactile with drag and drop ‘Beachcombing’ and ‘Sounds of the Ocean’ games on digital touchscreens.

Made possible by a Green Adelaide Grassroot grant, these interactive experiences complement and enrich the Marine Discovery Centre’s aquariums, beachside marine trails and other indoor educational activities, empowering visitors to connect with and actively protect South Australia’s coastal and marine environments.

👉 See more on this project https://monkeystack.com.au/.../marine-discovery-centre.../

10/08/2023

⭐ Hike is an AEAF Award finalist! ⭐

We are thrilled to receive the exciting news that Hike is a finalist in the short film category within the internationally renowned AEAF (Australian Effects & Animation Festival) awards ahead of the Monkeystack team attending the Australian Children's Content Summit at Coffs Harbour later this month.

Congratulations to the entire team behind Hike, and thank you to supporters South Australian Film Corporation, Epic Games and Unreal Engine, and Hike’s world-premiere host Adelaide Film Festival.

08/08/2023

One of the successes of Thin Ice VR is its inclusion in many worldwide festivals that recognise environmental issues and the importance of acting while we can.

Wild Earth Oceania film festival is a wonderful festival for Australian and international filmmakers to get involved with, and we are excited to see what its inaugural year brings.

If you are a professional and established filmmaker, emerging talent or young filmmaker with a feature, short, animation or micro short film that pertains to wildlife, the environment, Indigenous culture and natural history – get involved! 🎥
You'll find the FilmFreeway link in the below post.

Calling all filmmakers with a call to action on conservation!

Wild Earth Oceania Film Festival, Australia’s first-ever International Wildlife Film Festival, is open for global submissions and want your stories of wildlife, the environment, Indigenous culture and natural history.

Submissions on FilmFreeway are open until August 10 2023 - https://filmfreeway.com/WildEarthOceaniaFilmFestival

Tim Jarvis AM, Thin Ice VR Presenter and Executive Producer, is Environmental Director of Wild Earth Oceania.
Image by Doug Gimesy.

20/07/2023

Who’s heading to Team AVCon HQ in Adelaide this weekend?
Join Monkeystack’s very own CEO and co-founder Justin Wight on the ‘Unleashing the Imagination: Storytelling Across Mediums’ panel, talking about what he knows best.

From animations that make you weep, to the ones that are NSFW, games that change the way you think, VR experiences that stay with you long after taking your headset off, to immersive installations that transport you to another world. Storytelling is everything!

We can’t wait to see you all there.

11am - 12pm, Saturday July 22nd
Stage 2, Adelaide Convention Centre
Get your ticket to AVCon here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/avcon-2023-tickets-467390255837

City of Adelaide Experience Adelaide

18/07/2023

Animation is in the air this July in Adelaide!
The fantastic LoopdeLoop animation challenge is back once more with their monthly Adelaide screening of PIXEL loops, this Wednesday at My Lover Cindi.
A few of the Monkeys will be heading down to show off their loops and have a good time celebrating our community’s unique creativity.
Let us know if you’re planning to be there and come say hi!

If you are interested in animation and the animation industry, or joined us for our talk at the recent South Australian Film Corporation South Australian Screen Industry Careers Day, then this isn’t one to miss. (A lot of people we met here didn’t know that LoopdeLoop was back on so this is our PSA!)

We value the importance of supporting the growth and talent of the animation industry in here in SA, from providing training courses with micro credentials to our participation in the South Australian Screen Industry Workforce Development Strategy supported by Arts Minister Andrea Michaels MP, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, the Department for Education, South Australia, and the South Australian Skills Commission, including successfully lobbying for animation (the kind that we do, not the film VFX kind!) to be recognised as an industry in South Australia in its own right.

Thank you to Monkeystacker Chad for sharing the loop animation that you are currently enjoying! (Sound on for a... full experience).
You can find more details on LoopdeLoop here: https://www.loopdeloop.org/