Meet RSP Graduate Matt Dorey

Meet Matt Dorey: 2018 Graduate Certificate Recipient Returns to RSP to Build on His Early Career Success

Among the newest additions to Rising Sun Pictures’ Brisbane Studio is lighting artist Matt Dorey. A 2018 recipient of the studio’s Graduate Certificate in Dynamic Effects and Lighting, Matt began his career at Pixel Zoo, Brisbane, and earned his first screen credit at Mill Film Adelaide (now MPC) on the post-apocalyptic drama Love and Monsters (a 2021 Oscar nominee for Best Visual Effects). He also spent two years in Toronto at the studios Mr. X and MPC, contributing to projects including Cowboy Bebop, Nightmare Alley and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.

Matt found his time abroad rewarding, but he’s happy to be back in Australia in his new role as a mid-level artist. “I’m looking forward to diving into the film projects we have going,” he says. “This opportunity arose at the perfect time. I’m excited to be at the company where I enjoyed studying.”

In fact, Matt credits his rapid advancement to the time he spent training at RSP, calling it the ideal bridge between the University of South Australia (UniSA), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, and the VFX industry. “That’s when everything gelled,” he recalls. “The coursework at UniSA gave me a good grounding in the basics, while at RSP I learned what it means to be a junior artist. As a Graduate Certificate candidate, you are supported by working artists and mentors who teach you not only the skills you need, but how to work with others and where you fit in the pipeline.”

Matt originally planned on a career in IT, but, as a student at UniSA, he found himself drawn to the artistic aspects of visual effects. Through introductory visual effects courses, he discovered he had a special affinity for lighting. “To be successful in lighting, you need a highly creative mind, but also one that’s quite technical,” he says. “Your job is to tell a computer how to ‘write’ images. You don’t need to know all the technical nuts and bolts if you don’t have that inclination, but it helps to understand the steps in rendering an image. On the creative side, you need an eye for composition, good lighting and how to make things look beautiful.”

At RSP, Matt also learned resilience, adaptability and how to respond to novel or unforeseen challenges. “I love learning new things,” he says. “In visual effects, there is always something new to dig into. I enjoy bouncing ideas off other artists and learning how they’ve approached the same issues. You get to solutions a lot quicker and improve as an artist.”

As he settles into Brisbane, Matt is focused on continuing to develop his skillset and progressing in his career. “I’d like to move toward a lead role and perhaps, further down the line, to become a supervisor,” he states. “I might like to explore other departments and work in those for a bit. But for now, my goal is to get really solid in lighting.”

Matt is confident that he has chosen the right long-term career path and believes that other aspiring artists could profit, as he did, from training at RSP. “It’s absolutely worth it!” he says. “Work hard and see where you end up on the other side. You need mindful that for visual effects artists the hours are sometimes long and deadlines tight. You will face pressure and need to know how to manage it. You need to communicate well with your leads and fellow artists, but if you do all that, you’ll do well, because everyone is working toward the same goal: delivering fantastic results.