Rick Pearce

About

RickPearce

Director · Creative Director · Creative Technologist

Queensland, AU

I started my career making images at Walt Disney Animation Australia. Since then I have worked behind cameras, inside edit and VFX pipelines, on virtual stages, in game engines and at the head of multidisciplinary studios. That path has made me interested in more than the final frame. I want to understand the entire system that produces it, and how changing that system can create a better story, image or experience.

On set

Behind the camera
Camera rehearsal on a set painted with white geometric lines
Reviewing a shot on an iPad beside the camera team
Talking through a shot with an iPad on a dark stage
An actor lifts off a VR headset between takes on the LED stage
Checking a lookbook and laptop with the crew on set
Briefing performers wearing VR headsets
Crew silhouetted against an industrial scene on the LED wall
Wide view of the LED stage and lighting rig
Crew around the camera rig with a laptop
Reviewing takes on a laptop on a neon-lit set

Through-line

  1. 2001–2005Learning the image

    Digital matte painting at Walt Disney Animation Australia, inside a feature pipeline where every frame had to hold to a larger visual language.

  2. 2000s–2010sLearning the camera

    Retrained as a cinematographer, then worked across film, commercials, broadcast, VFX, motion design and agency creative direction.

  3. 2016Building the missing tools

    Co-founded Spectre Studios to find out what Unreal Engine, VR, capture and virtual cameras could do for filmmaking.

  4. 2019Beyond entertainment

    Co-founded EmergiSim and applied the same real-time stack to first-responder and military medical training.

  5. 2022–Worlds, games and teams

    Creative direction on Human Park, then Fenix Studios, Office Fight and cinematic work for location-based entertainment.

  6. 2026Authorship

    Ares Machina X1: ECHO, an original animated science-fiction series I created, write and direct.

Studios

2016–2022

Spectre Studios

Co-founder / Technical Director

Co-founded with filmmaker Mark Grentell to explore what Unreal Engine, VR and real-time production could do beyond games. We worked across virtual production, performance capture, photogrammetry, animation and simulation, contributed to high-end screen productions and helped establish an early full-service LED virtual-production capability in Australia. Spectre was acquired by Virtually Human Studio in 2022.

2019–

EmergiSim

Co-founder / CTO

VR simulation for high-pressure first-responder and military medical training. The goal was believable pressure that experts could repeat and learn from. The platform was publicly reported in use with the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Department of Defence.

2023–

Fenix Studios

Founder / CEO / CCO

Founded to bring games, film, Unreal and interactive production back together. Fenix has worked across original games, trailers, virtual production, interactive experiences, animation and original IP.

Point of view

Image and system
The strongest work comes when a visual idea and a production system reinforce each other. I design the system to make a particular image possible.
Real time as a creative method
Real time moves decisions earlier. Camera, light, environment, performance and edit rhythm can be explored together, ahead of long render and post cycles.
Worlds with rules
Whether the result is a film, game or simulation, I build worlds with internal logic that holds up for story, camera and interaction.
Technology disappears
An audience should feel the story or the outcome first. The technology matters because it makes that possible.
Senior attention
I keep senior creative and technical judgment close to the work, then assemble the right specialists around each production.

Career markers

  1. Disney Animation2001
  2. Cinematography2000s
  3. Creative Direction2007
  4. Spectre Studios2016
  5. Virtual Production2017
  6. EmergiSim2019
  7. Human Park2022
  8. Fenix Studios2023
  9. Ares Machina X1: ECHO2026

Direct

Film direction, performance, cinematography, lighting, trailers and visual storytelling.

Design

Creative and art direction, visual development, world building, environments, characters and original IP.

Build

Unreal Engine, virtual production, real-time animation, games, interactive worlds and technical pipelines.

Lead

Creative strategy, multidisciplinary teams, R&D, production planning, partnerships and delivery.

Today

Today I focus on cinematic direction, creative direction and original worlds. I am developing new screen and interactive work while building the foundation for a senior-led boutique studio.

Selected collaborations · Queensland, AU / International

Let's build
the next
world.

Available for directing, creative and art direction, cinematic and real-time creative leadership, original-IP collaboration, virtual-production development and selected studio partnerships.

rick@specvr.com ↗