About

Lux Aeterna is an award-winning studio working at the pinnacle of VFX to empower the world's best storytellers.

From storyboard to screen, Lux Aeterna offers a creative partnership with broadcasters and streamers to transcend the threshold of the imagination and create pure cinematic wonder.

With our world-class pipeline and flexible shot management platform, we craft compelling visuals steeped in originality, commercial appeal, and palpable emotion.

Imagine the stories we could tell.

What we do

Our art department nurtures end-to-end production with world-class scripts, concept art, storyboarding and animatics. Creating culturally significant stories is only made possible by harnessing the point where technology and art intersect, providing state-of-the-art solutions with integrity.

Our vision pushes the limits of the imagination with new technologies, virtual production, procedural and algorithmic design, and real-time rendering.

We provide on-set supervision to give our virtual concepts real-world context, with studio direction in motion control, practical sets, and photogrammetry. Our 3D CGI pipelines include: Houdini, Maya, Nuke, After Effects, Arnold, Redshift, Karma, and real-time in Unreal Engine.

VFX Research

We have a dedicated R&D department to keep us on the cutting edge of all things VFX, engaging with the latest developments from across the industry.

Our specialist knowledge allows us to perform volumetric capture with neural radiance fields, and work with procedurally generated 3D environments and effects. We are able to train bespoke AI models as well as use AI to assist in tasks such as deepfaking, restoring archival footage and asset creation.

As part of our R&D at Lux Aeterna, we work with the University of Bristol’s MyWorld programme, which supports innovation in the VFX and creative production industries in the Southwest of England.

Working with partners like the BBC and Aardman, the programme aims to embed a culture of R&D innovation across the region by funding collaborative projects between local industry and academic partners.

Lux Aeterna member in studio

Who we are

We've been delivering award-winning content for over 25 years. Under our previous identity BDH (Burrell Durrant Hifle), our acclaimed team of artists have produced content for broadcast, brands, cinema, commercials, digital media, and all things disruptive.

We’re independently owned and operated by our three Directors Rob Hifle, Steve Burrell and Paul Silcox, and deliver work globally from our waterfront studio set in the heart of Bristol.

Rob Hifle
CEO & Creative Director

Rob has amassed an exceptional lineup of work over the last 25 years, with work spanning commercials direction, music events, and large scale VFX projects across cinema and television.

Rob understands technical needs, and mixes them with highly creative solutions. His unique and ground-breaking images are known for combining location direction with state-of-the-art CGI VFX.

Steve Burrell
Compositing Director

Steve is a multi-award-winning creative director, heading up large teams working on some of the biggest landmark shows in TV and film history. He has extensive experience in HDR pipeline production.

Paul Silcox
VFX Director

Paul has technical oversight of Lux Aeterna’s visual effects pipeline and provides creative direction to the VFX and CG supervisors. He is a skilled Houdini artist and VFX supervisor, pivotal in implementing the robust framework and VFX pipelines for myriad simulations and FX.

Tav Flett
Compositing Supervisor

Tav is a highly experienced digital compositor working on a wide range of projects from feature film, television & advertising to corporate content and data visualisation.

As compositing supervisor he works closely with other artists and supervisors to ensure delivery of high quality digital content.

Timmy Willmott
CG Supervisor

Timmy is a skilled Maya Generalist and CG Supervisor with over 15 years of experience working within the industry. A key artist and lead on many landmark and award winning shows, he's a passionate creative with a flair for outside the box solutions. He has a keen interest in cinematography which can be seen in the aesthetic of the projects, especially his nebulas and volume builds. He loves what he does.

Clive Llewellyn
FX Supervisor

Clive Llewellyn is an innovative VFX artist with a proven track record of leading teams and delivering groundbreaking visual effects for film and TV. With a talent for pushing creative boundaries and a passion for the latest technology, Clive has established himself as a leading expert in the industry, constantly raising the bar for what is possible in the world of VFX.

Amy Cattell
Head of Production

Amy is responsible for the smooth running of Lux Aeterna projects ensuring that each one is on track, on time and within budget. Working closely with the Directors and Producers, Amy has an oversight on all resources and schedules, being involved in all work that comes through the door. Amy has been imperative in developing the Production department, implementing and streamlining processes and growing the team that we have today.

Laura Ashley
Operations & Marketing Manager

Laura works alongside Lux Aeterna’s Directors in evaluating business operations and implementing new strategies to ensure the efficient running and growth of the company. She is the Lux Aeterna brand guardian which has involved leading a business wide rebrand and ensuring all marketing activity is on message and delivered to the company’s exacting standards. Laura’s career has spanned a wide range of creative industries, from broadcast and marketing, to live events and delivering campaigns for leading brands such as Apple, Amazon and Heineken. She’s at her happiest when part of a creative team delivering standout work.

Emma Kolasinska
Executive Producer

Emma is a highly experienced Producer with over 15 years in the industry. With a wealth of knowledge behind her, Emma delivers high end productions with passion and dedication, taking ideas from concept to broadcast.

A vast production knowledge of Maya, Houdini, Real Flow, Cinema 4D and Nuke, Fusion and After Effects, combined with an acute ability to control budgets and the confidence to lead and motivate large teams means that any project is delivered in complete confidence.