Moonraker VFX
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Bristol-based visual effects studio making VFX and CG content for natural history television, film and immersive attractions.
Also known as Moonraker · Moonraker VFX Limited · Moonraker VFX Ltd.
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Company profile
researched Aug 2026Moonraker VFX Ltd is a Bristol-based visual effects studio producing VFX, animation and CG content for television, film, commercials and immersive entertainment. Its television and streaming credits span major natural history, science and history programming, including Planet Earth II and III, Frozen Planet II, The Green Planet, Earth and Evolution for the BBC, The Americas for the BBC Natural History Unit and NBCUniversal, Our Oceans, Chimp Empire, Night on Earth, African Queens and Ancient Apocalypse for Netflix, Prehistoric Planet and Earth at Night in Colour for Apple TV+, and Queens, Hostile Planet, Incredible Animal Journeys and Mars for National Geographic.
A second strand of the business is immersive and location-based entertainment: flying theatre films (SeaWorld Flying Theatre, Odyssey Malta, Changbaisan, Timeless Flight Hong Kong), museum and visitor-attraction installations (Fram Museum Norway and its 4DX theatre, Klimahaus, Norwegian Nature Centre, The Bodmin Jail Experience, Fort St. Elmo, The Calvados Experience) and immersive venue content such as Inside Pop Art for Cosm. The studio also develops its own IP under a "Originals" label; its first original title, Moonbase: The Next Step, is licensed to fulldome theatres internationally, and it maintains a development slate covering broadcast co-production and immersive formats.
On The Americas, the studio designed and developed 3D topographical maps drawing on traditional cartographic design, working with a credited team spanning creative direction, VFX supervision, art direction, 3D, FX, compositing, digital matte painting and technical direction.
Business model
Moonraker operates as a service-based visual effects studio, delivering VFX, animation and CG content on commissioned projects for broadcasters, streamers, production companies and attraction operators. Alongside client work, it has moved into producing its own original content and IP, which it licenses to theatres — for example Moonbase: The Next Step, licensed to fulldome theatres worldwide — creating a second, licensing-based revenue stream. Growth has been financed in part through loan investment from Creative England / Creative UK Investments rather than equity venture funding.
Revenue comes primarily from fee-based VFX, animation and CG production for commissioned television, film, commercial and attraction projects, supplemented by licensing of self-produced original content — such as Moonbase: The Next Step to fulldome theatres — which management has described as providing ongoing licensing revenue from theatres worldwide.
Traction
Moonraker's credit list spans dozens of titles for the BBC, Netflix, Apple TV+, National Geographic, Disney, Sky, ITV, PBS, Discovery, History Channel and Smithsonian, plus immersive installations for museums and attractions internationally. It has an Emmy win for art direction and graphic design on WW2 from Space, RTS Craft wins, a New York Festivals win for Lost Cities of the Ancients, a Bulldog win for Wonders of the Solar System, BAFTA and VES nominations, and a THEA Award for the Fram Museum Norway upgrade. It also secured £500,000 from Creative England in 2020 and £400k from Creative UK Investments in December 2024, and won the VFX category at the Televisual Bulldog Awards and New York Festivals TV & Film Awards for BBC's Earth.
Latest developments
In December 2024 Moonraker VFX announced a £400k investment from Creative UK Investments, drawn from the Creative Growth Finance fund run with Triodos Bank, to support further expansion into Location Based Entertainment. Managing Director and Co-Founder Jon Grafton described 2024 as a difficult year for television, historically a core part of the business, making diversification into LBE more important. In the same period the studio won the VFX category at both the Televisual Bulldog Awards and the New York Festivals TV & Film Awards for its work on BBC's Earth. Recent and current credits include Ocean with David Attenborough, The Americas for the BBC Natural History Unit and NBCUniversal, Underdogs for Disney and Inside Pop Art for Cosm.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Moonraker describes itself as having established an international reputation working with producers and broadcasters on award-winning visual effects for television, film, commercials and immersive entertainment. Creative UK has characterised the studio as an award-winning business with industry standing in nature-based documentary VFX that is expanding into the newer Location Based Entertainment and immersive experience space.
The studio combines documentary-grade natural history and science VFX with large-format immersive delivery, applying the same CG and animation capability across broadcast screens, IMAX, fulldome, 4DX and flying theatre formats. Creative Director Simon Clarke has framed this as using VFX tooling to realise imagery that cannot be captured in camera, then packaging it with narrative into the company's own films. Its work is award-recognised, including an Emmy for art direction and graphic design on WW2 from Space, RTS Craft, New York Festivals and Bulldog wins, BAFTA and VES nominations, and a THEA Award for the Fram Museum Norway upgrade.
Technology
The studio produces visual effects, CG animation, FX simulation, compositing and digital matte painting, and develops detailed 3D topographical map visualisations, as demonstrated on The Americas. Its output is engineered for multiple exhibition formats including broadcast, IMAX and large-format 3D, fulldome, 4DX and flying theatres, with stated ambitions to extend into augmented reality spin-offs.
Go-to-market
The company sells directly to producers, broadcasters and attraction developers, with project enquiries routed to a named business contact via its website. It markets through its project portfolio and award record, and management has described its original films as functioning both as a licensing revenue stream and as a means of building global awareness of the Moonraker brand.
Broadcasters and streamers including the BBC, Netflix, Apple TV+, National Geographic, Disney, Sky, ITV, PBS, Discovery, History Channel, Smithsonian and NBCUniversal; production companies and producers; and museums, planetariums, science centres and visitor attractions such as the Fram Museum, Klimahaus, SeaWorld and Cosm, plus commercial and tourism clients.
Geography
Moonraker VFX is headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, at the Vintry Building, Wine Street, Bristol BS1 2BD. Its work is distributed internationally, with museum and attraction installations in Norway (Fram Museum), Germany (Klimahaus), Malta (Odyssey Malta Flying Theatre, Fort St. Elmo), Hong Kong and China (Timeless Flight Hong Kong, Changbaisan Flying Theatre), and original fulldome content licensed to theatres around the world.
History
The studio built its reputation on visual effects for natural history, science and history documentaries, with credited work including Wonders of the Solar System, Supersized Earth, Lost Cities of the Ancients and WW2 from Space. In July 2020 it secured £500,000 from Creative England to build a dedicated team and produce original immersive 3D content, a two-year project centred on a "Moonraker Originals" IMAX film for museums, planetariums and large-format screens. The company subsequently launched its first original title, Moonbase: The Next Step, for fulldome theatres, and expanded into Location Based Entertainment with projects such as Inside Pop Art and Timeless Flight Hong Kong. In December 2024 it received a further £400k loan from Creative UK Investments through the Creative Growth Finance fund, described as the latest in a series of loans under a long-term strategic partnership.
Risks & controversies
Management has publicly noted exposure to conditions in the television market, describing 2024 as a tricky year for television, which had historically formed a core part of the business, and citing this as a reason to diversify into Location Based Entertainment. The 2020 Creative England award was also set against the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the arts sector. Growth funding to date has been in the form of loans, which carry repayment obligations.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsMoonraker launched its first original piece of content, Moonbase: The Next Step, which is being licensed to fulldome theatres internationally, alongside a development slate of its own IP covering broadcast co-production and immersive content and formats.
Moonraker VFX received a £400k investment from Creative UK Investments via the Creative Growth Finance fund, run in partnership with Triodos Bank. The loan, the latest in a series from Creative UK Investments, supports the studio's expansion into Location Based Entertainment following projects such as Inside Pop Art and Timeless Flight Hong Kong.
Moonraker VFX led work on the immersive experience Inside Pop Art and on Timeless Flight Hong Kong, described as Hong Kong's first Flying Theatre, as part of its move into the Location Based Entertainment sector.
Moonraker VFX won in the VFX category at both the Televisual Bulldog Awards and the New York Festivals TV & Film Awards for its work on BBC's Earth.
Moonraker VFX secured £500,000 (reported as half a million pounds) in funding from Creative England to produce original immersive 3D content for museums, planetariums and big screens, including a 'Moonraker Originals' IMAX film. The two-year project was intended to build a dedicated team and allow the studio to license its own original content, with possible spin-offs for television, augmented reality and Flying Theatre formats. Tim Evans, head of investment at Creative Growth Finance, commented on the partnership.
The Fram Museum in Oslo, one of Moonraker's museum and attraction partnerships, won a Thea Award (Outstanding Achievement – Museum Upgrade, credited with Sarner International).
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Moonraker VFXmoonrakervfx.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Moonraker VFX do?
- Bristol-based visual effects studio making VFX and CG content for natural history television, film and immersive attractions.
- Who founded Moonraker VFX?
- Moonraker VFX was founded by Simon Clarke.
- Who are Moonraker VFX's investors?
- Moonraker VFX's investors include Creative UK.