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Shaka iLembe

Role (S1)CG Supervisor
Role (S2)VFX & CG Supervisor
ScopeSeason 1 & 2
VFX Shots600+
StudioLuma Animation
Year2022–2025

CG Supervisor on Season 1 and both VFX and CG Supervisor on Season 2 of the most expensive production in South African television history. Collaborated closely with the showrunners, producers, DoP, and art department on set, while coordinating every CG and VFX department lead through post-production. Luma Animation delivered over 600 VFX shots spanning large-scale environment extensions, period-accurate set enhancements, battle sequences, and atmospheric effects. Despite being the largest local production, the budget remained modest by international standards, demanding efficient execution and smart resource allocation across every department. The series debuted in 2023 with record audience numbers and won the SAFTA for Best Achievement in Visual Effects in 2024.

Houdini Karma Maya Blender Nuke Fusion SpeedTree
My Contribution

CG Supervision (S1) & VFX Supervision (S2)

On Season 1, served as CG Supervisor, overseeing the CG department's output and ensuring visual consistency across environment extensions, creature work, and crowd sequences. For Season 2, took on the expanded role of both VFX and CG Supervisor, owning the full VFX pipeline from shot turnover through final delivery. The work ranged from recreating historical villages set against South Africa's stunning landscapes to photorealistic CG creatures and large-scale battle simulations. With over 600 shots to deliver, upfront planning was critical. we drove storyboarding and previs for all major VFX sequences so that every department had clear targets from day one, reducing iterations and keeping the schedule on track. Solved complex integration challenges across a mixed pipeline using Blender for animation and rigging, Houdini for simulations, Karma for rendering, and Nuke for compositing, keeping quality high while managing a massive shot count under broadcast deadlines.

Environment & Crowd Systems

Recreating 18th-century KwaZulu-Natal required environment fidelity that had never been attempted in local broadcast. We used SpeedTree and Houdini to generate massive libraries of indigenous vegetation, and I developed a procedural layout tool that allowed artists to scatter these assets onto terrain geometry with automatic LOD handling for rendering. For battle sequences, we built custom crowd systems in Houdini with keyframed digital doubles for mid-ground character interactions, requiring a seamless match-move pipeline that I oversaw personally.

Award-Winning VFX

The VFX work earned a SAFTA (South African Film and Television Award) for Best Achievement in Visual Effects in 2024, the highest recognition for VFX in South African film and television. Shaka iLembe was the most awarded drama in SAFTA history with 12 wins, including Editing, Cinematography, Directing, and Best Actor. It also won two Septimius Awards and multiple NFTAs.

VFX Showcase

Creature & Crowd Work

Shaka iLembe — Photorealistic CG Hyena
Shaka iLembe — VFX Battle Sequence with Crowd Simulation

Photorealistic CG Creature

Battle Sequence — VFX Crowd Extension

Shaka iLembe — CG Creature Development: Hyena, Bat, Bee

CG Creature Development — Hyena, Bat, Bee

Recognition

SAFTA Awards

Shaka iLembe — SAFTA Award for Best VFX
Shaka iLembe — Luma Animation VFX

SAFTA — Best Achievement in Visual Effects (2024)

Luma Animation — Principal VFX Studio

Portfolio
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