Sep 27, 2023

New Zealand's Floating Rock Studios has released the trailer for its first IP, Ky-ry-, about samurai dinosaurs living in post-apocalyptic Japan.

Floating Rock Studios, an animation and VFX house based in Wellington, New Zealand, has released a trailer for its first original IP, a post-apocalypse story about a genetically enhanced samurai dinosaur living in a post-human extinction Japan. The studio is currently developing both a narrative and video game format for the film.

Floating Rock Studios was founded in 2020 by a quartet of industry veterans: Stephanie Parker, Garrick Rawlingson, Lucas Nicklaus, and Laurent Elveic. Initially started as a vendor studio undertaking animation and VFX work, in 2022 the company received A$4 million ($2.55 million) in growth capital investment led by New Zealand-based Hillfarrance Venture Capital, which funded an experienced and and ambitious team of animation and VFX artists, and expanded its original IP division.

Given the diversity of work Floating Rock and its employees have done in the past, we asked Nicklaus about the company's long-term plans for its original IP division and whether it would focus on animation, VFX-heavy live action, or other storytelling mediums. He explained:

We want to tell great stories. We currently have seven more IPs in development. Some of them are live action with heavy VFX, some are full CG R-rated animation, and some have the potential to become video games. What matters is that we tell great and meaningful stories and that the creators' voices and visions are realized. We believe that if we give artists agency and responsibility for their work, starting with removing obstacles in their path rather than managing them, we will see a new renaissance in filmmaking and storytelling.

The studio's first original IP, Ky.ry. takes place in the ruins of post-apocalyptic Japan, where genetically engineered dinosaurs have wiped out humanity. Despite being built for the future and far more intelligent than their prehistoric ancestors, much of the dinosaurs' behavior is governed by prehistoric instincts, and a tribal war erupts among them.

Floating Rock animator Benjamin Mulot worked on the project. He specializes in creature animation and has worked in the Hollywood film industry for over a decade, earning credits on films such as "Jumanji," "Godzilla vs. Kong," and "Avatar: The Way of Water."

The project was chosen while Floating Rock was developing its in-house platform, Pitchfest.

Mulot is excited to see his idea come to fruition, but wants to be the first in a long line of Floating Rock artists to get a taste of this feeling. He explained:

I am grateful for the opportunity to build a potential pathway for future creators that may come from Pitchfest. Floating Rock and Hilferance believed in my project from the beginning and supported me throughout the process of creating an epic pitch deck and realizing my vision of a breathtaking trailer. Floating Rock and their team removed hurdles that I could not have done alone, allowing me to focus on my creative vision for Ky.ry.

We asked Lucas Nicklaus, co-founder of Floating Rock, why Mulot's project was a good fit for their original IP pipeline. He explained:

For me, there are two reasons. Benji is a great creator with great vision and a collaborative spirit. He lives and breathes his work. That was the first reason; the second reason was that I felt his ideas were fresh and new, something I had never seen before. The dinosaur movie genre has become quite stale lately, with films like "Jurassic World" and "Prehistoric Planet". I felt that this was a great film to fill this niche. And of course, as an animator myself, I wanted to help animate a cool samurai dinosaur. It's an animator's dream.

According to studio bosses, the teaser was produced and released as "a beacon of sorts to see what other creative, strategic and financial partners we can attract to join us along our journey to develop this property."

Floating Rock is now further developing the Ky.ry. property and adapting its story to both series and video game formats, which overlap but stand on their own.