Emmy-winning Game of Thrones creative plugs into Kiwi Virtual Reality startup

Emmy award-winning visual effects supervisor Rainer Gombos has joined Kiwi-based virtual reality firm 8i as its Executive Creative Director.

Gombos is known for his work on Game of Thrones, for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Special Visual Effects on season 2.

“I am thrilled to be joining 8i’s team of visionaries and expert technicians in developing what is clearly the future of content viewing,” he says.

“This technology is one of the biggest evolutionary steps in communication and storytelling since the invention of film.”

Last month, Gombos picked up an additional Emmy nomination for his work as the Visual Effects Supervisor on this year’s critically acclaimed series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

A virtual reality technology company pioneering the next generation of 3D, called 8iVR, 8i is based in Wellington, widely regarded as a world-class screen industry hub with a thriving technology startup scene.

“8i is excited to have one of the world’s most sought-after VFX Supervisors on board,” says Linc Gasking, CEO, 8i, who says the company also recently closed a US$1 million seed investment round.

“Rainer is a fantastic complement to 8i’s outstanding creative team and its vision of creating extraordinary experiences for our clients in 8iVR.”

Gombos joins 8i’s creative team, which includes Sci-Tech Oscar winning Co-founder Sebastian Marino who adds; “Rainer is a top-tier visual effects supervisor with exceptional performance in producing cutting edge content.

“His extensive experience across the entire production pipeline will be invaluable to 8i.”

Gombos will be attending SIGGRAPH, the world’s largest computer graphics conference alongside 8i’s Co-founder and Chief Scientist Eugene d’Eon who will be presenting several papers beginning this weekend.