The Refinery
Full service post production & VFX for the commercial and motion picture industry. From on set solutions to final delivery. Servicing both local and international productions.
Cape Town & Johannesburg
CEO: Alastair Orr / COO: Ariyé Mahdeb
Managing Director: Chris Heaton
Head of Features & Television: Ancois Human
Production Manager JHB: Segopotso Mabitsela
Head of VFX CT: Rory Mark / Producer: Simone Fanti / Head of VFX JHB: Ryan Van Den Berg
Head of Colour: Kyle Stroebel / Snr Colourist: Ndumuso Mguni / Snr Colourist: Liam Traynor / Producer: Nthabiseng Dlamini
Head of Sound: Charles Singleton / Producer: Nyeleti Furumele
The Refinery is a Level 2 BBBEE VFX & post-production facility that services the moving picture industry. We handle all aspects of picture and audio management from script to screen (final delivery), whatever the distribution platform. We offer the best creative talent, an individualized service and a financial solution to ensure your vision.
Full-Service Post-Production Offering
On-Set & Ingest
- Dailies, DIT, and Data Management
- On-set VFX Supervision
- Secure File Transfers
Editorial
- Offline & Online Editing
- Remote Collaboration Tools
Sound
- Design, Foley, ADR & Final Mix (5.1, 7.1 & Atmos)
- VO Recording & M&E Prep
Music
- Score Facilitation & Licensing
- Music Supervision
VFX
- Nuke, Houdini & Flame Compositing
- CG, Simulations & Environments
- VFX Supervision
Grading
- Baselight & Resolve
- SDR, HDR & Dolby Vision
Finishing
- Conform, Mastering & Versioning
- Subtitles, Closed Captions & DCP
- Netflix, Amazon & Broadcast-Compliant Deliverables
Archiving & Security
- LTO Backups & Long-Term Storage
- Security Protocols
Marketing & Delivery
- Trailer & Promo Editing (Golden Trailer Award-Winning)
- EPKs, Teasers & Social Cutdowns
Nomination for our work
- Relationships with local and international Agents, Distributors and Streamers
Key Achievements
- Will Smith’s Beautiful Scars
Delivered full post-production (edit, VFX, grade, Atmos mix) on this high-profile, Matrix-inspired music video. - Amazon/MGM’s The Shakedown
Managed full post on this international action feature. - FX’s Nautilus
Provided high-end VFX for this UK-based production. - Allan Gray – “New York Through the Ages”
Created award-nominated VFX and production design for this commercial, shortlisted at the D&AD Awards for Cinematography and Production Design. - Hunting Jessica Brok
Full post-production on this action feature by Alastair Orr. - Red Bull Racing – Kyalami Circuit
Delivered stylized VFX for a global campaign. - Beast
Managed terabytes of dailies and complex data workflows for this major studio film.
Accolades & Recognition
- Golden Trailer Award
Only South African facility to win this prestigious global trailer award. - D&AD Shortlist (2024)
Nominated for Best Production Design & Cinematography (Allan Gray spot).
Contact
Cape Town
Roeland Park, 3rd Floor
4 Stirling Street
Zonnebloem, Cape Town, 7925
South Africa
Johannesburg
54 Peter Place
Peter Place Office Park, Block G
Bryanston, Johannesburg, 2191
South Africa
021 200 0424
hello@therefinery.tv
www.therefinery.tv
TALENT
NDUMISO MNGUNI | COLOURIST
Ndumiso is a South African colourist interested in how colour carries feeling. His work includes Heart of the Hunter—the first African film to hit No. 1 globally on Netflix—and the acclaimed series GO!, both part of a growing body of narrative work. With each project, he’s searching for something more than just a polished image —something honest, cinematic and human. View Instagram
LIAM JOHN TRAYNOR | COLOURIST
Having built his career on both sides of the equator – across the UK and South Africa – he’s refined his eye on everything from commercials to high-profile screen projects. At The Refinery, he now channels that experience into one passion: using colour to lift storytelling to new heights, most recently on Will Smith’s Beautiful Scars. A natural collaborator, he loves nothing more than exploring fresh techniques and pushing creative boundaries to craft visuals that resonate emotionally, connect with audiences, and let every project’s unique vision shine. View Instagram
KITSO MONARE | COLOURIST
Kitso worked on set, shadowing some of the best technicians, while learning the art of colour in post production. Since then, he has collaborated on series, music videos, campaigns, commercials and short films as a colourist. His goal is to become one of the best and mentor future generations. View Instagram
ABDUL GHAKEEM SAMAAI | COLOURIST
Honing his craft for the past 3 years under the guidance and mentorship of Kyle Stroebel, Abdul has worked on a variety of long and short form films, one of which made an appearance at the renowned Venice Film Festival. Abdul’s work continues to gain attention amongst fellow filmmakers and as such, is an exciting prospect to look out for. View Instagram
KYLE STROEBEL | COLOURIST
Kyle has been crafting unique colour palettes for over 19 years. Finishing titles for Warner Brothers, Universal and recently Netflix, while handling award-winning advertisements for major brands – Kyle has garnered respect both locally and internationally from an esteemed array of co-conspirators. View Instagram
RORY MARK | HEAD OF VFX
A seasoned industry veteran, Rory has delivered high-end visual effects across a wide spectrum work, from simple clean-up to fully animated creatures. Since beginning his career in the late 1990s, he has worked with a range of local and international studios, evolving alongside the craft as digital filmmaking and VFX techniques have advanced. For the past eight years, Rory has helmed the VFX department at The Refinery, where he has overseen a period of growth and advancing creative excellence. Under his leadership, the team has consistently pushed to elevate its capabilities, focusing not only on operational efficiency but on continually raising the creative bar.
At its core, The Refinery VFX team is built around some of the top local talent, known for their commitment to squeezing every ounce of potential out of each project they touch. Backed by a strong VFX production team and armed with the latest industry-standard tools at their disposal, The Refinery VFX team is built to deliver top-tier results, efficiently, creatively, and consistently.
FEATURED WORK
AWARDED BY IDIDTHAT
Allan Gray ‘Everything Goes Around’
The Refinery | Eddie Addinall and Rory Mark (VFX Leads)
December 2023
AWARDED: BEST IN CRAFT (VFX & ONLINE)
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Jacquie Mullany, ECD at FCB Africa
AWARDED: CRAFT MENTION (VFX & ONLINE)
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Bruno Bossi, Director at Carbon Films
Jacquie’s comment: ‘When I first saw this ad, I didn’t even question that it wasn’t shot in Manhattan in the various decades, and that is what is so damn brilliant about it. When you realise the level of craft and attention to even the smallest detail that went into transforming Cape Town today to Manhattan way-back-when, was mind-blowing. It felt so real that I even started rewatching it to find flaws but instead, I discovered the minutest of details that left me speechless (which is hard). The flickering light on a building, the reflection of the sign on the car window, the weather-worn textures on the walls – absolute brilliance, no other words for it.’
Bruno’s comment: ‘The unsung heroes of our industry – the guys that sit in dark rooms making all of our work look better. They should not go without a mention. Transforming landscapes, cityscapes, even people and finding the right balance of content, aesthetics and tone while juggling many spiderwebs on screen is what makes great VFX artists great. And makes the work better in every way. They need to be technical wizards and visual libraries at the same time. The craft in these transformations of Cape Town to Manhattan across time is perfect. Eddie & Rory at The Refinery well done to you two!’
FEATURED STORIES
The Refinery Joburg is open and so is Liam Traynor’s Colour suite
The Refinery has landed in Joburg with a new fully kitted Bryanston studio offering top-tier colour, VFX, online and final mix under one roof. Connected to their Cape Town HQ, The Refinery Joburg is ready to deliver high-end finishing across commercials, branded content, long-form and music videos. Leading colour is Johannesburg-born Liam Traynor, bringing home experience from London, Europe and LA.
Post Production giant The Refinery under new ownership, join The First Order
The Refinery, South Africa’s award winning post house, is under new ownership. Previously owned by eMedia Holdings, The Refinery in Cape Town and The First Order in Joburg now fall under The First Order Group, a proud Level 2 BBBEE Contributor for Post Production Services. We caught up with the teams from both offices about the new cross-country alliance.
Refinery bolsters VFX department with industry powerhouses, Online Flame Artist Eddie Addinall and Producer Tracy-Lee Portnoi
With Refinery seeing a growing demand for local commercial VFX work, Eddie Addinall and Tracy-Lee Portnoi will be bringing their knowledge and technical expertise to grow the VFX department into the commercial space. Online Flame Artist Eddie will be working collaboratively with the rest of the Refinery departments to creatively drive and lead the team in finishing commercials, while the company will of course be continuing their episodic and long-form work.
FEATURED
The Best of Film & Film Craft in South Africa 2024
Welcome to the first in a series of showcases celebrating the very best South African work in 2024. Our first showcase is the Best of Film & Film Craft awarded by the Loeries. Here we spotlight the best local talent making moving pictures. Save their names!
South Africa’s D&AD Work & Winners 2024
Since the announcement of the 62nd D&AD Awards late last week, our dedicated hamsters have been curating a showcase of the brilliant work behind the results. Here are the exceptionally talented South Africans who brought home the Pencils — now you know who to collaborate with next. Congratulations to these beauties for making us proud!
South Africa’s One Show Work & Winners
It’s time for The One Show results everyone! When we heard South Africa had 21 finalists this year we damn near Black Eyed Pea’d ourselves and exclaimed ‘Boom Boom Pow’. Now it’s great to see this incredible work convert. Congratulations to all of you! With over 50 countries and regions around the world entering, this is big for South Africa. Well done.