It is often said that filmmaking is the chance to live many lifetimes. For Gerhard Painter, it has been a love journey, one of the most significant forms of art and a way of deep expression.  The filmmaker, visual artist and director of Randburg-based animation studio Luma Animation is a family man with a long-standing relationship with the arts. He pours out his passion into every project he touches.  “I’m a Jesus-following, devoted husband and dad of two. I appreciate pure lines and carefully curated colour tones. I walk a good middle line between intro- and extroversion,” he shared. 

Animation & Film: A love story with art 

His journey as a visual artist began in his childhood – a time when he used to draw still images in the margins of his school books. “I was always amazed at how simple stories can delight. We all used to do it [draw]. I just ended up making money from it.” Luma Animation was started 21 years ago and has built a reputation for exceptional work. The studio was opened after Painter took a designer job in the middle of his second year at the AAA School of Advertising.  “I was on my way overseas to go find my fortune. A friend convinced me to stay and start a Design studio servicing some clients that he knew. After looking around for offices, we met one of my current partners, Paul Meyer, and we joined their animation startup, sharing a long corridor-like office in the Videolab”. 

Painter also added that much growth and change took place over time.  “We gained and lost partners, started up new companies, hired and fired some of the most talented people out there and after all that, managed to produce Headspace and contributed over 700 VFX shots for the acclaimed Shaka Illembe TV series.”

Headspace – a proudly South African animation film

Indeed, Luma Animation is known for the 2023 South African animation film Headspace, which premiered in cinemas during the month of September. Painter is the co-founder and co-director of the film and views it as the creative studio’s biggest achievement. Headspace oozes creativity and imagination. It is about three aliens who find themselves stranded in a teenage boy’s brain through their microscopic spaceship.  Apart from Headspace, Luma Animation is also known for its work on Kings of Joburg 2 and the much-loved television series Shaka iLembe. 

Shaka iLembe 

According to Painter, working on Shaka iLembe did not come free of challenges. A number of hiccups were experienced, which all led to growth and the continued strengthening of their craft.  “The main challenge in visual effects will always be realism. Although a lot of what we do is smoke and mirrors, it only gets you so far, and on a big production like this, most problems get delegated to “fix it in post!”. This has a snowball effect, and the next big challenge is to keep a grip on all of these tasks and manage the team’s output within the schedule.” Shaka iLembe also came with plenty of lessons, most of which were adaptations of those learnt over the years while doing high-pressure commercial work. “Although the volume on a TV series like this is a lot more, the long production time allows for progressively easier communication, pipeline efficiencies and using our experience to take high expectations from the client and subdue it under the realities of time and budget,” said Painter. 

Family, fitness and the future

On days when Painter is not working on the next best film, he can be found wresting, cuddling with his two daughters or sipping on some good wine with his wife.  He’s also a fan of computer games and regularly keeps fit through running, cycling and even CrossFit.  As his passion for all things film and animation continues to grow and evolve each day, the same can be said for Luma Animation.  In fact, Painter says that the growth envisioned for the animation studio is more incredible than words can express as they intend to solidify their mark as rivals to international giants. “The opportunities are just endless. We want to establish an industry of visual content creation here in Africa to rival that of the US and Europe. We want to be working on 3 or 4 films concurrently and be the destination for other productions to collaborate and produce quality content.”