You may not think you know Liaison, but you certainly know the companies it works with. The agency’s clients include many of the best-known names in the visual effects game, from software developers like Chaos to studios like Digital Domain. And to mark its 25th anniversary, we’re going to look back at some of those clients to discover what their stories reveal about the many changes in the industry.

What will emerge is not a conventional history of visual effects – that of the big Hollywood studios, the breakthrough movies, and the industry politics – but a hidden history: the story of the tools from developers whose technology made those movies possible, and their influence on a generation of artists.

It isn’t a complete picture, but it does capture many of the key changes within VFX in the past quarter of a century, from the emergence of today’s 3D software and file formats to the rise of real-time rendering and virtual production, and beyond, to a new era of AI tools.

Order your issue of 3D World today to read more.