Javier Roca Joins Pitch Black and El Ranchito as Creative Director: A New Chapter Looking Toward the Future of VFX

After more than two decades, major productions, and two previous chapters at El Ranchito, Roca shares what it means to return to one of the most important companies of his career - with a future-focused vision and the same excitement as ever.

I studied directing for film and television and earned my qualification in Spain. As soon as I finished studying, I started working as a camera operator and editor at a television station, and I fell in love with it. I wasn’t sure which part of the process I wanted to focus on, because I started to discover that I loved many things, not just directing.

“Every step pulled me in a little more… I loved being the person who carried shots over the finish line.”

I worked as a camera operator, then moved into editing, motion graphics, 3D (in a very basic way), and finally, compositing. Each step pulled me in a little more. While working with a friend on a short film in Shake, I got hold of some tutorial DVDs from Japan and taught myself. Back then, there were no YouTube tutorials.

I loved being the person who carried shots over the finish line. I have never been afraid of difficult challenges, and over time, that became something people knew me for.

“Working at El Ranchito, the best visual effects company in Spain, was always one of my big goals.”

Working at El Ranchito, the best visual effects company in Spain, was always one of my big goals. I remember my father saying, “Maybe you should try another company; maybe El Ranchito is too much for you.” Whether he meant to or not, he lit a huge fire inside me and helped make it happen.

My first chapter at El Ranchito was in 2010. I worked on The Impossible, a project in which I led part of the most ambitious VFX sequence in Spain up to that point. I enjoyed my time at the studio so much; I don’t think things could have gone better.

“These projects and the recognition they brought reinforced something in me: I knew there were moments when it was important to take risks, and I always had to trust my instincts.”

Over time, life took me to Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, and New Zealand through MPC, ILM, and Weta. I worked on projects such as Jurassic World, The Martian, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and Avengers: Infinity War. Eight years after leaving El Ranchito, I returned as a VFX Supervisor, joining Game of Thrones directly. The next projects were The Mandalorian and the second season of SEE, which received Emmy recognition and won the VES and HPA that year.

These projects and the recognition they brought reinforced something in me: I knew there were moments when it was important to take risks, and I always had to trust my instincts.

“I return with more experience, new ideas, and a clear sense of the impact I can have.”

When I left El Ranchito, I knew I would come back someday. What I didn’t know was when the right opportunity would arrive. And when it finally came through Pitch Black, home of El Ranchito, I had no doubts. I return with more experience, new ideas, and a clear sense of the impact I can have. I will have the opportunity to think big and work on a global scale as part of an incredible network of studios.

“I’m very excited to be based in Montreal with Pitch Black and working alongside El Ranchito... I see no limits.”

As Creative Director, I want to strengthen the same principles that have made El Ranchito what it is today, while creatively adapting the tools we now have thanks to this technological revolution we are living through.

I want us to keep looking toward the future, adapting, and pioneering things no one else is doing.

I’m very excited to be based in Montreal with Pitch Black and working alongside El Ranchito. I feel the same excitement I had when I started in this profession more than 20 years ago. I have the same energy and the same passion to create as I had on day one.