About us

MATHIEU RAYNAULT

Founder

Mathieu Raynault is known throughout the visual effects community for his artistic contributions as well as his entrepreneurial ventures. He began his impressive matte painting career working at ILM and Weta Digital on such notable films as the Star Wars saga, The Lord of the Rings as well as The Matrix series. After co-founding the internationally-known studio, Rodeo FX, Mathieu departed in 2011 and launched his own boutique studio in Montreal, Canada. Surrounding himself with a small, select team of artists, he grew the studio into what is now a full service vfx facility.

Still inspired by the passion that launched his career over 25 years ago, Mathieu remains a hands-on artist designing memorable landscapes, futuristic cities and historical reconstructions with photo-realistic detail. His creative successes and professional choices are clearly aligned with his leadership and mentoring skills. Under his careful direction, Raynault vfx has firmly established its reputation with work on such notable films as Fantastic Beasts 3, Watchmen, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Arrival, and Ghost in the Shell.

YANICK DUSSEAULT

CREATIVE PARTNER

Yanick Dusseault is a familiar name in the vfx world. For over 25 years, he has worked on high-profile projects at ILM, Lucasfilm, and Weta Digital. Yanick has an elite reputation as an Art Director that can effectively realize a director’s vision. His talent is sought after by such Directors as Spielberg, George Lucas and Peter Jackson. In 2012, he was handpicked by JJ Abrams to be part of the dedicated, ongoing Star Wars Art Direction Team, and he has continued in that role since Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Yanick was previously Senior Art Director at ILM which he joined in early 2001 after working as a Senior Matte Painter on the Lord of the Rings trilogy in Wellington, New Zealand. He is the recipient of numerous accolades and awards including the VES award for "Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature" on Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015 and “Outstanding Matte Painting in a Motion Picture” in 2004 for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean. He was also part of the Oscar winning VFX team for What Dreams May Come in 1999.

Motivated to bring his passion for vfx to a team he could help inspire and take pride in knowing that his input has direct influence on its success, Yanick joined Raynault in early 2018. As Creative Partner, Yanick wears three hats at Raynault; Art Director, Concept Artist, and Digital Matte Painter, adding even more depth to an already accomplished team.

CHARLENE EBERLE

Executive Producer

Charlene Eberle is an accomplished producer with an extended network of colleagues and clients throughout the feature film and television industries. Charlene solidified her reputation as an Executive Producer at Image Engine on such films as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Captain America: Civil War. Her wide-ranging experience - both on-set and in-house - has connected her with some of the most talented people in the vfx industry.

The leap of faith that urged Charlene to move across country to Vancouver after studying film at Ryerson was the first of many smart moves. After landing her first on-set job, she eagerly learned as much as she could from each of the feature film departments in action. Her ongoing appreciation for her own mentors has come full circle as she now encourages up and coming industry talent and advances the cause for greater diversity in the film industry.

Oh, and did we mention that Charlene also rescues animals and makes the most adorable dog beds?

SYLVAIN THÉROUX

Partner & VFX Supervisor

Sylvain Theroux has been with Raynault since its inception in 2011. He has been responsible for pipeline development as well as technical supervision on numerous features and episodics and is particularly proud of the balance the company maintains between boutique environment and cutting edge technology.

Sylvain’s obvious aptitude for the technical side of things combined with his undeniable artistic talent led him to the NAD Center in Montreal where he completed his degree in VFX for Cinema. A childhood passion for Legos and drawing architecture – especially space stations -- clearly foreshadowed his work on such films as Arrival and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Inspired by characters, musicians and artists noted for their appreciation of beauty, devotion, and inspiration, Sylvain prefers when the vfx serves the story purpose.

Outside the office, Sylvain has three children already exhibiting his passion for film and technical proclivity for software, as well as his love of Legos and drawing space stations.

VINCENT POITRAS

Partner & VFX Supervisor

Vincent Poitras returned to Montreal in 2015 specifically to re-join Raynault for what he was convinced would be an exciting opportunity to be part of the company’s expansion plans. His expectations were proven to be accurate. Known for his ongoing quest for new, and creative challenges, his work here continues to highlight not only his personal drive and exceptional talent, but also his ability to motivate others to do their best work.

The Electrical Engineering world’s loss was the VFX industry’s gain, as Vincent recognized early on that he was more interested in creating art with 3D software than electronic and CAD designs. With a general focus on Production in college, he pursued his interest in vfx independently. His self-driven success comes from continually challenging himself to learn new software and methods while experimenting with their application.

Vincent was nominated in 2014 for a Canadian Screen Award for Best VFX for Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy handling both on-set and in-house supervision for the film. There is no end to the outlets Vincent finds for his creativity in and out of the office, as he pursues music, photography, art, and furniture design and construction.

VALÉRIE CLÉMENT

VFX Producer

Valérie has a singular career path. After studying advertising/public relations in Media Art & Technology, her career led her through the fields of sports marketing and event management (including professional tennis, football, alpine skiing, adventure tourism and ice hockey) before she leapt into the world of visual effects. Her role as a vfx producer has brought her to oversee high-profile vfx projects, such as Stranger Things and His Dark Materials, ensuring all resources involved achieve their goals in a timely and financially responsible manner.

Organised, rigorous and focused, Valérie thrives on teamwork and problem solving.

A very active mother of three young kids, she is always moving. Alpine and cross-country skiing, running, hiking and kickboxing/muay thaï are her go-to activities. And to slow down her hectic pace? She loves to read, play the piano and cook!

DAVID LAROCHELLE

VFX & Compositing Supervisor

David is a visual effects and compositing supervisor with over 18 years of experience. Originally trained as a vfx artist in Centre NAD, he spent a few years in Montreal honing his craft before moving to Industrial Light & Magic in San Francisco. With his innate leadership skills and keen eye, he quickly rose through the ranks to become compositing lead, then supervisor, at major facilities like ILM (San Francisco/Singapore), Luma Pictures (Melbourne) and Weta Digital (Wellington) before joining Raynault vfx in 2019.

Some of his latest projects include Hollywood blockbusters War for the Planet of the Apes, Justice League, Alita: Battle Angel, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, 6Underground, Free Guy, Death on the Nile, and Thor: Love and Thunder, to name a few.

What is David passionate about (outside of producing beautiful imagery, of course)? Hiking, camping, nature, mechanics, and cooking. He is, without a doubt, Raynault's top food critic.

SIMON OUELLET

Chief Technology Officer

Simon Ouellet's career is marked by his commitment to excellence, autodidactism, continuous learning, and technical proficiency, making him a valuable member of the visual effects and technology industries.

With Raynault vfx since 2015, he progressed from Developer to Lead Pipeline TD before assuming his current role of Chief Technology Officer. Both multifaceted and tech-savvy, Simon is dynamic, passionate and he showcases boundless energy and enthusiasm. An incredible team player, he also strongly advocates for open source and Linux technologies.

What keeps him busy when he’s not in the office? Simon is always on the move. He runs, bikes, skis and seeks new adventures wherever he goes. The dev team, artists, and production team love to collaborate with him to imagine how we can improve our daily lives at Raynault.

JACINTHE CÔTÉ

Partner & Head of Production

Jacinthe Côté came to Raynault with an incredibly diverse production resume. After studying post-production in Media Art and Technology, she worked as a PA, Compositor, Assistant Editor, Producer and Production Manager for various post production facilities. Most notably, Jacinthe was responsible for building the VFX production department from the ground up at a major, Montreal facility. Jacinthe is not just uniquely qualified to direct and manage the talented team at Raynault, but is highly respected for the insights and efficiencies she brings to our production pipeline.

As the proud mother of two young girls, she knows all about time management and balancing work and personal life, which incidentally, is one of the core philosophies at Raynault. With her family, she turns to travel and the outdoors for rejuvenation outside of office time.