Conference The State of VFX VFX for Episodic
ON SITE König-Karl-Halle Wednesday, May 06, 14:30

Designing VFX for Foundation S3

Designing VFX for Foundation Season 3: In the show’s most ambitious season, Accenture Song’s visual effects team tackled interessting challenges – from the planet  Haven with its tidally locked day/night sides and towering “ Wall” city in the twilight zone, to a spectacular kaleidoscope-like “ Mirror Space” mindscape conveying telepathic powers, and a high-octane  Puller harvester sequence. VFX Supervisor Stephan Schaefholz will share how concept development and execution came together on these sequences, revealing the creative and technical solutions behind Season 3’s grand sci-fi visuals. This talk showcases how the team pushed the boundaries of scale and spectacle while maintaining  Foundation’s cinematic realism and imaginative ambition.

Stephan Schaefholz, VFX Supervisor, Accenture Song Content Germany GmbH

Stephan Schaefholz is a visual effects supervisor at Accenture Song (formerly Mackevision), with over a decade of experience in high-end VFX for film and television. He led the VFX team on all three seasons of Apple TV+’s acclaimed sci-fi series Foundation, with each season presenting increasingly ambitious creative and technical challenges.

His career began with compositing roles at leading studios including Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Pixomondo, and Framestore, where he contributed to major blockbusters such as Fast Five, The Avengers, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Jurassic World. He later advanced to compositing supervisor at Mackevision, where he worked on high-profile episodic productions—including Netflix’s Lost in Space—and other premium streaming series, helping shape the visual language of large-scale, effects-driven storytelling.

As a VFX Supervisor, Stephan has led several major productions for Netflix, Apple and other global platforms, bringing cinematic worlds to life through a blend of creative vision and technical precision.