From Beast of War to Love and Monsters, Formation Effects creates practical creatures, animatronics, prosthetics, puppets and hybrid digital workflows that ground terror, character and awe in physical reality. Their work exists where engineering, performance and imagination collide, building creatures designed to be felt in the room… and remembered long after the credits roll.

In this exclusive AACTA panel, the Formation team pull back the curtain on how they shape nightmares into believable on-screen life, from early sculpt and mechanical problem-solving, to puppeteering on set, to the seamless hand-off into VFX that preserves weight, texture and truth.

They'll talk creative process, creative restraint, and how their practical-to-digital pipeline delivers characters from concept to screen.

For filmmakers, fans and future creature makers, this is where the beast comes alive. And refuses to leave.