El Ranchito
El Ranchito is a Spanish visual effects studio founded in 2004, providing end-to-end VFX production for film, television, and advertising from studios in Madrid and Barcelona, and operating as a member of the EagleTree Capital-backed Pitch Black Company network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersMadrid, Spain
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What El Ranchito does
El Ranchito is a Spanish visual effects (VFX) studio founded in 2004 in Madrid by Félix Bergés and a group of visual effects professionals, with a second studio in Barcelona. The studio delivers end-to-end VFX services for film, television, and advertising, including on-set supervision, virtual production, LiDAR scanning, photogrammetry, motion capture, compositing, 3D asset creation, FX simulation (fire, smoke, explosions, liquids, large-scale sand dynamics), creature and crowd animation, match move, digital doubles, and digital environment creation. Notable technical specializations include machine-learning-based face replacement and proprietary digital shadow generation systems combining 3D set reconstruction with interactive shadow manipulation.
The studio operates as a B2B professional-services business on a project-by-project, fee-for-service basis, with no published rate cards and pricing negotiated directly with production companies. Its primary customer segment is film and television studios and production companies (HBO, Netflix, Amazon Studios, Apple TV+, A24, 20th Century Studios, Disney+, Blumhouse, Amblin Partners), with a secondary segment in advertising and commercial production (e.g., El Corte Inglés campaigns). Client acquisition is driven by direct relationships, industry reputation, and intra-group referrals within the Pitch Black Company network. The studio has completed over 200 projects and earned multiple Emmy, VES, HPA, Goya, Gaudí, and European Film Awards, plus the 2023 Spanish Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.
El Ranchito is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pitch Black Company, an international VFX group that also includes FOLKS, Rising Sun Pictures, and Square One, employing over 1,400 artists across 14 worldwide locations. Pitch Black Company is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York-based private equity firm. The legal entity is EL RANCHITO IMAGEN DIGITAL S.L.U., domiciled in Madrid, Spain. Day-to-day leadership is headed by President Manuel Ramírez, with founder Félix Bergés serving as Special Advisor and a recently hired Creative Director (Javier Roca) overseeing creative vision across the group.
El Ranchito firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- El Ranchito
- Legal name
- EL RANCHITO IMAGEN DIGITAL S.L.U.
- Website
- https://elranchito.es
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- El Ranchito is a Spanish visual effects studio founded in 2004, providing end-to-end VFX production for film, television, and advertising from studios in Madrid and Barcelona, and operating as a member of the EagleTree Capital-backed Pitch Black Company network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
El Ranchito industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Visual Effects Services
- NAICS
- Motion Picture and Video Production (51211)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- VFX Production & Supervision (2D/3D, Compositing, FX, CG) (MPADAHAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- VFX Supervision & On-Set VFX Services (MPAHABAA), VFX Production & Shot Work (CG Integration, Matte Painting, FX) (MPAHABAB), Animation Services for VFX (Creature/Character, Crowd, Simulation Support) (MPADAHAF), On-Set Virtual Art Department (VAD) & Previs/Postvis (MPAHADAD)
Keywords
Where El Ranchito is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Madrid
- HQ country
- Spain
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
El Ranchito business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- VFX Production Services: El Ranchito provides visual effects production services — including compositing, 3D, FX, creatures, crowds, match move, digital doubles, environments, and on-set supervision — to film, television, and advertising production companies on a project-by-project basis. Revenue is generated through fee-for-service contracts with major studios and independent producers. The studio has completed over 200 projects in its history.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
El Ranchito product offering
Product offeringCore offering
El Ranchito is a visual effects (VFX) production studio delivering end-to-end services for film, television, and advertising from studios in Madrid and Barcelona. Its offering spans on-set supervision (including virtual production, LiDAR, drones, photogrammetry, motion capture), compositing, 3D asset creation, FX simulation, creature animation, crowd simulation, match move, digital doubles, environment creation, pre-visualization, and post-production design, contracted on a project-by-project basis with major studios and production companies.
Product overview
El Ranchito is a visual effects (VFX) studio providing comprehensive production services for film, television, and advertising. The studio operates as a single integrated offering combining creative and technical VFX services from on-set supervision through final compositing. Core services include Compositing, Previs & Concept, Assets, Creatures, Crowd, Match Move, Digi-Doubles, Environment, FX simulation, and Post-Production Design - all delivered from studios in Madrid and Barcelona as part of the Pitch Black Company global network.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Visual Effects Production Services for Film, Television, and Advertising End-to-end visual effects production services for film, television series, and advertising campaigns, contracted on a project-by-project basis with major studios, streaming platforms, and independent production companies. Delivered from studios in Madrid and Barcelona as part of the Pitch Black Company global VFX network.
- On-Set Supervision and Virtual Production Services On-set VFX supervision and advanced technical services including virtual production, LiDAR scanning, drones, photogrammetry, and motion capture to ensure accurate VFX integration with live-action footage during principal photography.
- Pre-Visualization and Concept Art Services Development of previs and concept art to plan sequences, define camera framing, and establish visual design from pre-production stage.
- 3D Asset Creation and Environment Services Creation and preparation of production-ready 3D models, textures, materials, and rigs, including modeling, texturing, and compositing of digital environments to extend or replace physical locations.
- FX Simulation Services Simulation of digital effects including fire, smoke, explosions, liquids, and complex dynamics (e.g., 1000-frame sand behavior) for consistent visual integration across film and television projects.
- Creature Animation and Digital Doubles Services Design, rigging, and animation of realistic creatures with CFX simulations, plus hyper-realistic digital doubles for complex, dangerous, or unfilmable scenes.
- Crowd Simulation Services Generation and animation of digital crowds for large-scale scenes with behavior and dynamics control for enhanced realism.
- Match Move Services Camera tracking and alignment of live-action shots with 3D elements to ensure natural integration into the scene.
- Compositing Services Combines live-action footage with digital elements or creates fully CGI composite shots, adjusting color, lighting, and perspective to achieve seamless and believable integration.
- Post-Production Design Services Technical and creative planning of post-production workflows, defining VFX requirements, pipeline, deliverables, and specifications to optimize time and resources across film, television, and advertising projects.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 200 projects completed in films, television, and advertising since founding in 2004.
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use El Ranchito
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
El Ranchito technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature7 records
El Ranchito partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Square OneminorSquare One is a newly launched studio within the Pitch Black Company group, announced in September 2025 as the fourth studio in the Pitch Black network alongside El Ranchito, FOLKS, and Rising Sun Pictures.
- Pitch Black CompanycoreEl Ranchito is a member studio of Pitch Black Company, an international visual effects group that also includes FOLKS, Rising Sun Pictures, and Square One. Pitch Black Company is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm. The group employs over 1,400 artists across fourteen worldwide locations.
- FOLKScoreFOLKS is a sister studio within the Pitch Black Company group, with locations in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, Montréal, Toronto, Bogotá, Saguenay, and Mumbai. FOLKS and El Ranchito collaborate on projects within the Pitch Black network, sharing resources and talent across the global group.
- Rising Sun PicturescoreRising Sun Pictures is a sister studio within the Pitch Black Company group, with locations in Adelaide and Brisbane, Australia. As part of the Pitch Black network, Rising Sun Pictures and El Ranchito collaborate on large-scale VFX projects.
- Blur StudiominorEl Ranchito collaborated with Blur Studio on the Highguard project, a Blur Studio production. El Ranchito is proud to have contributed VFX work for this project.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
El Ranchito competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Luma Pictures: Independent VFX studio with offices in Los Angeles, Vancouver, and London delivering work for Marvel, Netflix, and HBO tentpole content. Luma is comparable to El Ranchito as a mid-sized premium VFX studio competing for the same streaming-driven series pipeline.
- Moving Picture Company (MPC): Global VFX studio (part of the Technicolor/TransPerfect family) delivering high-end film, episodic, and advertising VFX. MPC is a like-for-like competitor on Netflix and Amazon series VFX, and was a prior employer of El Ranchito's Creative Director Javier Roca.
- FOLKS: Pitch Black Company sister studio headquartered in Montreal with operations across Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, Toronto, Bogotá, Saguenay, and Mumbai. FOLKS and El Ranchito share resources and bid together within the network on global VFX assignments.
- DNEG: Global VFX and animation studio with multiple Oscar wins for films such as Dune, Tenet, and Blade Runner 2049. DNEG directly competes with El Ranchito on prestige feature and series VFX work and has comparable multi-region production capacity.
- Framestore: UK-headquartered independent VFX studio delivering award-winning work across film, episodic, and advertising. Framestore competes for the same Netflix/HBO/Amazon slate of high-end series and feature VFX that El Ranchito services, and shares El Ranchito's full-service compositing-to-CG pipeline.
- Rising Sun Pictures: Adelaide-based VFX studio and a sister company within Pitch Black Company, alongside El Ranchito, FOLKS, and Square One. Although same-group, Rising Sun Pictures is a directly comparable peer offering feature and episodic VFX from a non-Spanish footprint and frequently collaborates with El Ranchito on joint bids.
- Method Studios: Global VFX and post-production studio delivering feature, episodic, and advertising work. Method Studios is comparable to El Ranchito in scale and service breadth across VFX production and is part of the same broader independent premium-VFX competitive set.
- Weta FX: New Zealand-based VFX studio behind Avatar, Lord of the Rings, and Planet of the Apes. Weta FX competes for premium feature VFX and is one of the studios where El Ranchito's Creative Director Javier Roca previously held a senior role.
Broad incumbents
- Sony Pictures Imageworks: Studio-owned VFX and animation house delivering work for Sony Pictures and third-party projects (Spider-Verse, Across the Spider-Verse). Comparable to El Ranchito on high-end photoreal VFX and animated/VFX hybrid work, and competes for the same global streaming and feature slate.
- Industrial Light & Magic (ILM): Lucasfilm-owned global VFX studio and the most established premium VFX vendor in the industry. ILM is a direct competitor for tentpole film and episodic VFX, and El Ranchito's new Creative Director Javier Roca previously worked there on projects including Avengers: Infinity War and The Mandalorian.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
El Ranchito social profiles
Digital presenceEl Ranchito compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
El Ranchito financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
El Ranchito leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
El Ranchito funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
El Ranchito M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about El Ranchito
What does El Ranchito do?
El Ranchito is a visual effects (VFX) production studio delivering end-to-end services for film, television, and advertising from studios in Madrid and Barcelona. Its offering spans on-set supervision (including virtual production, LiDAR, drones, photogrammetry, motion capture), compositing, 3D asset creation, FX simulation, creature animation, crowd simulation, match move, digital doubles, environment creation, pre-visualization, and post-production design, contracted on a project-by-project basis with major studios and production companies.
Is El Ranchito a public or private company?
El Ranchito is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was El Ranchito founded?
El Ranchito was founded in 2004. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is El Ranchito based?
El Ranchito is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, in the Europe region.
How does El Ranchito make money?
One revenue line is on record: VFX Production Services.
Who are El Ranchito's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Luma Pictures, Moving Picture Company (MPC), FOLKS, DNEG, Framestore, Rising Sun Pictures, Method Studios and Weta FX. Broad incumbents are Sony Pictures Imageworks and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).
Does El Ranchito have an API?
No public API is recorded for El Ranchito.
What industry is El Ranchito in?
El Ranchito's product category is Visual Effects Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAHAA, VFX Production & Supervision (2D/3D, Compositing, FX, CG), with a secondary code of MPAHABAA, VFX Supervision & On-Set VFX Services. Its NAICS code is 51211 and its SIC code is 7812.