Paul Franklin's journey in the entertainment industry began during his university days, where he studied Fine Art and developed a passion for graphics, animation, and filmmaking. He worked extensively in student theater design, film making, and magazine design, and was involved with a group of filmmakers who allowed him to combine his love of graphics with the moving image.
After graduating in 1989, Franklin worked in various roles, including videotape editing and video graphic design. In 1992, he joined the pioneering UK video games company Psygnosis as a computer artist, designing and creating 3D animations for gaming platforms including the nascent PlayStation.
Throughout this period, Franklin worked with a group of independent filmmakers, creating graphics and effects for a series of short films. His work in this area caught the attention of the Moving Picture Company, and he joined their London-based team in 1994 as a CG animator, working on television commercials, films, and long-form broadcast.
In 1998, Franklin and a number of his colleagues left MPC to form Double Negative Visual Effects (Dneg). He set up the new company's 3D department and supervised the CG animation for a number of feature films.
Franklin's work on several films earned him numerous nominations and awards, including a BAFTA nomination for Batman Begins, and BAFTA and Oscar nominations for The Dark Knight. He also worked on Inception, earning him an Oscar and winning several awards.
Franklin continued his working relationship with director Christopher Nolan, serving as VFX supervisor for The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar. He won his second Oscar for Interstellar and another BAFTA.
Franklin served as DNEG's Creative Director for 10 years, consulting on and supervising the VFX on a range of projects, including Venom, Foundation, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
In 2017, Franklin made his directorial debut with his short film The Escape, starring Julian Sands, Olivia Williams, and Art Malik. He followed this up with his short film Fireworks in 2022, starring Charlotte Riley, Ivanno Jeremiah, and Denise Gough. Both films premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
In 2024, Franklin directed his first animated short film Dream of the Black Whales, produced by Chris DeFaria (Lego Movie, Gravity).
