Top Gun: Maverick trumps The Avengers
As well as being one of only two films this year to break the $1bn mark at the box office, Top Gun: Maverick has also flown into another coveted spot. It is now one of the top ten grossing films of all time at the US box office, with its $623.8 million domestic take sending it hurtling past The Avengers. Read more about the film’s staggering achievements here and if this doesn’t make you want to watch the film this weekend then we don’t know what will!
Avengers Campus Paris
The Avengers Campus in Disneyland Paris opened to the public this week and we have two new heroic attractions within it. To celebrate, our LA studio, led by Alex Thomas, joined forces with filmmaker Anthony Leonardi III to bring the characters and world of the Avengers to life in one action-packed commercial. Originally shot at Disneyland’s Resort in California, the team was tasked with full CG environment replacements and continuous iterations to the Campus as physical construction progressed in Paris. They also added CG Spider-Man and Iron Man characters.
McDonald’s best customer
Elsewhere in the MCU, McDonald’s brings the world of Thor to its Happy Meals with in this new spot by DDB, when a couple of siblings find themselves stepping into the roles of their favourite action figures. Marvel provided the team with camera-ready Mjölnir and Stormbreaker props to use during the live action shoot, then it was time for the Framestore VFX team to animate the full flight shots, as well as takeovers, lightning effects, set extensions and cleanup using Maya, Houdini, Nuke and Flame.
Press
Campaign Live
Ian Heartfield of New Commercial Arts shared insight with Campaign Live (please note that this article is behind a paywall) about how the recent Paramount+ spot, which our team worked on, was crafted. Heartfield highlighted the brilliant VFX work — “the ad was left in the capable hands of the very best SFX practitioners in the world”, who transformed a standard film set into the world of Paramount+.
VFX to die for
This one was new to us, and comes courtesy of Creative Director, Film, Jonathan Fawkner: A short, snappy exposé of some of No Time To Die‘s Oscar-nominated VFX work, including the LDN team’s note-perfect invisible FX.
[FRAMED]
Meet LA-based Lead Compositor Luca Pelegatta whose partner-in-crime is his credit card and who couldn’t live without pasta and sweets.
In other news
A trip to Disney with the family
The Avengers Campus in Disneyland Paris opened to the public this week and we have two new heroic attractions within it. Our attractions team headed over with some friends and family to soak up the atmosphere. Congratulations to the team – what a great experience!
Paint the Museum of Vancouver Red
Our VAN team had a whale of a time at the Museum of Vancouver yesterday evening! The studio hosted its summer party in this unique venue which featured DJ sets, great food, and lots of surprise prizes. As an ever-growing team, that party was the perfect occasion to create long-lasting bonds and memories filled with laughs, photo booth fails, delicious canapés, and, of course, poutine!
MTL Soccer: Final Stretch for the Playoffs
We’re following up on the two last games played by Framestore FC. After beating Tuque Games last week with a nice 3:1 victory, the team faced a tighter game against MPC FC. After conceding an early goal, the team managed to tie the game with a beautiful finish from Gary Vanhooland. Unfortunately, the team fell behind again, ending the first half with just one goal behind. The second half was dominated by the Framestore FC team with multiple opportunities to score, but unfortunately, the game ended with a short 2:1 loss. Framestore FC is still in the race to secure its spot in the playoffs. Next week’s game against Digital Domain will be decisive! Good luck to our team!
LDN Softball
Game 07: Flamestorm v RAPP ‘Base Invaders’. This week, Flamestorm hit the field with RAPP Base Invaders. After the match last season, the team had a target on their backs and brought their strongest players. Sadly, they couldn’t pull this one off, but better luck next time! Special mention to MVPs this week: The whole team! It was a tough game but everyone kept their chins up and in the end, we got free scones and drinks so really… who are the real winners?? Final score: Flamestorm 8 – 18 Base Invaders
One tasty-looking Groot
Florencia Douek (LDN) baked a Groot cake this week. One word: amazing!
A special vase
Head of Talent, Amy Smith, received a very thoughtful and Framestore inspired gift from her mum this week – a vase commemorating the Platinum Jubilee and Paddington’s star turn with the Queen! The vase was created by 90 year-old Bideford potter, Harry Juniper.
Animated Email Footer Gifs
The animated email footer gifs for Advertising and Film & Episodic have been updated. If you’d like to include these in your email footer then follow this link for instruction on how to set it up.
That’s it for this week peeps – see you next time!