All we want for Christmas is Groot
This is not a test! The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special hits Disney+ TODAY. We’re incredibly proud that the world finally gets to unwrap this holiday treat, and see a brilliant slice of the MCU that was a truly global effort for Framestore. Supervised by Alexis Wajsbrot, the project drew on the talents of (deep breath!) LDN, MTL, MUM, VAN and MEL, and represents our fourth collaboration with director James Gunn. Among scads of positive reviews, Variety hailed it “a near-perfect, penultimate film from one of the superhero genre’s best” which is “stuffed with funny, feel-good Christmas joy, and it’s one of the best pieces of content Marvel Studios has released in years.” The film also received an impressively 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, and an audience score of 87%. Congratulations to everyone involved, and make sure to tune in to Disney+ tonight!
Behind the scenes of Slumberland
This short BTS film explores the stunning world of Slumberland, and Framestore’s work on Pig, the walking bed and those giant Canada geese is front-and-centre. Congrats to our LDN, MUM, MTL and FPS teams for making all those VFX dreams come true!
Making 1899
The making of 1899 was almost as epic as the show itself, and we’re proud of the role our creatives, producers and technologists played in the production from concept art to final VFX. Perhaps the show’s biggest tech talking point is its use of DARK BAY GmbH’s unique revolving LED volume stage, and our team’s work included everything from designing infrastructure to creating content and on-set supervision. If you’re keen to find out more, take a look at this behind-the-scenes documentary which includes insight from our overall VFX supervisor Christian Kaestner.
A winning Christmas love story for National Lottery
Created by adam&eveDDB and directed by Oscar-winner Tom Hooper, this three-and-a-half minute ad encourages the public to take a chance and believe in the magic of hope and possibility this Christmas. Framestore delivered VFX, with Colour by Simon Bourne at Company 3. The heart-warming ad received rave reviews across the press, including 5 stars from David Reviews.
Look Further with The Botanist
Creatively developed by Stephen Goalby and directed by William Bartlett, Framestore produced this project from storyboards through to final picture, including live action, visual effects and grade via Company 3. Framestore modelled the embossed lettering of the bottle to create a photo realistic CG glass ‘lens’ through which The Botanist world is seen. Multiple scales of the lens were developed so that different magnifications, reflections and refractions could play across the images to beautiful effect.
The Mosquito Coast
The NY team had audiences on the edge of their seats with a dramatic storm sequence in Episode 202 of The Mosquito Coast. To create the scene, the team built a detailed boat model, water simulations, heavy rain effects, and 360 degree views of the surrounding environment with cliffs and densely populated trees that swayed in the treacherous weather. Catch it now on Apple TV+!
Into the Footballverse
Nike launched a masterful four-and-a-half minute spot featuring some of the most recognisable names in football, past and present, battling it out in the imaginary “Footballverse.” Our LA studio was enlisted to de-age star athletes like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in order to appear at the peak of their careers, as well as create CG footballs, environments, set extensions, an 8-bit animated sequence, and comp players into shots when shoot schedules didn’t align.
Kaleidoscope
Netflix released a behind the scenes teaser for its upcoming, nonlinear crime series Kaleidoscope, inspired by a true story about the largest heist ever attempted. John Kilshaw helmed the project as the show’s overall VFX Supervisor, with our NY team carrying out the major VFX for the series. We can’t wait to binge all eight episodes on January 1st!
Press
Befores & Afters
Befores & Afters spoke to VFX Supe Enrik Pavdeja about Beast, and how the Framestore team helped unleash the film’s majestic photoreal lions. Hats off to our LDN, MUM and FPS teams – we’d be lion if we said we weren’t impressed with your work! Read all about it here.
Little Black Book
We’ve got big plans for our MUM studio and our growing team is working on the world’s most exciting film and episodic projects. Check out this LBB interview with MD Akhauri P Sinha who explains why Mumbai is the perfect place for us to realise our creative ambitions and sheds some light on the learning and development opportunities we have in place to keep our talent at the top of their game.
Befores & Afters
Global Talent Development Director Simon Devereux, wearing his Access VFX hat, also spoke to Befores & Afters about the launch of the body’s new Europe chapter and its efforts to improve diversity in the VFX industry. Read more here.
FRAMED
Niketan Jadhav, Roto Artist, MUM
Meet Roto Artist Niketan Jadhav who loves to sketch, is a huge Anime fan, and would probably be a tattoo artist in an alternate universe.
Clémentine Berezoutzky, Production Coordinator, MTL
Get to know Production Coordinator Clémentine Berezoutzky who is a cat whisperer, proud Potterhead, and would love to hang out with You-Know-Who.
In other news
Buddy the Elf on Capital FM
Will Ferrell joined Roman Kemp on Capital FM to talk about ASDA’s Christmas spot and how much he loved it. Congrats to everyone involved – you couldn’t have received a higher compliment!
Welcome to Barcelona!
Creative Director, FPS Vincent Aupetit joined this year’s B’Ars and explained the pivotal role our team’s previs played in the creative process of Marvel’s Moon Knight. He was joined by Recruitment Coordinator Skye Chappell, and they both had a great time meeting a wide variety of creatives at our booth.
Women of Silicon Roundabout
Product Manager Rakiya Suleiman, Scrum Master Tonea Charlery and Technology Strategist Lorna Dumba attended the Women of Silicon Roundabout in LDN this week and delivered an insightful talk on ‘Tech in Tinseltown: How To Tech(over) Hollywood’. Technology Recruitment Manager, Ellie Algar, Recruitment Coordinator Skye Chappell and Talent Partner: Outreach and Inclusion Engy Jarrouj were also on site to answer the burning questions of attendees stopping by our booth.
Italian VFX talent
Technical Director Federico Ghirlanda, Modeller Davide Sasselli, Senior Generalist TD Eleonora D’Onofrio and our recruitment team welcomed Big Rock University students from Italy to our LDN studio this week. The students got a sneak peek at the wonderful world of VFX and the amazing work our artists create.
A visit to LDN
Head of Studio (VAN) Naomi Stopa, Head of Production (VAN) Jinnie Pak and Head of Resourcing (MEL) Lauren Moore travelled countless hours to get to know more of their LDN colleagues. The trio also joined the monthly Supe Get-Together’
Head of Lighting and Lookdev Technology (MEL) Drew Wood-Davies also visited the LDN studio and joined the team during their traditional Friday Lighting cocktails last week.
VAN’s return to (some) normality
The VAN studio has been enjoying their second week of RTO breakfasts and having more people in the studio. The teams are looking forward to welcoming more people back, and getting the studio ready for the holidays.
1899 Wrap Party and Social Friday
A huge thanks to everyone who came out to the VAN Social Friday and 1899 Wrap Party! It was a great opportunity to celebrate the tremendous efforts of the team (and eat cake). Our favourite moment was when the karaoke started… “Just a small-town girl… living in in a lonely world” (you know the rest!).
CFX & Rigging Social in VAN
The VAN CFX and Rigging team celebrated a team social with some drinks and eats at Craft Beer Market. The perfect way to end the week!
Axe Throwing with the Asset Team
The IA LDN Asset team channeled their inner Asgardians this past week visiting the newly opened Whistlepunks in Oxford Circus. We now know who we’ll ask to chop down our Christmas tree! Take a look at some smiley and full-Viking pictures below.
Bangalore Roadshow
This weekend, our MUM studio have curated an open house in Bangalore for senior-level talent to meet and connect with our senior leadership team. CG Supervisor Prashant Nair will be there to take attendees into the world of Marvel and discuss his experience working behind the scenes on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love & Thunder and Moon Knight. To top it off, Production VFX Supervisor Ryan Tudhope will also share insights and anecdotes about his experience on-set (and on-ship!) working with director Jospeh Kosinski on this year’s biggest film, Top Gun: Maverick. If you know any senior VFX talent in Bangalore, please feel free to invite them by sharing this link.
That’s it for this week! Please remember that our teams are working hard to organise memorable holiday celebrations for you and your teams. Find the dates for next week’s parties below and make sure to RSVP. We can’t wait to see the photos!
MTL, Wednesday 30th Nov
LDN, Thursday 1st Dec
NYC & MEL, Friday 2nd Dec
