Let’s fight ghosts
Adapted from the books by Jonathan Stroud, Joe Cornish’s Lockwood and Co. hits Netflix at the end of the month. Featuring the work of our teams in VAN, MUM and LDN, the show tells the story of three young ghost-battling detectives (Lucy Carlyle, Anthony Lockwood, and George Cubbins). We’ll keep you updated on any news before its release on January 27th!
The Last of Us
Take a look at the final trailer of The Last of Us, a hotly-anticipated show for HBO Max that features the work of our superb FPS team. The series follows Joel and Ellie, a pair connected through the harshness of the world they live in and are forced to endure brutal circumstances and ruthless killers on a trek across post-pandemic America. We can’t wait to get our eyes on this!
Foundation 2 Sneak Peek
The second season of Apple TV+’s Foundation chronicles a band of exiles on their monumental journey to save humanity and rebuild civilisation amid the fall of the Galactic Empire. The show is based on the award-winning novels by Isaac Asimov and features fantastic VFX work by our MTL team, lead by VFX Supervisor Laureline Silan.
Play the colour game
Have you caught Netflix’s new heist drama series Kaleidoscope yet? As the lead VFX team, our NY-based CG and 2D departments tackled a multitude of artistic requests and effects-heavy shots in each episode. Check out this behind the scenes look at how the team brought some of the photo real scenes to life! In case you didn’t know – you can watch Kaleidoscope in multiple different orders. Take a look at this post for inspiration and let us know your colours.
Wild’s In the Womb
For National Geographic Wild’s In the Womb: Animal Babies, Framestore teamed up with Pioneer Productions to use cutting-edge imagery, state-of-the-art special effects and amazing 4D scans to provide an inside look at the pregnancies of four animal mothers – lion Maya, meerkat Swift, herding dog Brumby, and elephant Bisa. Alongside the complex process of creating photo-real CGI, Framestore had to ensure total accuracy when it came to the scientific requirements. From the lion ‘hammock’ (a sac which cocoons the cubs) to the precise shade of dark ’sunglasses’ around a baby meerkat’s eyes, everything is exactly what it would look like in a real animal womb. Read more in Televisual.
Awards
BAFTA Longlist
The longlist for the ‘Special Visual Effects’ BAFTA has been announced, and, of the 10 films to make the grade, three feature work from Framestore’s incredible artists, producers and technologists in LDN, MTL and MUM. Hats off to every single person who worked on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (led by Production VFX Supervisor Christian Manz), Top Gun: Maverick (led by Production VFX Supervisor Ryan Tudhope) and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (led by VFX Supervisor Alexis Wajsbrot). These are three very different films featuring very different visual styles and techniques, all united by our teams’ trademark creative flair and commitment to cinematic excellence. Fingers crossed for 19th January, when the final nominations are announced! Coincidently, the three projects featured on the BAFTA longlist also made it onto the Oscar shortlist which was announced shortly before the holidays.
Press
Animation World Network
VFX Supervisor John Kilshaw spoke to Animation World Network about the NY teams’ work on Kaleidoscope, unveiling how they portrayed Manhattan’s skyline in the midst of Hurricane Sandy, to creating fire and smoke effects that heighten the drama of an intense scene. Read more here.
VFX Voice
We caught this one late, but while the films that have made their way to this year’s Oscar bakeoff may already have been selected, this VFX Voice piece nevertheless serves as a neat run-through of the year’s most audacious VFX spectacles. As you’d expect, work by our talented studios worldwide features prominently, including (deep breath): Top Gun: Maverick; Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness; Thor: Love & Thunder; Moonfall; Beast; Three Thousand Years Of Longing and Elvis (phew!). Read more here.
Shots
Our work on The British Heart foundations heartwarming Christmas spot ‘The Gift That Keeps on Living‘ has been featured in Shot’s Best of December 2022 Showcase.
AdAge
ASDA’s charming Christmas spot ‘Have Your Elf a Merry Christmas‘ took place 29 in the AdAge’s The 30 Best Ads of 2022 list. Congrats to the team!
VFX Voice
VFX Voice explores how VFX pros keep their skills sharp, remain inquisitive and make sure they’re up to speed when it comes to the latest hardware, software and techniques. Our Director, Global Talent Development, Simon Devereux, is quoted in the story, explaining what Framestore is doing to help its artists, producers and technologists develop their skills, with everything from life drawing classes to hiring specialist trainers in areas such as Unreal/3D and production. Read more here.
AnimationXpress
AnimationXpress looks back on 2022, interviewing key players from the Indian VFX industry. Repping Framestore is Managing Director, India, Akhauri P. Sinha, who talks about the Mumbai studio’s expansion, India’s inaugural Launchpad Pro training programme and the exciting projects the studio is currently working on, including The Little Mermaid, Barbie and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.
LBB
Check out what our President of Advertising James Razzall had to say about industry trends and 2023 predictions in a recent article for LBB by reporter Ben Conway here.
FRAMED
Prep/Paint Artist, MUM
This week, we’re thrilled to introduce you to Prep/Paint Artist Amol Dhobe who can’t go a day without music and a cup of tea, takes great delight in art forms of all kinds, and dreams of owning his own restaurant one day.
In other news
Christian Manz on Radio 4
Creative Director, Film, Christian Manz is set to be interviewed on Radio 4 tomorrow so make sure to listen out for it!
Facilities Meet & Greet
The MTL Facilities team enjoyed a night out together at Fritzroy on Wednesday, 21st December. It was the a long overdue department outing and included lots of tasty food, beer, and fun pool games.
MTL Beer Friday
The MTL studio enjoyed their last beer Friday of 2022 just before the holidays and toasted to a successful year ahead!
January Wellness Challenge in VAN
For many people, January presents an opportunity to set a positive tone for the coming year by making resolutions or goals. In honour of the new year, the VAN Ops team organised a January challenge for VAN-based employees. Keep an eye out for the first quiz this afternoon – there are some cool prizes to be won! Moving forward, all quizzes will be sent out on Mondays and winners announced on Fridays.
That’s it for the first week of 2023!
Please remember to submit your Round Up content to roundup@framestore.com.
