Barbie makes history – or should that be HERstory?
There’s no denying it, Barbie is THE cinematic event of the year: the film has turned the world pink, and it seems to be everywhere you turn. As well as crushing the box office and creating a true cultural moment, the film has also seen director Greta Gerwig make history – she’s scored the biggest opening EVER for a female director and also notched up the best ever Monday for Warner Bros. (read more here: Variety). A huge congrats to Production VFX Supervisor, Glen Pratt; Visualisation Supervisor, Kaya Jabar; VFX Supe, François Dumoulin; and everyone in MTL, MUM and LDN who helped make this film (and its CGI, cough cough) so very special!
Head up to see the Haunted Mansion
The doors to the Haunted Mansion are now open in US cinemas, featuring some epic work by our LDN design team. Take a ride to the other side 👻
Netflix teases Heart of Stone
Netflix has released a teaser for Heart of Stone in their new action trailer “Nobody Hits Like Netflix”. The star-filled cast includes Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, and Matthias Schweighöfer, the film is set to release globally exclusively on Netflix on August 11th.
Welcome to the pirate 🏴☠️ era with One Piece
Eiichiro Oda’s epic masterpiece is about to come to life like never before! One Piece sets sail on August 31st on Netflix with stunning VFX by our NY and LDN teams. Catch the latest trailer below!
The fight begins with Invasion S2
The evolution of both aliens and humanity continues in the highly-anticipated Invasion Season 2 trailer. Invasion returns on Apple TV+ on August 23rd.
Press:
Mocap Barbie Shares Experience with BBC Sounds
Actress and stunt professional Laura Lake spoke to BBC Sounds this week to share her experience of working with us on the creation of Barbie. Listen to the interview here.
Black Mirror Episode Mazey Day Gets Feature in FX Guide
FX Guide shared the VFX breakdown we created for the complex process of transforming a woman into a werewolf, with quotes from VFX Supervisor Jay Khan and CG Supervisor Phil Robinson.
Read more here.
In other news:
MTL 10-Year Party
MTL kicked off their 10 Year Anniversary this week with a party at Jardin Royalmount in the centre of the city. Mel, Lucy, Chloe, and Stuart celebrated the team’s tremendous work over the last 10 years with speeches and some of MTL’s proudest moments were projected on screens around the event. Since opening with a team of eight (!!!) the team has gone from strength to strength, working on some of the world’d biggest film and episodic projects and cementing its reputation as a true VFX powerhouse. A photo booth was also on-site to catch some great snapshots of a very memorable night!
Framestore Podcast
Check out the 2 part behind-the-scenes look at the Framestore LABS department, with special Johnny Dixon, Global Head of Production and Jocelyn Deborne, Senior Executive Producer for LABS. Simone Devereaux dives into the heart of ‘dailies’ and explores this lesser known part of the Framestore family. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
LDN Interns Say “Hi Barbie”
To celebrate the wonderful work we did for Barbie, our LDN interns took a group trip to see the flick on the big screen. The kenergy is off the charts!
MEL celebrates Blak History Month and NAIDOC Week
In recognition of Blak History Month and NAIDOC Week (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee), MEL organised Australian Indigenous catering in the office for everyone to try their damper (bread), kangaroo sausage rolls, ’emu n blanket’, and fried crocodile🐊
Vibrant VAN Artwork
We are thrilled about the exciting facility changes that have taken place in our VAN studio this year! The addition of large-scale art canvases have helped to transform the space, infusing it with vibrant colours and a sense of warmth.
MEL try their Hand at Pottery
MEL decided to mix up their Monday evening with a hand pottery class at a community driven not-for-profit organisation. They had an absolute ball creating some weird and wonderful items!
Flamestorm turns the Tables
LDN’s Flamestorm came back strong this week against Google. Too many “plays of the game” to mention, so let’s just say that whole team are MVPs! The final score was Flamestorm 16 – 5 Google.
A Full House at MEL Whiskey Club
The Whiskey Club joined together for a glass of Lagavulin single malt scotch whiskey and to play a few rounds of giant obnoxious poker!
Interns Launching off from VAN and MTL
VAN celebrated the last of its Launchpad presentations with a fascinating talk about CFX, led by VAN Head of Creature FX and Rigging HOD, Angela Magrath. Throughout the summer, the team enjoyed working with a fabulous array of interns, and loved having them at the studio. The LaunchPad program has proven to be a resounding success, providing valuable learning experiences and fostering a bright future for aspiring talent. Roll on next year!
Tomoka Umezawa (Production Intern, MTL) created a mini documentary on Production at Framestore.
Victoria Wolinski (Modelling Intern, MTL) created 2 models of a lioness and a lion cub.
Mayank Sharma (FX Intern, VAN): set out to create a pyro simulation – the final result was a burning tree at night near a river.
Erin Seo (Compositing Intern, VAN)’s project involved composing character, background, and 2D effects including fire and fog.
That’s it for this week!