BAFTA Longlist 2024
Congratulations to our amazing VFX teams on making the BAFTA longlist for Special Visual Effects.
The biggest film of the year and a true cultural phenomenon, Barbie featured 1300 shots of immaculately-crafted VFX, led by Production VFX Supervisor Glen Pratt. Achieving a unique stylistic vision that drew on classic soundstage musicals of the 50s and 60s required close collaboration across multiple departments to deliver completely invisible effects - a testament to the digital artistry involved. “Practical miniatures were transformed into digital versions used to populate Barbie Land’s vistas,” explains Glen Pratt. “They also provided a strong frame of reference to design and build many others for set extensions, backdrops and full CG shots. From Barbie’s Neighbourhood, the Pink House, Real World This Way, Beach Drive and Weird Barbie’s house, the strong direction set by the miniatures team saw these digital builds blend seamlessly with the practical photography and stunning set pieces in the joyful final film.” Framestore provided concept art, visdev, virtual production, previsualisation and postvisualisation services for the film, as well as animation and final VFX provided by Framestore's MOntreal and Mumbai studios, led by VFX Supervisor François Dumoulin. Additional VFX came courtesy of UPP, Fuse FX, Chicken Bone, Powerhouse and Lola.
Wonka drew from the full Framestore recipe book in order to work its magic, utilising the studio’s concept art, pre-production, animation and VFX teams in London, Montreal and Mumbai - all led by Production VFX Supervisor Graham Page. Spanning 922 shots, Framestore’s complex, extensive work included transforming Hugh Grant into an 18-inch Oompa Loompa, along with whimsical environments, photoreal creatures, fantastic contraptions and 300,000 gallons of digital chocolate. “Wonka was my third film with Framestore and yet again they surpassed my wildest expectations,” said director Paul King. “Each time they have been the absolute best of creative collaborators. In short; they work miracles.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3
Framestore teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy for one last ride, taking their character animation work to the next level as they helped director James Gunn dig into Rocket Raccoon’s moving backstory. Deploying nuanced, emotional animation work to chart Rocket’s journey from innocent kit to cynical ‘trash panda’ the team also created photoreal spacedog Cosmo, a hench teenage Groot and new characters Lylla, Teefs and Floor, along with a range of epic environments and explosive setpieces. Framestore’s work was led by Alexis Wajsbrot in the UK, Stephane Naze in Montreal and Ross McCabe in Vancouver, with support from its Mumbai studio. Director James Gunn has hailed Framestore’s work on the film as “some of the best VFX ever seen.”
BAFTA members can vote from 6pm GMT today until Friday 12 January 2024. Nominations will be announced on Thursday 18th January. Best of luck to everyone!