Monte Carlo - This year's Imagina Awards recognized the VFX work in
X-Men: The Last Stand with the prize for Best Special Effects jointly
awarded to
Framestore CFC and Weta Digital Ltd.
The award -- one of Imagina's
famous glass teapots -- was accepted on behalf of the company by Joint
CEO William Sargent.
X-Men: The Last Stand opened in May 2006 around the world,
breaking many box-office records. Directed by Brett Ratner and starring
Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, and Patrick Stewart, the film
is a 20th Century Fox production. The film's VFX Supervisor was John
Bruno.
Chief among Framestore CFC's contributions to the film's VFX are the
Bridge Sequence - wherein one of the mutant groups use their
telekinetic powers to wrench San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Bridge
from it's foundations and redirect it to form a link with the island of
Alcatraz. Framestore CFC's VFX Supervisor for the project was Craig
Lyn, who had personal reasons for wanting to win the bid for the Bridge
sequence. "Our VFX Producer on this project, Mei Ming Casino, and I had
both lived in the (San Francisco) Bay area," he says, "And we both have
very fond memories of it. The chance to play with one of the world's
most famous bridges in a location we loved was just too good to miss."
The company's VFX team also gave CG wings to Angel, a character new to
the mutant pantheon, as well as replacing him in some shots with a full
digital double. In addition, the team handled a sequence where a
fountain and pond are instantaneously frozen. Altogether, Framestore
CFC provided the production with 175 VFX shots.
The Imagina Awards - part of the European Digital Content Creation
Festival - have won a reputation over the years as the benchmark for
worldwide computer graphics and special effects production. They have
become a significant competition, synonymous with creativity, discovery
and diversity. The awards are given to the best graphic works animated
using digital technology, based not only on their technical qualities
but also on the emotions they generate.