LONDON — Four films that Framestore worked on are on the shortlist for the “Best Visual Effects” Oscar at the 91st Academy Awards. The studio contributed visual effects services to Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Robin, Mary Poppins Returns and
Welcome to Marwen. The shortlist currently contains 10 films titles, which will ultimately be narrowed to five in January to create this year’s list of nominees.
In addition to the aforementioned titles, the shortlist also includes Ant-Man and the Wasp, Black Panther, First Man, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Ready Player One and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
The Framestore art department also spent over a year working on concept artwork during pre-production for Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One.
“Having four films on the shortlist for the VFX Oscars is a wonderful way to end what has been an outstanding year for us,” says Fiona Walkinshaw, global managing director, film, at Framestore. “It has been a pleasure to collaborate with such dedicated storytellers on an eclectic mix of work; always pushing the boundaries of what is possible on the big screen. A huge congratulations to Framestore's incredibly talented artists who brought these worlds to life.”
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on January 22, 2019. The 91st Oscars will be held on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood.
For Avengers: Infinity War (Marvel Studios), more than 160 Framestore creatives worked on the film, with key staff including Patric Roos (VFX supervisor), Rob Allman (CG supervisor), Dale Newton (animation supervisor) and Richard Graham (CaptureLab studio manager). Framestore delivered the work on Thanos’s sinister lieutenants Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian, and their attack on New York (which saw Framestore’s CaptureLab team visiting the city and taking 250,000 photos in order to digitally recreate the Big Apple), as well as updating and animating key characters Iron Man (including his new nano-suit), Doctor Strange and Spider-Man.
For Disney’s Christopher Robin, Framestore’s work is as much a part of the film’s genetic make-up as Pooh’s own hankering for honey. Framestore’s creatives worked on all of Hundred Acre Wood’s unique inhabitants, with their work shining in scenes as intricate and complex as the picnic table celebration. Their work can also be seen in Pooh’s ‘Gladiator’ moment, when the bear’s paw gently strokes a delicate flower.
Key staff for Christopher Robin included Chris Lawrence (VFX supervisor), Michael Eames (animation director), Theo Jones (VFX supervisor) and Arslan Elver (animation supervisor).
For Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns, Framestore served as the lead visual effects studio, delivering key VFX and animation work on some of the film’s key sequences and stand-out musical numbers. Key staff for this film included Christian Kaestner (VFX supervisor), Kyle McCulloch (VFX supervisor), Frederikke Glick (compositing supervisor), Jeremie Lodomez (head of 2D), Jason Quintana (CG supervisor), Horacio Mendoza Revinski (effects technical director) and Freddy Salazar (head of environments).
Framestore worked on a key, early sequence featured in Universal Pictures’ upcoming film, Welcome to Marwen. Team members included Romain Arnoux (VFX supervisor) and Pierre-Loic Hamon (CG supervisor).