BEAUTIFUL CONFECTIONS
James Clarke catches up with Framestore to discuss the studio’s recent work and the place of VFX in the wider filmmaking process
Back in the early 2000s, as a number of lavishly produced and visual effects-heav y feature films went into production, the visual effects studio scene in London rapidly evolved and consolidated in turn. Key to this rapidly establishing network of companies was Framestore. In just over 20 years, it now stands as a globally recognised studio facility with bases in London, as well as Canada, the United States, Australia and India.
Framestore’s list of past projects is extensive, including the likes of the HarryPotterand JamesBondfranchises. Soon to be added are Wonkaand Rebel Moon, with PaddingtoninPeru, and a live-action version of How toTrainYourDragoncurrently in production to boot.
We spoke with visual effects supervisors Glen Pratt, Alexis Wajsbrot and Andy Kind, who offered wide shots and closeups on three more of the studio’s most recent big-name projects.
Our conversation begins with Pratt unpacking the key aspects of Framestore’s VFX work on one of 2023’s biggest cinematic hits: Barbie. He emphasises the central role taken working with director Greta Gerwig and her crew to develop the film’s now identifiable visual lang uage. “I started out on Barbiein September 2021 and from the beginning, Greta was really keen to use virtual scouting tools,” Pratt observes.
“Everyone talks about the look of Barbieand how it’s evocative of that late period of the 40s and 50s, and even earlier, with its very crafted soundstage with these beautiful paintings. Part of that puzzle was figuring out how big these stages would be because we couldn’t find stages big enough, so visual effects were going to form part of the solution of how we came up with the look of the film.
“M
