Framestore

Um, what was different from that process is that we didn't just do, um, a storyboard animatic, um, but we actually transposed those storyboard animatics into a pre-vis scene.

Uh, we used Framestore in London.

So whenever we had a, an animatic for a scene that we liked, um, with, like temp voices and storyboards and all the usual things, sound effects, then we would send it to Framestore and they would create a, a 3D pre-vis of the scene with a [laughs] little CGI Wiley blocked in as well.

Then once we had that okay, so I was cutting on top of the storyboards, basically that, and then once we were happy with that n- 3D layout of the scene, we would remove the Wiley and any other Looney Tunes character, and then our animators and story artists would then draw what we called sketch-vis on top of the 3D animation to indicate the Looney Tunes, um, characters in their key poses in hand-drawn images as alphas that we would stack on top of the, the, uh, the video, basically.

So the goal of the entire thing was to, that we would end up with a 3D pre-vis version of the movie, where 2D animated drawings of the Looney Tunes characters would be on top of it, that would, where the 3D would represent what would become the live action, and the 2D could be used as a performance reference for the shoot later on.

you're fine.

I would be remiss to not mention this, but also there's a lot of on-camera puppetry in Hail Mary, But there's also digital animation by really talented animators, right? The team at Framestore animated, they also did Rocket Raccoon and other characters that we love very much.

But it's worth saying that I would shoot everything as much as we can on set and really be free and playful and open.

And then they would send me to second unit and go, okay, we're gonna do Rocky's coverage.

But then there was a third step where there was a miniature version of Rocky, about that big, covered in dots, cameras all over this little table, and we would play the scene again, sort of the dream version of the scene, if you like, where there was nothing obstructing us, there was no ball, nothing was in our way.

And it could be my last sort of place to throw all of my thoughts about who Rocky was in that moment.

And all of that information went to Framestore, and they would take things from that.

And of course, it wasn't mocap, but Phil and Chris, during the edit, realized that the energy and the practical nature of the puppet was something that the animators had to mirror.

Tell me the next quantum leap forward where you understand arbitrage and what age and where are you seeing this? so

I worked in film industry I used to be an animator so I used to work for a company called Framestore CFC before that what

kind of animator are you now you're like in my lane here

I am a CGI animator character

The report examines the use of generative AI for asset creation, real-time virtual production, automated composting, compositing, neural rendering, and deep learning basis performance capture.

It identifies Adobe, Autodex, Foundry, Weta Digital, Industrial Light and Magic, Framestore, and Pixar among the prominent companies and studios operating across the sector.

The research dives into markets by the application, including film and television, video games, architecture, advertising and scientific visualization.

It also considers machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing and motor capture, as well as non-premises, cloud-based and hybrid deployment models.

Right.

The visual effects are being handled by a powerhouse trio, Weta FX, Eyeline Studios and Framestore, who actually have historical DNA here, having worked on the original Wald and Narnia films.

Oh, that's a nice connection.

But the mandate across the board is that the digital effects must serve the practical photography, not the other way around.

If this was a caricature and a simplification of a dragon that existed for real, what would that dragon look like? And that became our mentality.

So there was a lot of design work working with the wizards at Framestore, designing what our dragons would ultimately look like, um, and completely credible, photo real.

But then we needed to b- kind of break that down.

So when the actors were on set, they needed, they needed an acting partner in the form of a dragon.

I became an an- animator.

I worked for a company called, um, Framestore CFC and also EA Games, where, you know, you've seen some of their PlayStation, uh, and films.

And so that's how I kinda started.

And, and, you know, Jason, I, I don't know if you've ever had this epiphany moment, like you do something and you go, "Well, there's gotta be something more than this." And I saw my parents work so hard, and so that's what I really started to, to kinda get into.