Framestore Limited(The)[1] is a British animation and visual effects studio based in Chancery Lane in London. Formed in 1986, it acquired and subsequently merged with the Computer Film Company in 1997. Framestore specialises in effects for film, television, video games, and other media. It is the largest production house within Europe, employing roughly 2500 staff — 1000 in London, and 1500 across offices in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Montreal, Vancouver, Mumbai and Beijing.[2][3][4]
History
Foundation
Framestore was founded in 1986 by William Sargent and Sharon Reed, together with three friends.[5]Tim Webber joined Framestore in 1988 and led the company's push into digital film and television, developing Framestore's virtual camera and motion rig systems. In 1992, Mike Milne started the CGI department, adding computer-generated animation to the company's range of facilities.[6]
Merger with CFC
In 1997, Framestore acquired the Computer Film Company, which was one of the UK's first digital film special effects companies, developing technology for digital film scanning, compositing, and output. CFC was founded in London in 1984 by Mike Boudry, Wolfgang Lempp (now CTO at Filmlight) and Neil Harris (Lightworks). CFC's first film was The Fruit Machine, in 1988, which utilised early morphing techniques.[7]
In 2004, Framestore opened their first satellite office in New York City, to focus on advertising.[8] This was followed by another office in Iceland in 2008, which has since been closed and has reopened as a local VFX company, RVX.[9] In 2013 Framestore opened an office in Montreal, followed by another in Los Angeles the same year.[10][11][12] In 2014, it launched a production arm.[13]
Early projects for the company include the delivery of its first feature animation project The Tale of Despereaux with Universal;[14] the completion of Europe's first digital intermediate for the film Chicken Run in 2000;[15] contribution of scenes for the 2009 film Avatar,[16] and the completion as a production project of four British feature films which opened in theatres between during 2009 and 2010.[17]
The company also worked on the 2017 film Darkest Hour directed by Joe Wright, working out of the Montreal facility of Framestore to create historically accurate backdrops for 85 shots in the film, including battle scenes.[21]
The team created around 300 shots for the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049, with Framestore winning a special visual effects award at the 2018 British Academy Film Awards.[22] They have also worked on Black Mirror, creating props such as the 60s-style spaceship in the premiere of the fourth season.[23]
Framestore has collaborated with companies and advertising agencies to create trade characters, and also created an attempted photorealistic computer-generated Audrey Hepburn for a Galaxy chocolate advert.[33] A combination of elements including body doubles, motion capture, FACS and rendering software called Arnold were used to mimic the appearance of the actress 20 years after her death. The advert drew press attention both for the cutting-edge technology utilized and the ethical implications of using a person's likeness posthumously for commercial purposes.[34][35][36]
^"Biography of Dadi Einarsson". Barcelona International Arts & VFX Fair 2019. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
^Christiansen, Mark (30 August 2016). "Framestore Los Angeles". Frame.io Insider. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
^McCarthy, Todd (8 September 2008). "Me and Orson Welles". Variety Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
