VFX Studio ‘Framestore’ to Return to Narnia for Netflix’s Adaptation
NarniaWeb has learned that the London-based VFX Studio Framestore is to return to Narnia to work on the visual effects for Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Magician’s Nephew adaptation at Netflix. Framestore have previously worked on the digital effects for Walden Media’s Prince Caspian (2008) as well as The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010).
In Prince Caspian, Framestore handled 514 shots, including CGI characters like Trufflehunter, Aslan, and Pattertwig, as well as the Dryad Dream sequence, the tube station-to-Narnia transition, Cair Paravel, and various set extensions.
For Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the studio created various elements, such as the CGI Aslan, the Dufflepuds, the painting-to-ocean transition, and the non-breaking wave at the world’s edge.
In the 15 years since the Walden Media film trilogy wrapped however, the VFX industry has been through some hard times. Rhythm & Hues, the lead VFX studio on The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe (2005), filed for bankruptcy in 2013, and the Moving Picture Company (MPC), who worked alongside Framestore on the visual effects for both Prince Caspian and Dawn Treader closed down earlier this year.
As with the Walden films, there are likely to be a number of other smaller VFX houses working alongside Framestore on the digital effects for Netflix’s Narnia; all of which is being overseen by Kris Wright, the director of VFX at Netflix.
Good choice of a VFX company for Narnia. If unsurprising, it’s at least very promising: FrameStore has done numerous movies, small and big, with excellent visual effects. They are known for breaking new ground in different effects fields. I particularly liked their ambitious work on Gravity 2013. I found that movie transporting partly because of how good the effects were. If they can bring a that kind of awe to Narnia, and bring a different quality to it than their previous Narnia efforts (maybe something more naturalistic and yet more stylised than before) that would ignite my interest. I certainly hope they indulge in practical effects as well as CGI. And I pray that they stay AWAY from AI haha
Just reading from the list of visual effect shots they worked on from PC and VDT, looks like Framestore was behind some of the more impressive shots from those films. The wave and VDT’s Aslan particularly looked excellent.
Hopefully Netflix gives them the time (!) and budget required to bring Narnia to life.
i can’t say I know enough about the VFX industry to know which companies are the best, but for me It’s just pleasing to see that we are getting a proper cinema-level VFX company on board for this project. No cheap “made for Netflix” effects here.
Whether they are given the time and money necessary to out-do what they did for the Walden films remains to be seen, but overall this is another promising sign that the producers are aiming for the highest possible quality.