Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 takes center stage in the 2024 Oscars, with Framestore orchestrating the visual effects magic.
In the vibrant and action-packed world of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Framestore's VFX team shone brightly, particularly in the creation of Cosmo, the telepathic Soviet space dog, and the epic stampede sequence.
Animation Supervisor Fernando Lopes Herrera did an exceptional job in maintaining the balance for Cosmo's animation, ensuring a harmonious blend of photorealism and animalistic traits. VFX Supervisor Stephane Nazé, who was in charge of Cosmo, Groot, and Knowhere, comments on the challenge of finding the right balance to make Cosmo appear realistic yet unique.
The team used the technology and pipeline created for the 'Under the Sea' sequence from Disney's live-action Little Mermaid to handle the large number of creatures in the stampede. However, the stampede sequence also included a tech challenge due to its sheer scale. The team chose to use a hand animation system instead of crowd simulation tools, optimising their technology and pipeline to handle 600 running animals.
The stampede near the film's end was one of the most laborious sequences, taking approximately 75 days of roto in each shot. Silhouette was used to paint out wires frame by frame and for roto in the stampede sequence. Mocha Pro was utilised to planar track areas in a shot for adding patches in paint or to add tracks to roto shapes within Silhouette.
VFX Supervisor Stephane Nazé appreciates the long, slow shot of Rocket walking through Knowhere, with its visuals and the background music. The shot is filled with details that can be noticed with each viewing. The second shot of the film, following Rocket through Knowhere, is a favourite scene for Nazé.
The actors' performances inspired the animals in Rocket's flashbacks, but the characters were not created using mock-ups. Instead, the CG characters in Rocket's flashbacks, such as genetically and physically modified animals, were a creative challenge for conveying emotion in a full CG environment.
Over 800 people worked on the project across Framestore's London, Montreal, Mumbai, and Vancouver locations. The team specifically simulated the animations to show water rising in the baby raccoon's eyes in the final scene. The shot featuring Cosmo in the background is another detail that adds depth to the film.
VFX Supervisor Alexis Wajsbrot was responsible for the poignant backstory of Rocket in the film, and the shot of Rocket opening the cage at the end of the movie, revealing many baby raccoons, is a significant moment for Wajsbrot.
While the publicly available Framestore breakdowns and interviews for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 do not specifically mention the use of Boris FX Silhouette or Mocha Pro in their VFX workflow for this film, these tools are commonly used for rotoscoping and paint workflows, and planar tracking and rotoscoping, respectively, in high-end VFX pipelines.
In summary, Framestore’s VFX process for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 involved extensive reference and detailed CG character creation with expert animation to bring characters like Cosmo to life. While the specific use of Boris FX Silhouette or Mocha Pro in their process is not explicitly mentioned, it is likely that these tools were part of their high-end VFX pipeline.
The team utilized Boris FX Silhouette and Mocha Pro during their VFX pipeline for the action-packed movies and TV shows they produced, showcasing their expertise in entertainment. Framestore's extensive use of these tools enabled them to handle complex animations, such as the stampede scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, thereby enhancing the overall entertainment experience.
