Framestore @ Bradford University
Last week I had the opportunity to meet Celine Beunier and Anna Swift (two film and VFX recruiters from Framestore) who had a really interesting presentation for University of Bradford students. They presented the company history, upcoming projects and some advice for those who are interested in becoming compositors and animators. Moreover, they further explained us what qualifications and experience one needs in order to become a Framestore employee. Long story short, the next lines summarize the presentation:
Introducing Framestore
- Based in London , New York, LA and Montreal. We employ over 700 people.
- Our Awards: Golden Compass 2008, Dark knight 2009, Avatar 2009, Warhorse 2011.
- 1986: Framestore focused on commercials, music videos, television graphics and television drama;
- 1994: Film visual effects department established; one of the largest visual effects and computer animation studios in Europe;
How we are different
- Motion capture suite
- Concept Art department working from concept to bidding, to production
- Not just VFX – Framestore has produced feature films too !
- Collaboration with The Third Floor*
- Bournemouth Outpost
Recent work/film
- Wrath of the Titans
- Harry Potter and the deadly Hallows: Part 1, Part 2
- Sherlock Holmes: A game of Shadows
- War Horse
- Johnny English Reborn
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Your Highness
- Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunter
- Tinker Tailor Solider Spy
- The Smurfs
View all their work
Current projects
- Gravity 2013
- 47 Ronin, 2013
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty , 2013
- RoboCop, 2013
- Iron Man 3, 2013
- Paddington Bear, 2014
What’s it like to work at Framestore
- Friendly and collaborative working environment
- Great career progression opportunities
- Mentoring programme
Tips for entering in the industry
- Internships
- Becoming a runner
- Keep your reel and CV up to date and online
- Linked IN, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs (VFX talk), and company websites
- Keep up to date with trends, software – CG World, IMDb
- Attend events, graduation shows, Software Company talks (Autodesk & The Foundry)
Showreels
- Approx. 1 minute long
- Only put your best work on there – we would rather see one thing done well than lots of things that are average
- Make sure your reel is focused towards entry level roles (if you want to be an animator, include some tracking shots. If you don’t want to be a compositor, include some roto shots)
- Make sure you include clear breakdowns
- Don’t worry about cutting your reel to music
2d vs. 3d – the big divide
- There is nothing wrong with having an interest in more than one discipline as long as they are related (i.e. Rigging and animation, modeling and texturing)
- Most junior roles start in tracking/matchmove (3d) or car paint and roto (2D)
- Our runners are trained in the above and given a mentor throughout their training
- Software used:
- 3d – Maya, 3D Equaliser
- 2D Silhouette, Nuke, Mocha
* The Third Floor (www.thethirdfloorinc.com)
It was founded to help inspired filmmakers realize their creative visions. By creating highly detailed previsualizations, they are able to show filmmakers what’s possible long before they are forced to make compromises.
- Previs Company based in LA, opened an office in London in 2011
- What is Previs? Previsualisation – Complimenting Storyboarding, Concept art and Physical Models with Computer Animation Tools
Projects: War Horse, Captain America: The First Avenger, Hunger Games, Battleship