International Oscar-winning creative studio Framestore is showing its cross-platform capabilities yet again by bringing the powerful Marvel character Hulk to life on both film and commercial platforms.
The film team in London and integrated advertising team in Los Angeles collaborated on the latest CG characterisation of Hulk for upcoming Marvel Studios releases and Renault’s commercial ‘Renault Kwid’.
“We have honed a very tight transition pipeline for film characters into other platforms” says creative director Ben West. ‘The ability to utilise detailed assets with complex rigs ensures we are meeting the cinematic standard demanded for Marvel projects.”
Shot in São Paulo by Smuggler director Jonathan Gurvit, the ‘Renault Kwid’ adventure begins as a man imagines what the Hulk would do as news breaks that a satellite is falling towards Earth. Framestore artists brought Hulk to life with his signature leaps and bounds taking him to the top of the Banco Banespa building before smashing the explosive satellite mid-sky.
Famous for his incredible level of superhuman physical ability, Framestore worked to exaggerate Hulk’s strenuous muscle and facial details. The teams worked closely together to enhance the amount of detail needed in his muscles, including in the rig, muscular weight in animation, textural displacements of veins, lighting art direction to enhance angles, and shot-specific muscle sculpting to refine even further. Other subtle yet essential details of Hulk include peach fuzz on the body, facial stubble and sweat stems.
“Animating characters requires an intimate level of experience and understanding of performance,” continues West. “Each character has signature qualities but it’s the detail and nuances that brings them to life. Having worked with characters like Hulk over an extended period for film projects, we had a strong foundation to build upon in this regard.”
The details of the city destruction further accentuates the Hulk’s weight. Framestore enhanced the cityscape of São Paolo to make sure the central Banespa building was in frame as a constant reminder of the imminent fiery satellite.
“These are the projects our artists live and breathe for. We understand the genre and play to its strengths by bringing characters to the screen in a very visceral way” states West.
The commercial is airing domestically in Brazil across TV and cinema. Framestore collaborated directly with Marvel and their Disney partners in Brazil to create the commercial. Ad agency Neogama gave the concept for the commercial.
Other recent film and integrated advertising collaborations by Framestore includes Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and virtual reality experiences, as well as Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, commercial campaigns and amusement park rides.
People working in the project include:
Director, Partnerships – Marvel Partnerships: Chris Lisciandro
Promotions Project Manager – Marvel Partnerships: Greg Gustin
Franchise Promotional Partnerships – Marvel Studios: Adam Davis
Agency: Neogama
Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Jonathan Gurvit
Visual Effects: Framestore
Creative Director: Ben West
VFX Producer: Morgan MacCuish
CG Supervisor: Kevin Baker
VFX Supervisor: James Healy
Animation Lead: Shayne Ryan
Animator: Kevin Rooney, Jessie Wang, Xavier Coton, Stew Burris, Evan Harbuck
FX Lead: Nate Usiak
FX: Michelle Lee, Arrev Chantikian, Viviana Mora
Lighting Lead: Yuo Tengara
Lighter: Jon Tojek, Isaiah Palmer, Dustin Colson, John Cook
Compositing Lead: JD Yepes
Compositor: Tim Gutierrez, Josh Guillaume, Alex Unruh, Alejandro Villabon, Kingsley Rothwell
VFX Editor: Humberto Reynaga
VFX Assistant Editor: Jake Keller, Alexandra Wysota
VFX Coordinator: Jose Alvarado
Colourist: Beau Leon
Colour Assistant: Jonah Braun, Weiyi Ang