Framestore Asked Directors Like Spike Jonze And James Gunn To Discuss Their Collaboration With Animators

Framestore, the visual effects and animation studio headquartered in London – whose nearly four decades of film and television credits include Paddington, Christopher Robin, Children of Men, Gravity, many Harry Potter films, Guardians of the Galaxy, His Dark Materials, Wicked and the upcoming How To Train Your Dragon and Superman – has unveiled a series of short films detailing the animator’s craft entitled Directing The Invisible Art.

The first two director-specific episodes in the series are now available online, as is an introductory video outlining the series. Further details:

• Framestore’s global director of animation Michael Eames initiated the project by reaching out to filmmaking colleagues, seeking insights into the philosophy behind the art and craft of animating for film. Six filmmakers who have previously worked with the studio were interviewed for the project: Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, Gravity), Spike Jonze (Where the Wild Things Are), Marc Forster (Christopher Robin), Dean DeBlois (His Dark Materials, How to Train Your Dragon), Paul King (Paddington, Wonka), and James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, Superman).
• One of the broader themes of the series is the relationship between visual effects and animation in a live-action filmmaking paradigm. Artisans from both sides of the trenches, in production and the animation studio, discuss the animator’s art in relationship with directors with an emphasis on character acting, observation of physics, the role of design, lighting, fur, and simulations.
• Over a dozen Framestore artists offer on-camera commentary, including noted personnel such as Pablo Grillo, Arslan Ever, Jasmine Ghoreishi, Prakjakta Nandlaskar, Maya Shrestha, Alexis Wajsbrot, and Eames.
• In the episode devoted to James Gunn, he observes, “You have to believe,” and emphasizes the need for integrity in animated characters. For him, Rocket Raccoon was “never cute.” Gunn discusses his approach, grounding the animated character (voiced by Bradley Cooper) in a performance enacted on-set by his brother, Sean Gunn. He notes, “Spectacle only exists if it supports the story” and characterizes the animation process as “a marriage of creative and the logical.”

• In another episode, Spike Jonze discusses his subtle, nuanced approach to internal acting, which he applies both to performers and to animators, who he also regards as actors. He notes his focus is on “the intentions, and the contradictions” of a scene, and he goes on to state, “Visual effects for spectacle isn’t that interesting.” Instead, he seeks emotional context: “Does it give me a feeling?” he asks.

Additional episodes with the other directors will be posted on Framestore’s Youtube channel in the coming months.