Framestore Nets VFX BAFTA for His Dark Materials

Framestore was proud to win this year’s BAFTA Television Craft Award for Special, Visual and Graphic Effects for His Dark Materials - the second year running the creative studio has brought home the award. 

The work took in 1400 shots and drew upon the expertise of some 450 Framestore staffers, from VFX experts and animators through to producers, engineers and editors. This season saw the worlds of Lyra Silvertongue and Will Parry expand in exciting new ways, with the heroes encountering new friends, new daemons and new dangers.

To support the epic storytelling Framestore delivered some suitably epic VFX, from building sprawling environments like the stunning Cittàgazze to conjuring the terrifying spectres and, of course, bringing to life a huge range of photoreal daemons, whose individual characteristics and nuanced performances have helped dazzle audiences worldwide. Framestore is currently working on the show’s third season.

Framestore’s Russell Dodgson (Senior VFX Supervisor), James Whitlam (Senior VFX Producer) and Rob Harrington (VFX Supervisor) were named as BAFTA winners for their work, alongside Dan May (VFX Art Director and Painting Practice co-founder), Lead Puppeteer Brian Fisher and colourist Jean-Clement Soret. As well as winning the Award, Framestore was also nominated in the same category for its work on a very different title - The Crown, a feat which delftly showcases the breadth of the company’s creative output. 

Russell Dodgson, Framestore’s creative director - Episodic, said: “Winning two years in a row for our work on His Dark Materials feels surreal, and I’d like to thank every single person who gave this show their all to make this happen. Delivering this season’s work under lockdown presented us with some real challenges, but it’s a testament to the team that they could step up to the plate and create such a unified and beguiling world despite working from bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms all over the country.”

Fiona Walkinshaw, Framestore’s global managing director, Film, said: “Considering Philip Pullman’s epic trilogy boasts a generation of fans all over the world, I think it’s fair to say that everyone involved in adapting His Dark Materials felt the weight of expectation on their shoulders. Russ, James, Rob and the teams in London, Wales, Montreal and New York have truly done the source material proud, and it’s incredibly satisfying to have our work recognised by BAFTA two years in a row. The work might look effortless, but that’s testament to the incredible talent behind it - from world-class creatives and animators to best-in-the-business production staff and an R&D team who are intent on pushing our software and tech as far as it can possibly go.”

James Whitlam, Framestore’s managing director, Episodic, said: “Projects like His Dark Materials show just how far we’re pushing the quality people can expect from episodic VFX. These aren’t just beautiful images, but inhabitable worlds and fully-CG characters capable of giving nuanced, emotive performances. This is exactly the kind of work we pride ourselves on at Framestore, and with the team already hard at work on His Dark Materials season three alongside a range of other major episodic productions the future is looking very bright indeed.”