Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1540269
j u ly • a u g u s t • s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 5 c g w 1 3 of the dynamic photography that put the viewer in the cockpit with Tom Cruise and co. Very early on I realized that one of the things that made all of these references so dynamic was that the camera was driven by the sub- ject. Dean and Bill also very much liked the aesthetic of the camera operator always being behind the action, rather than anticipating it too perfectly. Therefore, the environments for all of the flight se- quences would need to be digital, to allow us complete freedom with the photography. The plates we shot were our absolute reference of what 'real' looked like—not only the photographic look of the land- scape, but also things like the sheer number of birds flying around the coastline of Faroe, and the surprisingly aquamarine colour of the coastal water. Using this footage as well as the thirty-odd locations we had captured as photogrammetry, Framestore's London team started look development on these landscapes from very early in production. The background environments involving ocean simulation, volu- metric cloudscapes and atmosphere, plus countless birds, were lit to match the foreground plate elements while we had more freedom to art direct the lighting in the full CG shots. Another rule was never to be too religiously consistent with the lighting direction. Each shot had to look great in its own right—exactly the same issue you'd have if it was all shot on location. This work was repeated for other areas of Berk Island and of course the third act scenes on Dragon Island. The incredible work the Framestore environments team did made the final shots as im- mersive and exhilarating as those helicopter flights two years earlier. What did you enjoy most about working on this project? Christian Mänz: How to Train Your Dragon has been a highlight of my nearly 28 years in VFX thus far. It was extremely challenging. We all worked really hard. But, we had a lot of fun at the same time. Having supervised a lot of large-scale VFX-driven movies, working with talented teams from multiple VFX facilities, it was great to have Framestore take this one on as the sole vendor. The love and care that has gone into every frame is clear when you watch the film. I am really pleased that our reinterpretation of Toothless has been received so well by fans and the general audience alike, but I most enjoyed the journey of dragon flight, and it was amazing to hear the audience cheer and applaud at the world premiere aer the 'test drive' sequence. Do you have any advice you can share for up-and-coming VFX artists? Christian Mänz: My biggest bit of advice is to have a love and pas- sion for what you do and for the world of film and television. There are so many disciplines in VFX, and all of them contribute to the suc- cess of a project. One of the things I love about my role is collaborating with so many people and departments during the shoot and post-production to get the best possible result for the film. So, I'd also advise people not to work too much in isolation, which it's easy to do these days. I learned, and still do learn, by getting the advice and experience of the people around me every working day.