Computer Graphics World

July-Aug-Sep 2025

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Images © 2025 Lucasfilm Ltd. & DNEG cial setup. While actors are typically required to remove facial hair for proper marker-based facial capture, Digital Domain's Masquerade3 allowed him to keep his beard without any issue. Coincidentally, The Thing also grew a beard. Artists then faced the intricate task of sim- ulating The Thing developing stubble and a beard. Beyond this, the studio was responsible for creating nine distinct costumes for the character, including pajamas, cardigans, ties, spacesuits, and trench coats. The film marked Masquerade3's most extensive use to date, and was also valuable to the postvis team, which can process 10 to 15 times more data than the VFX team does in finals. With Masquer- ade3 and facial rigging supervisor Rickey Cloudsdale at the helm, the studio was able to process hours of data overnight from each vendor and the postvis team very efficiently—a feat that previously required vast teams and weeks to accomplish for a single shot. Subsequent- ly, a dedicated team was formed to process scene files, integrating body and facial data for seamless sharing with animators. Cloudsdale, leveraging Masquerade3, processed approximately 60 hours of facial footage for three key characters: The Thing, Silver Surfer, and Galactus. Digital Domain served as the central hub for all motion capture processes, including capturing the data, overseeing the facial and mocap prep for each character, and determining the precise FACS shapes. The Fantastic Four's newest member—Baby Franklin—required Digital Domain to conduct extensive tests using the studio's propri- etary face-swapping tool, Charlatan. Cramer used his own child to film a proof-of-concept to help evaluate and inform these tests un- der the guidance of director Matt Shakman. With the studio's work focusing on Franklin once he arrives on Earth, the studio's artists were responsible for creating both a newborn and an older version of the character, contributing to a total of 150 shots, along with design- ing several different outfits for him to wear. Cramer was instrumental in identifying the selected child who por- trayed Franklin in the film, spending over a month with the baby and her mother to ensure the desired actions could be accomplished. Together with Clear Angle, a "baby friendly" scanning booth was de- signed for the specific needs of the film. The child was scanned over the course of two weeks at the beginning of the shoot to ensure the most life-like CG replication of Franklin. Beyond their work on The Thing and Baby Franklin, Digital Domain also delivered significant contributions to other pivotal characters. For Invisible Woman [Vanessa Kirby], they were involved in the early development of her signature invisibility effect, and craed the visu- ally-unique ultrasound of her pregnant stomach. The team also con- tributed to the early development of Human Torch's [Joseph Quinn] fire effects, which are showcased in the Baxter Building scenes as he flies in from outside, and during the sequence where he glows within the dark lab. Collaborating closely with the Marvel art department, Digital Do- main designed and built the H.E.R.B.I.E. robot character [voiced by Matthew Wood] from the ground up, detailing his internal mechan- ics and dressing him in an apron. They also created the sequence in which H.E.R.B.I.E. baby-proofs the home. Additional contributions from the studio include the scene where Reed Richards [Pedro Pas- cal] experiments with "the egg" in an attempt to beam Earth away to evade Galactus.

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