Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1547068
o c t o b e r • n o v e m b e r • d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 2 c g w 7 R etired Special Forces veteran James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and his loyal combat canine, Odin (played by a German Shepherd named Uber and a trio of his kin), embark on a harrowing journey together in Paramount Pictures' Heart of the Beast, a new thriller directed by David Ayer. Aer crash-land- ing in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness, the pair face relentless challenges as they trek back to civilization—bravely battling harsh elements, brutal terrain, vicious wild animals, and their own inner de- mons along the way. This captivating survival story would not have been possible with- out a massive amount of complex, emotionally driven visual effects artistry. Led by overall VFX supervisor François Dumoulin, the team took on the tremendous challenge of seamlessly blending live-ac- tion dog performance footage with a fully CG, photoreal digidog double. From quiet, nuanced moments to adrenaline-fueled, high- stakes action sequences, invisible effects shape the film's grounded narrative arc from start to finish. Dumoulin shared an inside look into the innovative post-production workflow and on-set techniques that brought Heart of the Beast to life on screen. What led you to become a part of this project? François Dumoulin: I was just coming out of a project with Frame- store called Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age, which was a documentary where we spent about two years recreating extinct species in a very scientifically accurate way. It was like going back to university, learn- ing how to build creatures from the inside out. Framestore is a company that's really world-renowned for its creature work, so it's only natural that Paramount approached us for Heart of the Beast. The hero of the movie is a dog, so they wanted to have a vendor that had a stellar track record of creating CG animals. I've been working on the vendor side for the past 15 years of my life, but Framestore knew that eventually if I had the occasion of working client side with the director, it's something that I was interested in. I was sent the script, and I got really emotional reading that story. I felt it was just the perfect match for me. It's a very simple story that goes straight to the point. It's just one man and his dog and they're trying to survive. I love a good survival story, I love everything that is shot on location, and I love doing everything that involves CG crea- tures. It was kind of checking all of the boxes for me. I interviewed with the director, David Ayer, in late 2024. We both had an understanding that this story was more than just a surviv- al story—there was a layer underneath that was more of a spiritual journey. It's something that David and I were really keen to explore. Shooting in New Zealand was an amazing experience. It's such a wonderful, beautiful country. And shooting with a big movie star like Brad and seeing him interact with that dog on a daily basis was just fascinating. So the project was a treat for me, really. How did you collaborate with director David Ayer during pre-production? François Dumoulin: I think we just clicked from the get-go, which is good because it's a project where we had a very limited amount of preparation time. Oentimes when you do a movie that involves real animals, you're going to spend months trying to find the right animal Overall VFX supervisor François Dumoulin on set with Uber