{"id":32985,"date":"2025-09-20T09:14:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T09:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/32985\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T09:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T09:14:10","slug":"how-framestore-created-supermans-krypto-fortress-of-solitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/32985\/","title":{"rendered":"How Framestore Created ‘Superman’s’ Krypto & Fortress Of Solitude"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When James Gunn set out to relaunch the DC Universe with Superman, he turned to longtime collaborators at Framestore \u2013 alongside ILM, Weta FX, and Rodeo FX \u2013 to help shape some of the film\u2019s most ambitious and emotionally resonant visuals.<\/p>\n

Led by VFX supervisor St\u00e9phane Naz\u00e9 and animation supervisor Lo\u00efc Mireault, the studio delivered over 590 shots, tackling everything from the crystalline Fortress of Solitude to Superman\u2019s loyal companion and the film\u2019s breakout star, Krypto the Superdog.<\/p>\n

Krypto the Superdog: James Gunn\u2019s Ozu Takes Flight<\/p>\n

From the moment the first trailer dropped, Krypto became a fan favorite. Inspired by Gunn\u2019s own dog, Ozu, Framestore set out to create the first truly photoreal version of Superman\u2019s canine companion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen James wrote the script, from the beginning, Krypto was in the movie,\u201d recalls Naz\u00e9, adding that there was never any question what the canine would look like. \u201cHe said, \u2018Oh my god! My dog could be a superhero. My dog has to be Krypto.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The team began with photogrammetry of Ozu, while also referencing another larger dog for scale and fur qualities. \u201cThe goal was not to create Krypto, it was to create Ozu,\u201d says Mireault. \u201cThe feedback, from very early on, that we got [from Gunn] was very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mireault emphasizes that every movement was carefully keyed by hand: \u201cIt was purely keyframe animated. There was no motion capture. The goal was to find, as much as possible, references that matched.\u201d The team scoured the internet for days and days, watching thousands of dog videos. Not bad work if you can get it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never tried to think how the dog should move,\u201d Mireault explains. \u201cIt always had to match an actual reference of a real dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting the fur right was another major challenge. \u201cThe complexity of this asset was insane,\u201d says Naz\u00e9. \u201cWith white, everything shifts very, very quickly. It\u2019s hard and your eyes will tell you quickly with white fur if what you\u2019re seeing is real or not.\u201d Subtle details \u2014 dirt, melted snow, wet fur \u2014 were layered in, even down to Krypto\u2019s characteristic shake sending particles of water flying.<\/p>\n

Building the Fortress of Solitude, Crystal by Crystal<\/p>\n

Equally important was nailing the look of the iconic Fortress of Solitude, built entirely in CG from the outside, while the inside practical sets were dolled up using digital effects.<\/p>\n

Framestore began by testing individual shards before assembling the full environment. \u201cWe started with some quick tests with pieces of crystals to really quickly establish the level of transparency, the complexity,\u201d explains Naz\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Originally planned as an FX-driven build, the fortress ultimately became a feat of animation, giving a very real meaning to the oft-used clich\u00e9 that a location was another character in this film.<\/p>\n

\"Fortress<\/a>\"Fortress<\/a> \"Fortress<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe ended up creating this complex rig with the ability to control individual crystals on the fortress as it moved, so the fortress coming out of the ground is purely animated,\u201d says Mireault. \u201cKeyframe animated end-to-end.\u201d<\/p>\n

That decision gave Framestore extraordinary flexibility. \u201cWe animated more than what you see in the framing,\u201d says Naz\u00e9. \u201cIt sounds crazy, but \u2026 it was very important for us to construct the fortress from the ground to the top \u2026 because it was all reflective.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Engineer and the Fortress Battle<\/p>\n

Framestore also played a central role in the Fortress battle sequence, where Superman faces Lex Luthor, a swarm of Superman robots, and the nanite-powered villain known as The Engineer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reflections alone made it one of the hardest sequences,\u201d recalls Naz\u00e9. \u201cBut we knew the Fortress was essentially a character itself, so everything had to interact with it believably.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mireault adds: \u201cDuring the big fight sequence, the robots are interacting with the set, so the shadows, reflections, and everything need to work together to seem possible. Each robot had to cast a shadow on all the crystals, so we were never just matching one object to another, but making sure the whole thing interacted.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Director Who Understands VFX<\/p>\n

Naz\u00e9 and Mireault stress the value of working with a director who knows the language of VFX.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the advantage of working with someone like James Gunn \u2026 he understands visual effects more than most filmmakers,\u201d says Naz\u00e9. \u201cHe is one of those directors you could show like two cubes and say, \u2018That one is Superman, and that\u2019s Krypto, does the speed in this scene look good to you? OK. Great. Next.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Krypto<\/a> \"Krypto<\/a>\"Krypto<\/a> \"Krypto<\/a><\/p>\n

That clarity and trust gave the Framestore team a degree of creative freedom often uncommon on VFX-heavy Hollywood productions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave us the freedom to test and to propose things,\u201d says Mireault. \u201cBecause if we don\u2019t feel that we have the freedom, we just do exactly what is asked of us. But on this film, we could ask, \u2018What do you think of this change?\u2019, and sometimes the director actually liked it and would make the change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The clear lines of communication, they say, mean more time spent polishing and less time second-guessing direction or redoing work. \u201cYou spend more of your time pushing the quality,\u201d Naz\u00e9 explains. \u201cBecause you don\u2019t have to try to understand what he wants. This director has a very clear idea of what he wants, but he\u2019s good at explaining it, and he knows what is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Super Work<\/p>\n

With Superman, Framestore helped bring both the iconic and the intimate to life. From the awe-inspiring Fortress of Solitude to Superman\u2019s best friend Krypto bounding playfully alongside his master, the studio\u2019s work blended technical precision with artistic nuance.<\/p>\n

As Naz\u00e9 puts it: \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s about making people believe. Whether it\u2019s a dog flying through the snow or a crystal palace rising from the ice, if they believe it, we\u2019ve done our job.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When James Gunn set out to relaunch the DC Universe with Superman, he turned to longtime collaborators at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,409,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-32985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}