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Frantic Flies With Superman Returns

Frantic Films delivered 140 vfx shots for Warner Bros. SUPERMAN RETURNS, its largest project to date. Having previously worked with director Bryan Singer on X2: X-MEN UNITED, Frantic was again enlisted for six major sequences. In the process, the company used its current proprietary software and created new technology.

The company also helped redefine the deadly potential of Kryptonite. Frantic used Image Savant's Spore technology alongside its own custom particle renderer to make organic lighting effects and particle-dense representations of Kryptonite's inherent instability. The company created spontaneously growing Kryptonite crystals by building a custom 3ds Max script, which was adapted for use by the film's other vfx teams.

Frantic hit new levels of nautical realism in two scenes the Atlantis Project and the Metropolis Disaster by developing innovative ocean surface software. Based on a statistical model of ocean waves, the program accurately reproduced natural oceanic flow; early results had producers and industry professionals debating whether the shots were real footage or CGI.

At a late stage in post-production, Frantic was asked to recreate Krypton's destruction for the film's main titles. For this full-CGI scene, Frantic rendered up to 700 million particles per frame to detail the explosion. This sequence was conceived and delivered in less than five weeks.

Consistently on the cutting edge of VFX production, Frantic Films (www.franticfilms.com) has established a reputation as one of North America's most dynamic and successful creative resources. With offices in Los Angeles, Vancouver and Winnipeg, Frantic offers accessible and localized consultation for all elements of film production: from previs and look development to custom software solutions and post-production visual effects.

Bill Desowitz's picture

Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.

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