selves visually ,” begins Embassy VFX Supervisor Michael Blackbourn .
As with any creative studio working today , Embassy operates in a landscape of total global production . Abstract ideas must be communicated across vast differences , with clients located in many of the world ’ s continents . By providing that “ digital paintbrush ”, Frankie ensures those ideas reach one shore to the next totally intact .
“ Frankie ’ s toolset enables us to really focus in on what our clients truly want , sketching ideas back and forth – that means less creative revisions and better work overall ,” says Blackbourn . “ Furthermore , as Frankie works as a web interface , we can collaborate over any distance , on most any device , with people of every level of technical know-how . It really does take projects over the finish line .
“ We recently completed a commercial for Hong Kong Disneyland ’ s ‘ Iron Man Experience ’, with clients scattered across the globe ,” recalls Blackbourn . “ The director was located in London , the agency in Chicago , and the client in Hong Kong . The project had an aggressive schedule and we succeeded only by using Frankie . We collected everyone ’ s thoughts on the work in real time , turning abstract thoughts into concrete deliverables .”
ROBOTS , CAMERA , ACTION !
The Hong Kong Disneyland ‘ Iron Man Experience ’ spot sees Tony Stark launch from his skyscraper HQ , soaring across the city ’ s waterfront before landing in the park itself to meet and greet his fans .
Given The Embassy ’ s work on the Iron Man films and its established photoreal hard surface pipeline , the team was confident it would deliver the armoured avenger with no problems at all . The main challenge was that of time . Blackbourn and team leaned on Frankie to ensure every available minute was spent as wisely as possible .
Kong cityscape . Iron Man ’ s route was debated in-depth with clients , with Frankie used to draw potential paths for the hero directly on top of empty environment footage .
“ We could scrape up images and movie clips in Frankie and share them , and then draw ideas and export the results visually ,” says Blackbourn . “ The whole team could see exactly where and how Iron Man should fly , right from A to B . Frankie isn ’ t just review and approval – it ’ s a superhero navigation tool too !”
ALIVE WITH TECHNOLOGY
Beyond Iron Man , The Embassy has used Frankie to create and collaborate on over a dozen projects over the last two years , cementing its capacity for global production . Indeed , approximately 95 % of the studio ’ s projects are currently commissioned by remote clients .
“ Frankie ’ s ease of use for both ourselves and our clients makes it viable ,” says Blackbourn . “ We can communicate with clients wherever they are and make sure visual ideas are fully understood . The ability to upload changes in one click and share them instantly amongst a group saves so much time . The concept doesn ’ t die because we have to wait for somebody to download from an FTP or even open an attachment . Frankie means we can collaborate at the speed of thought – it keeps the creative process unhindered .”
As such , with Frankie deeply embedded in its creative processes , The Embassy is prepared to tackle any project with any client in the world . It ’ s alive with creative technology .
“ Email chains are a thing of the past : Frankie easily distills any creative idea into what is most important ,” concludes Blackbourn . “ These days , the centralised review platform and visual tools of Frankie should be in every filmmaker ’ s toolkit .”
“ Frankie was a primary driver of success ,” he asserts . “ We were able to draw the action frame-by-frame with the director alongside us , digitally speaking . We could focus all of our efforts into one vision , ensuring the animation of our hero hit all the marks .”
The Embassy artists needed to be particularly specific when establishing Iron Man ’ s flight path through the towering Hong
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