The Loc Studios Expands into 3D and on-set VFX
November 3, 2026
Working with Arts and Sciences director Tim McNaughton, the deeply experienced (and awarded) CG creature team at Framestore in London imbue a brave reindeer with quiet but unflagging determination for the UK’s National Lottery.
From Framestore: To bring the creatures to life, we paired visual realism with expressive character animation, with production taking place in the Scottish Highlands where a live herd of reindeer was filmed to provide authentic motion reference.
“To achieve the story’s emotional range within a tight schedule, the team bypassed automated motion capture in favor of bespoke, hand-keyed animation from scratch.”
To achieve the story’s emotional range within a tight schedule, the team bypassed automated motion capture in favor of bespoke, hand-keyed animation from scratch while our Houdini pipeline drove the photo-real character work and complex FX — simulating dynamic muscle systems, individual groom strands, condensing winter breath, and interactive snow and water.
Alongside the hero character, winterized digital environments were built that matched live-action plates down to the rock, branch, and terrain. By tracking camera motion precisely to the Highland footage, digital elements were seamlessly embedded into the real-world plates.
Client: Allwyn UK
Agency: VCCP
Global CCO: Darren Bailes
Deputy ECD: Simon Connor
Senior Creative Team: Laurens Grainger, Alicia Cliffe
Agency Production: Girl&Bear
Production: Arts and Sciences
Director: Tim McNaughton
Producer: Ewen Brown
DOP: Joost Van Gelder
VFX: Framestore
EP: Kayleigh Dugdale
Producer: Robyn Goncalves-Borrageiro
Production Assistant: Maya Manor
VFX Supervisor: William Laban, Daniel Lorenzini
CG Supervisor: Henrique Campanha
Head of Animation: Brad Silby
Head of Rigging: Brad Noble
Head of Groom/CFX: Gabriela Rush Salmeron
2D Lead: Matthew Shires
Assets: Billy Butler, Elpida Kyriakou, Khaled Sabry, Leo Schreiber
Groom: Clara Simone, Natasha Santiparp, Patrik Hanti
Layout: Alex Charilaou, Zoe Woods
Rigging: Nathan Clark
Lighting: Pedrom Dadgostar
Animator: Bharat Gour, Divyesh Shah, George Carman, James Wilson, Robbie Brown
FX: Philip Child, Maxim Gehricke
CFX: Nolwenn Raballand, Paul Ormerod
Compositing: Alice Locuratolo, Darran Nicholson, Min-Hui Chang, Thiago Vilas Boas
VisDev: Maxwell Lane, Denis Matsimouna
Editorial: Andrew Fineberg
Color: Company 3
Colorists: Jean-Clement Soret, Dominic Phipps
Co-Managing Director: Ellora Soret
Producers: Kerri Aungle, Chris Anthony
Color Assist: Karl Passamonte, Jack Kennedy
Audio Post House: 750 Sound
Design & Mix: Sam Ashwell
Executive Producer: Olivia Ray
Head of Production: Rachel Saxon
Music Company: SIREN
Music Supervisors: Sian Rogers, Alice Barker, Josh Gibbard
Composer: Chris White
Conductor/Orchestrator: Peter Michael Davison
Orchestrator: Danny Keane
VO: Claudia Winkleman
Recorded at Air Edel Studios
