Framestore CFC complete work on ‘Layer Cake’

New British thriller ‘Layer Cake’ opens in the UK on October 1.
Based on JJ Connelly's London crime novel, Layer Cake marks the directorial debut of Matthew Vaughn, who has already established himself as the producer of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ and many other films. Layer Cake was co-produced by Vaughn, Adam Bohling and David Reid. Cinematography was by Ben Davis, and the film's digital VFX and the digital mastergrade were created by Framestore CFC.
Framestore CFC's VFX Supervisor Rob Duncan created a total of 20 VFX shots for Layer Cake. Duncan's main work was on the pre-title sequence, and he attended the shoot early in 2003. This sequence involves a potted history of the London crime world, spanning the decades from the 60s to the present. The filmmakers needed to tell a highly compressed narrative with maximum economy. In the space of a few seconds we are taken from an old-fashioned ‘blow-the-doors-off-the-van'-style hold-up, through a drug soaked hippy flat, into a prison visiting hall and thence to an imaginary chemists shop of the future where, the narrator explains, legalised drugs will fill the shelves with designer highs.
Duncan's Shake artistry morphs a head of hair from one character to another, changes one wall into another, taking us from scene to scene. In the chemists, Craig's character wanders past coolly lit boxes of ‘fcuk' ecstasy and cocaine – his imagined future of the drugs industry – and the boxes begin to transform themselves into the normal contents of a chemists' shop. This transformation occurs at first behind Craig then races past him, the drug boxes turning to conventional items in time for him to pull something off the shelf and take it to the counter. "It was actually quite artfully designed," explained Duncan, "The real items had to be arranged in patterns that were sympathetic to the fantasy display. Multiple motion control passes of sequential removal of sections of the packaging gave a nice 3D illusion to the transformation. I also vari-sped some sections of the sequence to ensure synchronisation with the voice-over, and also to ensure that the audience would be able to read the packaging and get the ‘fcuk' gag. "
There are several other low-key but effective uses of Duncan's VFX mastery throughout the film – a disturbing execution scene with an ultra high-speed camera pull-back, a letterhead graphic of a mansion that transforms into the real thing - but Layer Cake is not an effects-centred film. Duncan is full of praise for the production team – both first-time director Vaughn and his cinematographer Ben V. Davis. "Matthew and Ben were a pleasure to work with – very collaborative and ready to listen," he said. Colourist Asa Shoul, who created the film's digital mastergrade in Framestore CFC's Digital Lab facility, echoes this sentiment. "Ben Davis made the film look a lot more expensive that it was," said Shoul, "We've been working with him for a long time on commercials, and it was a real pleasure to be involved with him on a movie."
Shoul's digital mastergrade of the film took place over several weeks in the spring of 2004. The digital mastergrade - part of the Digital Intermediate (DI) process - allows directors and cinematographers to go over the film digitally, tweaking and correcting scenes and ensuring that the look is as good as possible. Of Cinematographer Davis's work, Shoul said, "His speciality is practical lighting – a lot of indoor scenes with a lot of contrast and mood in, but very subtly, not obviously ‘lit'. He and Vaughn composed things wide – people sitting or standing very wide across the screen. It really does have a beautifully cinematic look to it."
(GB)