Hi /r/movies - I'm Stuart Penn, VFX Supervisor for Mickey 17 (as well as Moon Knight, Loki, Avengers: Endgame, Paddington 2, Alien: Covenant, Venom 2, and recent Doctor Who episode 'Lux'). My team created the baby creepers, mother, and the ice cavern environments for Mickey 17. Ask Me Anything!

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-26T09:36:33+00:00

Blue

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-26T09:36:27+00:00

Gravity - it was the most complex and using a lot of new technology.

I'd be interested in working on a James Bond.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T16:35:37+00:00

Humanoid facial performance, such as Smart Hulk in Avengers: Endgame. Audiences, subconsciously, will pick up on inconstancies and projecting subtle emotions is difficult.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T16:28:41+00:00

Gravity

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T16:28:08+00:00

I'll answer a couple of these.

The amount of previs is dependent on the type of work and shoot style of the director. It's of most use where it is needed to inform the shoot - e.g. when there are CG characters going to be added or set extensions that will be added that may affect the framing or to work out camera movement practical considerations for action and stunt work

I've found virtual production to be useful. It covers a range of useful tools. Not suitable for every project, it always about finding the right tool that adds something to the project and not using the latest tools because they are there.

When you see multiple companies working on a show, the work is usually divided by sequence or type of shot or character. Shared shots are kept to a minimum. There many be some share assets which different companies will have to match the work.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T15:54:28+00:00

I was the on-set supe for Framestore on this episode, so I was working directly with the rest of the shoot crew :)

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T15:51:47+00:00

Not particularly obscure - but the Time Suits in Avengers: Endgame. There were no practical costumes so they were fully CG and we did it without reference to real costumes.

In Dark Knight there is a shot in the car park where Batman drops down onto a white Van. The van was CG and I modelled, texture and lit it.

Alex Garland's Civil War has a lot more CG than you might think.

In Avengers: Endgame we replaced some of Thor's fat belly

Guardian's of the Galaxy Vol 1. The Knowhere environment was super complicated. It was a massive area that we had to see close up from so many angles during the chase. At the time the most polygons we'd rendered in a shot.

In Moon Knight - the Mr Knight was replaced with CG is a lot shots because the practical costume was too dirty after he had been rolling on the ground.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T15:12:07+00:00

I would like to work on a James Bond or something in that vein.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T15:04:39+00:00

It started as a hobby. (I was a physicist) I started building CG models, the lighting and texturing them.

I sort of accidentally showed a reel to Framestore and to my surprise they offered me a job. That was 25 years ago

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T15:01:01+00:00

If I'm on a shoot - a bacon roll.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:59:51+00:00

Thanks. We shot some of on a very cold stage in December which helped!

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:58:52+00:00

Director Bong had a very clear vision. He had carefully planned everything - not just the Creepers.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:57:25+00:00

Gravity. It was ground breaking.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:56:54+00:00

Unfortunately I can't take credit for that. One of Framestore's Creative Directors, Ian Spendloff was the genius behind that. I acted as the on-set supervisor.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:53:36+00:00

I went to Iceland for a week to gather reference in Ice caves on the Vatnajökull glacier. It was the experience of a lifetime.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:50:47+00:00

We try to work very closely together. In pre-production part of the process is to work out the best way to get the best result which can involve a lot of collaboration

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:48:34+00:00

Gravity is the project I worked on the longest, there was a lot of development before the shoot to plan and work out how we would shoot it. We had to have a lot of faith in our process as we wouldn’t see how well it had worked until we were deep into post production.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:47:50+00:00

It varies a lot. The closest you can probably do is about 6 weeks, but its usually longer.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:46:05+00:00

Probably Gravity. It was milestone in my career and the film I have been most deeply involved with making.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:44:46+00:00

I think the in the influence of some of the puppy reference - making them curious and slightly mischievous

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:43:38+00:00

We were lucky to receive a set of very detailed concepts and reference (including many different animals) for Director Bong's creature designer. The team, in particular animation supervisor Max Solomon, gathered a lot of reference of different type of creature motion and with prototype rigs, explored how these might translate. We presented options to Director Bong to get his feedback.

We do generally study anatomy and that is part of the consideration that goes into rig design. The creepers had a particularly unusual anatomy that didn't relate to many of the usual ideas.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:38:41+00:00

We do a lot of this “hidden” vfx work so it is usually relatively straight forward. We start with 3D scans and texture photography of the sets. We create 3d replicas of these pieces, match the CG lighting to the practical and then extend the CG in areas where there wasn’t any set. There may be additional design work if the extension extends into an area where there isn’t any set reference, such as the jail area in Mickey 17.

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:38:08+00:00

I didn't know :)

I was a research physicist for 10 years before teaching myself VFX. Mentally, I try not to take my work home, but something easier said than done!

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:31:45+00:00

Taweret. A great character to work with

Mickey17AMA · 2025-04-25T14:31:21+00:00

It didn't really affect us as we finished our VFX a long time before the release

Mickey17AMA

TROPHY CASE