Framestore’s Chicago office continues to grow in its third year with the addition of four artists to the team. Coming aboard are sr. Nuke/Flame artist Ruairi Twohig, Nuke compositor Jon Rogala, jr. compositor Isaac Spiegel, and jr. designer Alma Kim.
Twohig joins from MPC in New York, where he spent over five years as 2D lead and sr. compositor, working with clients such as Facebook, adidas, Samsung, and Verizon. Notable campaigns include Cadillac’s “Rise Above” for the 2019 Oscars, and Michelob Ultra’s “Robots” spot which aired during Super Bowl LIII. Originally from Dublin, Twohig studied animation at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design, where he found his passion for VFX. With over a decade of experience, Twohig has worked across the globe in London, Paris, and Bangalore before moving to the U.S.
Rogala, a Chicago native, also comes over from MPC after working under the company’s Advertising division in Los Angeles on brands like BMW, Michelob, and Microsoft, followed by MPC’s Features division in Montreal on numerous projects, including the recently released film Maleficent II: Mistress of Evil as well as the Oscar nominated war epic 1917, directed by Sam Mendes. Prior to that, Rogala grew his career in Los Angeles as a freelancer before joining Picture Shop Studios as a staff compositor on episodic projects like The Walking Dead and Gotham.
Rounding out the team are Kim, who brings award-winning illustration and motion design experience, and compositing artist Spiegel, both of whom took part in Framestore’s Launchpad Internship program where young artists gain hands-on experience by working closely with mentors on agency projects from start to finish.
“The skill and industry experience of Ruari and Jon, combined with the energy and enthusiasm of young, Framestore cultivated talent like Isaac and Alma, have taken our 2D and Design departments to the next level,” said Krystina Wilson, managing director of Framestore in Chicago. “Of all the things I’m most proud of since the launch of the Chicago studio, Framestore’s culture and the talent we attract stand out as number one.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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