The Mill worked with Universal Pictures to create the closing titles for The Huntsman: Winter's War. The practical and visual effects in the piece were designed to complement the character themes in the new film by producer Joe Roth and director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, the story before Snow White and The Huntsman.
With a combination of practical motion photography with CG and motion design, The Mill used ice and gold elements to embody the battle of the warring queens in the film, Evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) and Ice Queen Freya (Emily Blunt).
The Mill’s Creative Director, Manija Emran said: “We wanted to explore both sides of the sibling rivalry by visualizing the film’s themes of magic versus magic, weapons against ice and fear against gold. Our approach was to use striking contrast to cause editorial jarring as the weapons destroyed objects in both CG and real-world photography.”
Adds Robert Sethi, Creative Director and Head of 3D, “Whilst the titles are based on Cedric Nicolas-Troyan’s insight into The Huntsman: Winter’s War, we were given the freedom to interpret the story symbolically. All facets of The Mill fed into the final product, and our artists expertly crafted every element. It was a pleasure to be involved.”
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
Associate Producer: Lynda Ellenshaw Thompson
VFX Producer: Roma O’Connor
VFX Production Supervisor: Taylor W. Rockwell
VFX Assistant Coordinator: Chamblee Smith
Production Supervisor: Sean Stratton
Live Action Production: Mill+
Executive Producer: Richard Berman
Producer: Sean Vawter, Lee Buckley
Production Supervisor: April Chludzinski
Director of Photography: Jimmy Matlosz
1st AC: John Scivoletto
Digital Imaging Technician: Scott Stephens
Phantom Camera Operator: Drew Lauer
Gaffer: Stuart Cropley
Best Boy Electric: John Charles Cropley
Key Grip: Rick Grover
Best Boy Grip: Rob Arroyo
Motion Control: Camera Control
Bolt Programmer: Simon Wakley
Bolt Assistant: Chris Toth
Art Director: GrapeJellyKelly Wasserman
Special FX / Prop Fabrication: Flix F.X.
Ice Sculptures: ICE BULB
Production Assistant: Erik Artavia, Walter Donald, Anthony Sword
Editing Company: The Mill
Editor: Gabriel J. Diaz, Joe Denk, Victor Jory
Edit Assist: Natalie Wozniak
VFX & Design: The Mill
Senior Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Senior VFX Producer: Will Lemmon
VFX Production Coordinator: Karina Slater
Creative Director: Manija Emran, Robert Sethi
Art Director: Ed Laag, Eugene Gauran
VFX Supervisor: Gawain Liddiard, Becky Porter
Lead FX Artist: Hartwell Durfor
FX Artists: Berk Hakguder, Erik Zimmermann, Josh Hatton
Lead Lighters: David Hempstead
Lighters: Chris Bayol, David Hempstead, Katie Yoon, Ziye Liu
Modelers: Cory Cosper, Ekene Nwo, Majid Esmaeili, Richard Bailey, Sharlene Lin
Shot Layout: Bridget Warrington, Matt Neapolitan
Tracker: Martin Rivera
R&D: Andry Jong, Fran Benjamin
2D Artists: Brett Lopinsky, Chris Knight, Daniel Lang, Jeff Langlois, Jon Howard, John Shirley, Martin Karlsson, Narbeh Mardirossian, Patrick Heinen, Sarah Eim, Timothy Crabtree, Tim Davies
2D Type Animation & Finishing: Justin Sucara, Justin Demetrician
Animator: Ahmed Elmatarawi
Colour: The Mill
Executive Producer, Colour: Thatcher Peterson
Colour Producer: Diane Valera
Production Coordinator, Colour: Jackson Rogers
Colourist: Adam Scott
Colour Assist: Christopher Obal, Sam Ziaie, Ryan Crane