Working with HBO and Sister Productions, Framestore used cutting edge technology to bring to life The Baby
Brie Clayton July 7, 2022
0 Comments
Providing VFX work on over 350 shots Framestore used machine learning and detailed environment work to create a photorealistic baby and stunning scenes for the offbeat HBO show
In this eight-episode dark comedy viewers are pulled into the world of protagonist Natasha who acquires a baby she does not want. On top of this the infant holds dark powers which leads to destruction and torment for not only Natasha but those around her. Tasked with helping build the world of The Baby, Framestore dug into their expertise in working on digi-doubles, face replacement and invisible environment effects.
The main question was: if one of the main cast members is a baby, how can we use VFX to help the show work, with all the limitations that entails? said Owen Braekke-Carroll. As a base, we had to find a practical method of approaching things as much as possible whilst leaning on VFX only when needed.
With babies involved on set things were never predictable and shoot days could rapidly change at any point. At times there could be over five babies and a dog present, so the team built a bespoke and adaptable pipeline to complement the creative vision for the show.
Because we wouldn't know how these performances would link up, we had to treat the baby like a CG creature in every take. There was a potential that any shot could become a VFX shot, said Owen Braekke-Carroll. In post it really became about getting the best outcome based on each individual shot's needs. We'd end up having different workflows per shot and across each sequence. So, for one shot we might have a partially CG body over a prosthetic baby torso with a plate baby's head, and the next only replace the arm and add a machine learning face replacement. It was never really a consistent process; it was always about getting the best outcome from the inputs that were available.
The script often called for the baby to be asleep which turned out to be one of the biggest challenges the team faced. You can't shoot a baby asleep on a film set with a guarantee of the correct lighting and camera time, said Owen Braekke-Carroll. It might come together for some scenes, but you can't rely on a whole shoot day doing that.
To approach this problem, the babies on set were photographed at high frame rates in story context and played back at this slower speed. We then took those plates and digitally closed their eyes, before using a machine learning layer to give them a realistic look on top, added Owen Braekke-Carroll. This was trained on a closed eye data set, and that created a very effective and photographic output to add.
The ethos behind their approach however remained - to support the story invisibly rather than being the point of the story. The team tried not to completely replace the baby unless they had to, so they leant on real performance wherever possible, replacing only where it was necessary, or the script called for something eccentric or unconventional. They used a lot of reference, performance photography and video with the intent of creating additional material to use after the fact, whilst leveraging machine learning.
It was difficult to keep control of the facial elements because the team would have multiple shots of the babies which were also changing and growing over the course of the shoot. The same baby often looked different from shot to shot, let alone when they were trying to replace them or change their likeness or performance. Consequently, they had to work with ever-shifting boundaries about what a likeness actually is.
While it wasn't always the solution, machine learning was crucial. It worked really well especially when combined with more traditional methods to help sell a photographic likeness and performance, said Owen Braekke-Carroll. On set we captured specific elements for the purpose of machine learning to drive those models, in addition to the regular capture of the 3D scans and other usual reference. It was very exciting to be able to work to integrate new and developing tools into the Framestore pipeline.
The team also made good use of KeenTools, which are effectively smart tools for VFX and 3D artists, as a head tracking software to control facial performances such as closed mouths or smiles.
In the penultimate sequence of the series the Baby is seen drifting underwater. To achieve this safely with the cast, the VFX team used a combination of dry-for-wet photography combined with an underwater shoot, and CG digi-doubles.
With the mother holding the baby we had a blue screen stage which we then lit with polarised lights, cross polarised with the camera. This enabled us to remove much of the specularity off the face. We then shot it in high frame rate with a watery effect light, and that gave us the performance with the correct lighting of the baby, said Owen Braekke-Carroll. We used fans, so their hair and clothing moved, making it look like they were underwater. We then took the head of the performance to place on our digi body. The performances from the cast babies were so fantastic and it was a great way to keep them and still get the shots.
The show also involved some detailed environment work including a digital ocean, digital matte painting skies and split location work on a dilapidated cottage.
We had a recurring story location which involved an impossibly large cliff on the Southeast coast of England and at the bottom of it was a dilapidated cottage fronting straight onto the water, said Owen Braekke-Carroll. This location can't exist in reality, so we used a secondary location in Southeast Kent for the cottage set, which we were able to combine with a combination of CG, DMP and plat
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
Working with HBO and Sister Productions, Framestore used cutting edge technology to bring to life The Baby 
