
Freefolk's Magical VFX for Fate: The Winx Saga
Brie Clayton December 7, 2022
0 Comments
The award winning facility delivered 340 shots for another Netflix show
Freefolk is delighted to announce their delivery of a significant award of VFX as a lead vendor for season 2 of Netflix series, Fate: The Winx Saga.
Based on the popular Winx Club cartoon, the drama transports viewers to the Otherworld where fairies and specialists train within the confines of Alfea College. The story centres around a group of teens, determined to master their enchanting powers, navigate rivalry, romance and supernatural studios at the magical boarding school.
Dave Houghton, who the Freefolk team worked with previously on Cursed for Netflix, was the overall VFX Supervisor. The Freefolk crew were led by VFX Supervisor, Steve Murgatroyd, CG Supervisor, Harin Hirani, and VFX Executive Producer, Meg Guidon.
The team were tasked with creating numerous ethereal elements for the series including fire, water, ice, air bubbles, writhing muscles, glowing veins, vines, a protective magical barrier for Alfea College and a portal as well as as an elaborate banqueting hall ceiling adorned with mangrove like tree roots.
The biggest award of work, however, involved a CG character called the Scraper. Integral to the story, the creature, with complex and varied actions, features throughout the show and kept the animation team very busy.
Steve Murgatroyd explains the work in more detail, We had a fair number of key sequences but the stand out ones would have to be Aisha and Flora's encounter with the creature (or Scraper) in episode 3, where we had over 30 shots to animate, many of them requiring interaction with the live action characters.
Another key VFX we created was Musa's run in with a Scraper in a gloomy basement in episode 4, it's fast paced and probably one of the more chilling moments. There are also Scrapers swimming in tanks, Scrapers smashing through glass, Scrapers attacking in large numbers and even Scrapers crawling under blankets there are a lot of Scrapers.
The FX department created proprietary setups for the crowd scraper shots that allowed the scrapers to avoid each other, as well as collide against one another and the environment. They also had to manoeuvre like the hand animated scrapers seen in other sequences.
Judy Counihan, Executive Producer, comments on working with the Freefolk team on this series. Freefolk did a fantastic job in creating an iconic creature and other images on Fate series 2. The team were brilliant and we are all immensely proud of the results.
Fate: The Winx Saga is available to watch globally on Netflix from September 16th and is currently number one in the Netflix chart.
###
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, a first and last name, and let us know what you'd like to see more of in the message!
.grecaptcha-badge{visibility:hidden}.meow-contact-form .meow-contact-form__header{display:flex;margin-bottom:10px}.meow-contact-form .meow-contact-form__header .meow-contact-form__header__content{flex:1;display:flex;flex-direction:column;justify-content:center}.meow-contact-form .meow-contact-form__header .meow-contact-form__header--image--left{margin-right:10px}.meow-contact-form .meow-contact-form__header .meow-contact-form__header--image--right{margin-left:10px}.meow-contact-form--editor input{color:gray}.meow-contact-form--default{font-size:18px}.meow-contact-form--default input:not([type=submit]),.meow-contact-form--default textarea{width:100%}.meow-contact-form--default input[type=submit]{padding:10px 40px;font-size:18px;line-height:18px}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__info{margin-top:-10px;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:14px}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form-message{font-style:italic}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__group{margin-bottom:15px;font-size:16px}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__group .meow-contact-form__group-input,.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__group .meow-contact-form__group-textarea{margin-top:3px;padding:5px;font-size:14px}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__header{margin-bottom:15px}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__header__content--title{font-size:24px;line-height:24px}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__header__content--text{margin-top:5px;font-size:16px;line-height:16px;color:gray}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__group-button{padding:10px 20px;border:none;margin-top:10px;cursor:pointer}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__group-button:hover{filter:brightness(1.05)}.meow-contact-form--meowapps{padding:20px;box-shadow:0 0 5px #d8d8d8;font-size:18px;background:#fff;color:#333}.meow-contact-form--meowapps input:not([type=submit]),.meow-contact-form--meowapps textarea{width:100%;border:#e7e7e7 solid 1px}.meow-contact-form--meowapps .meow-contact-form__info{margin-top:-10px;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:14px}.meow-contact-form--meowapps .meow-contact-form__group{margin-bottom:15px;font-size:16px}.meow-contact-form--meowapps .meow-contact-form__group .meow-contact-form__group-input,.meow-contact-form--meowapps .meow-contact-form__group .meow-contact-form__group-textarea{margin-top:5px;padding:5px;font-size:14px}.meow-contact-form--meowapps .meow-contact-form__header{margin-bottom:15px}.meow-contact-form--meowapps .meow-contact-form__header--image{border-radius:100%}.meow-contact-form--meowapps .meow-contact-form__header__content--title{padding:0;
North America Stories
10/07/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/07/2026
With 50+ cameras, three trucks, 60+ EVS channels, RFID hole-card workflows, and ...
09/07/2026
A recent graduate from Westchester, NY, this experienced technician has already started her first gig in the industry, as a REMI A2 Comms Specialist at ESPN
In...
09/07/2026
Live sports production is a fast-paced industry with no signs of slowing down. W...
09/07/2026
From a rooftop studio in Manhattan, multiple Germany-based companies share respo...
09/07/2026
Overtime has announced a content partnership with FOX One to produce Race to Glo...
09/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced that Ross Production Services (RPS) has standardized on ...
09/07/2026
The NFL has announced that NetApp will return as Presenting Partner of the NFL Madrid Game, featuring the Atlanta Falcons against the Cincinnati Bengals at the ...
09/07/2026
The R&A and Cisco have announced a multi-year partnership making Cisco the Official Network Supplier of The R&A and its Championships. Cisco will deploy AI-read...
09/07/2026
Fox Television Stations, Extreme Reach (XR), and LTN have announced the completi...
09/07/2026
Kiswe has announced a partnership with Wynn Records to launch the Wynn Records Network streaming platform, debuting Saturday, July 11 with a Salita Promotions b...
09/07/2026
NEP Europe has announced a new multi-year agreement with Wimbledon Broadcast Ser...
09/07/2026
Thropic Games, a company offering casual mobile games tied to fan fundraising for sports programs, has announced a pre-seed funding round led by The Famous Grou...
09/07/2026
Game Creek Video has reached an agreement with Grass Valley to purchase 10 K-Frame production switchers as part of a two-year fleet expansion. Two systems have ...
09/07/2026
Gravity Media is delivering a three-hub remote production workflow for ITV's...
09/07/2026
A new report from Quickplay and Caretta Research, The Broadcaster Revolution Wi...
09/07/2026
DAZN, the world's leading sports entertainment platform, has announced a long-term strategic partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation to serve as t...
09/07/2026
The regional sports network is staying busy this summer with broadcasts of the N...
09/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces New UltraStudio Express 3G
Brie Clayton July 9, 2026
0 Comments
New extremely portable capture and playback models with 3G...
09/07/2026
Miri Introduces Self-Service Cellular Data and SIM Card Management Platform for ...
09/07/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), one of Asia's most prestigious horse racing organizations, has significantly up...
09/07/2026
Leading North American mobile production facility provider standardizes on Grass Valley's fully IP-native K-Frame production switchers for its fleet of next...
09/07/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. is rolling out a new online portal that provides customers and resellers with self-serve management tools and usage analytics for the com...
09/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/07/2026
Cinematographer Aakash Subramaniam, WICA faced a conceptual challenge: how could he make a film about dying that doesn't feel like one? The film, Our Weird...
09/07/2026
This GFN Thursday brings more games, more power and more ways to play on GeForce NOW.
The cloud gaming service is expanding with a new GeForce RTX 5080-powere...
08/07/2026
The end of the Big A' marks the demise of one more iconic sports venue and its signature sound
After 132 years as one of the preeminent horse-racing track...
08/07/2026
Memphis Athletics and Learfield have signed a long-term renewal to their 25-year relationship, which sees Learfield's Tiger Sports Properties continue repre...
08/07/2026
MLB All-Star Week returns to Philadelphia for the first time in 30 years as Amer...
08/07/2026
Former Wall Street Video event expanded to include all Enterprise sectors
SVG Enterprise has announced the inaugural Enterprise Video Summit, taking place Oct....
08/07/2026
An offseason project enhanced eight video displays around the venue in time for ...
08/07/2026
Kaseya Center has a ton of new features that weren't available to the indust...
08/07/2026
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and the Sundance Film Festival are pleased to announce the establishment of a FIPRESCI jury beginning wi...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Collaboration demonstrates how managed IP distribution and cloud-based syndication workflows can support live television at national scale
Fox Television Stati...
08/07/2026
New ARRI ALEXA 35 Live Xtreme camera seamlessly delivers up to 8x HFR via SDI fo...
08/07/2026
Did You Know? Redshift for Cinema 4D: The Power of the Distance Node
Marc Potocnik July 8, 2026
0 Comments
The Did You Know? Redshift for Cinema 4D ...
08/07/2026
Lightware is introducing the biggest update yet to the LARA Wizard Touchpanel configuration experience, designed to help integrators work faster while deliverin...
08/07/2026
DMC Production has turned to Calrec in its quest to redefine outside broadcasting with a flexible approach to live production that reverse engineers the convent...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Foundry today announced that Reel FX Animation Studios has adopted Flix to standardize their pipeline and streamline processes across departments. Flix is a vis...
08/07/2026
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra is offering leading performance at lower cost than top c...