FMX 2025: Fine Animation, Superhero Misfits and a Make-up Effects Live-Session

THEN & NOW: VFX deep dive with true experts

Ian Failes, editor-in-chief of “befores & afters” magazine, will bring four very special sessions to the conference. They touch on completely different aspects of VFX art, both historical and contemporary.

 Jake Morrison and a scene from “Thunderbolts*” starring Florence Pugh and David Harbour. © Marvel/Disney

VFX supervisor Jake Morrison shares VFX secrets of “Thunderbolts*”

Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*”, from director Jake Schreier, tells the story of depressed assassin Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) alongside the MCU’s latest band of misfits.

To share how the old-school and new-school visual effects for the film were achieved, production visual effects supervisor Jake Morrison (“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”, “Ant-Man”, “Thor: Ragnarok”) will sit down with Ian Failes for this in-depth discussion.

They will dissect the approach to the VFX, including for specific scenes, revealing behind the scenes of the planning, shoot, and execution of the film’s biggest moments. You will also get a chance to ask Morrison about how he shepherded visual effects teams from around the world to make “Thunderbolts*”.

Begoña Martín and two of her models. © Begoña Martín

Make-up effects artist Begoña Martín to conduct a demo live on stage

In this special THEN & NOW session, special make-up effects artist Begoña Martín will transform a volunteer live on stage at FMX using make-up effects and prosthetics. You’ll be able to get up close and personal with this practical make-up effects work, and ask Begoña about her process as she works.

Ian Failes will also be on hand to chat to Begoña (“Damsel”, “The Witcher”, “Willow”) about her career. Plus, as a special bonus during the week, Begoña will be doing live make-up effects demonstrations on the FMX floor at her booth.

VFX Supervisor Stefen Fangmeier and a glimpse into the production of “The Perfect Storm”. © Stefen Fangmeier/ILM

Celebrating 25 years of “The Perfect Storm”

The visual effects task on Wolfgang Petersen’s “The Perfect Storm” (released in 2000) was monumental — placing real men on a fishing trawler against the fiercest of storms, and even one 100 foot wave.

It would require the latest fluid simulation R&D and artistry from Industrial Light & Magic, overseen by visual effects supervisor Stefen Fangmeier.

In this retro session, Stefen (“Jurassic Park”, “Twister”, “Eragon”) will be joined on stage by Ian Failes to break down the big breakthroughs at the time, share stories from the set, and answer your questions about what had to be solved all the way back then.

Innovation Manager Jonathan Egstad will talk about the legendary tool Nuke. © Jonathan Egstadt/Digital Domain

Nuke: from its beginnings to today

Jonathan Egstad worked at Digital Domain as an artist and supervisor at the incredible time that the compositing tool Nuke was born. There, he had a keen hand in how it would be designed.

After working at other facilities including ImageMovers Digital and DreamWorks Animation, Egstad is now Senior Product Innovation Manager at Foundry, again working on Nuke.

With Ian Failes, Egstad (“The Fifth Element”, “Titanic”, “X-Men”) will share untold stories from Nuke’s beginnings, and answer your questions about the history of the compositing tool. You’ll even get to see some old-school Nuke interfaces!

FMX proudly presents: Shelley’s Eye Candy

Shelley Page (Locksmith Animation) returns to FMX with another selection of great new animated shorts and the best graduation films she has discovered on her travels in the past year! The “Eye Candy Show” is a collection of visually stunning, emotionally moving, beautifully animated and – above all – character-driven stories from around the world.

Find more information on Shelley here:

https://fmx.de/en/program/boards-2025/details-boards/6781