[FRAMED] Supervising Executive Producer, Sabrina Gagnon, Montréal

Which film or TV series do you wish you could watch again for the first time?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I remember being blown away and how different this was from what was on the market at that time. The VFX were also done in Montréal which back then, was a big deal for our industry! Not that many movies were done in our city pre-2013.

Which Framestore character do you feel you’re most like?

Let’s see my sweet little Mrs Potts. I take care of my peeps!

What fictional world or place would you like to visit?

The Wizard of Oz was one of my ultimate favourites growing up, so I think I would have to say Oz. Where magic exists and where you are almost certain to have great adventures!

What’s your favourite project that you worked on at Framestore?

That is always the hardest question to answer! So many projects were memorable to work on, for different reasons. Each project has its own soul… It’s like asking a parent to pick their favourite child! But since I must: I think Blade Runner 2049 for the very obvious outcome. For the first large project to be entirely done in Montréal to get such results and for the opportunity to work with a Quebec director (my fav!), it was simply the best of honours. But it was a very difficult journey to get there. So I always say that Deadpool 2 was also my favourite because of the team! To this day, if I had to pick my dream team to work with, most people on that project with me would be part of that team. It was just pure fun.

If you hadn’t gotten into VFX, what would you be doing now?

I would probably be somewhere in the world of Psychology, Sexology and/or Sociology. The human mind is extremely intriguing to me. A forever puzzle to solve. I always enjoyed my classes touching these subjects, and being able to listen, analyse and help people always interested me. Funnily enough, I find that in VFX production, you get to touch psychology a bit. I often joke that my job is sometimes to be a part-time therapist. Jokes aside, I’m happy to have been able to merge multiple interests of mine into this somewhat still brand-new industry.

The DREAM project would entail:

Working with Denis Villeneuve again. A brief that doesn’t change over time. A team of people that I trust and enjoy working with. A project without drama lamas, just the fun of working together, working hard, but without unnecessary OT!

How would you describe your job to a child?

I work with a team of people who make people’s imaginations come to life. I’ve worked with teams that have created Paddington and the Little Mermaid. Everything is done through a computer. My role in that team is to give them structure, so they know which direction to go, so they don’t get lost in this imaginary world. It’s vast, so we really have to work together to stay on the path.

Describe your career journey into the exciting world of VFX.

Well, that journey started over 20 years ago now! (ouch!) I studied cinema, but didn’t love the people that shared my classes for the most part… I didn’t feel it… I stumbled on the course plan for the NAD Center in Montréal one day and automatically fell in love with the course they were offering. I knew nothing of that world… I still jumped in and never looked back! I fell in love with this universe and felt that I finally found my people. A world where people work together. It was refreshing! After graduating, I worked as an animator for 3 years. I enjoyed it, but found the work somewhat repetitive.

One day, my head of studio came to me and said they didn’t have animation work coming in, but they really wanted to keep me around. They had a coordinator role opening up, and job security pre-2013 being nonexistent in Montréal, I accepted instantly. I didn’t even know what a coordinator was, we were self-managing up to that point. Back then a coordinator in Montréal was doing everything from what a PA to an AP does nowadays (from sends to dailies to schedules to crewing plans). It was hard but very fulfilling. I felt that I had finally found my true place. I then did a short Master’s program in Project Management to perfect my craft. I get to participate in the filmmaking process, help people do it, and organise things in a tightly manner. A perfect fit.

Describe a day in the life of a Supervising Executive producer in emojis:

😁 👋 ⌚ 🔢 💲 ⌚ 👂 🌐 ⌚ 🤞 😭 ⌚ 🤣 🔥 ♥️ 🌛

Framestore is, to you, in three words:

People, Filmmaking, Dedication.

What is the biggest perk about working at Framestore?

I find that generally speaking, Framestore has a very human approach. Like any company that has grown a lot over recent years, that is challenging to keep, and people might forget this sometimes, but the reality is that you can always talk to someone about ongoing issues. Management is very present and accessible and happy to hear out people’s thoughts and ideas to make this a better place.

Framestore is great at:

Partnering up with clients and really being part of the filmmaking process. To be creatively involved really makes for a different approach and a different experience as a whole. The financial bottom line isn’t what matters the most to the leaders of this company, making the best possible movie/series for our filmmakers is what matters above all, and producers and VFX supervisors have the space to figure out the right balance between these 2 very opposite poles. Budget restrictions can kill creativity, so this is a fine dance to do and we have the space to do it here.

Favourite artform?

Photography

Favourite image?

Photographies from Christopher Gilbert. He’s always mixing images to make something improbable! He’s self taught and has done mostly commercial work. I always find his images so inspiring!

What’s your favourite movie/ series/ advert/ immersive experience and why?

I think Inception is brilliant. It’s the perfect balance of a complex story where the director doesn’t take the audience for stupid people, but yet still guides you through it. They explain enough so you understand the world and its physics but don’t constantly take you by the hand, taking any sort of thought process away from the audience. Multiple people will have different takes on it, and I think it’s brilliant.

What is the last piece of art (e.g. music, film, TV, writing etc.) that inspired you?

Les Clandestines
Quebec play prophetically written pre-Roe vs Wade being overturned (They actually finished writing it a week before that very sad day). Dystopian future where abortion is completely illegal. We follow 3 women. A pregnant doctor doing illegal abortions to women who need it. A nurse who supports her, and a patient that actually is pro-life… what could go wrong) In the second half, it was the aftermath of what had happened, and how the politicians and legal system were navigating these insane times… That play really spoke to me… By its subject that I can’t believe is something people have to fight again for in our times, but also by its approach. It gave me ideas to write or just do something about it…

How do you unlock your creativity?

Staying away from screens. I think sitting in front of a screen, even though you think you are just chilling out, is sucking the life out of our brains. When sitting away from any screen and doing activities (sports, painting, running errands), is where your brain starts creating new ideas and new things.

From where do you seek inspiration?

In people. To see what people achieve, or are going through, I find inspiring. To create, or just to move forward in life 😀

Who in the industry do you admire most and why?

The unsung heroes of our stories; The Producers. To be honest, this is one of the hardest jobs there is in VFX. These people work really hard and have to pick up work from all around to glue it all together. Very literally the first one in and last one out on many many days! This job has gotten a LOT harder in this last decade and we never publicly acclaim them. We leave that to our creatives. I sing their praises today! They are warriors with remarkable resilience and willpower! I admire every single one of them in our team.

Share the best piece of advice you’ve ever received:

“You are a tool!” Haha! In Production, we are essentially a support department. Yes, we drive things forward, but we are at the service of a project and of our team. We are there to facilitate their journey as much as possible. Each day I can be someone’s hammer or drill to achieve our common goal. I’m not there to fight and create chaos, I’m there to facilitate and navigate the waters. I’ve based my entire career in production with this mentality and it has always paid back.

What tech/innovation could you not live without?

A Smart Phone. I remember dreaming of having a bus schedule, booking a city bike, or Taxi ordering in the palm of my hands when I was in university and it became a reality! I can’t imagine my life without this access!

What tech/innovation deserves the hype?

It might be controversial in VFX, but AI in general. I think it’s already changing our lives and will keep doing so. In a world where there is a shortage of staff in every single field of work… It can also give us access to more things. Let’s think black mirror for a second and imagine microrobots constantly analysing our blood and keeping us healthy! It’s time for our lives to go full sci-fi now! 😛

What tech do you need that hasn’t been invented yet?

Teleportation! I want to skip on all that commute! We wouldn’t need to work from home when we are healthy if we could skip all this commute!

Sabrina Gagnon you’ve been [FRAMED].