When Red One dropped last this year, audiences got get a holiday cocktail of Jumanji-style action (The director was the same - Jake Kasdan), Christmas mythology, and CG hellhounds. Behind the visual spectacle: RISE FX, tasked with bringing a gooey portal system, guard monsters, and an actual magic chicken to life. We caught up with VFX Supervisor Michael Wortmann at FMX2025, to talk creature design, feather grooming in Houdini, and what happens when Krampus goes full-screen. From Atlanta to EmberGen simulations—here’s how RISE tackled 280 shots for Amazon MGM’s festive actioner.
Wortmann studied animation at Ludwigsburg’s renowned Filmakademie before jumping into VFX production across Sydney, London and Wellington. His career spans everything from Game of Thrones and Star Trek Into Darkness to Black Panther, Eternals and Atomic Blonde. Most recently, he wrapped supervision on Momo, a feature film adaptation of Michael Ende’s classic novel.
DP: What w...
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