Principal photography has begun on Horrid Henry: The Movie, the UK’s first kids feature filmed in 3D, writes Adrian Pennington. Vision3 has been appointed to handle stereography.
The £4 million film, starring Anjelica Huston and directed by Nick Moore, is being shot over seven weeks in Twickenham Studios and locations across London. Stereography is being led by Vision3’s Matt Smith, working alongside founding partner, Chris Parks, and working closely with DoP Sam McCurdy (Streetdance 3D).
Both Parks and Smith recently led stereography on the UK unit of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The film will be shot with REDs on Element Technica Quasar rigs. The REDs are supplied by Take2 Films, which invested in new 3D equipment specifically to support the project. SI2K cameras will be used for additional specialist shots.
“Working on a children’s classic provides fantastic opportunities to do genuinely creative and fun 3D,” says Parks. “Keeping in mind Horrid Henry’s comic strip origins we’re intentionally using 3D cardboarding as a creative tool, working to bring some of the layered feeling of cartoons to life on the big screen.”
Horrid Henry was created by author Francesca Simon, and is the most successful children’s literary character in the UK after Harry Potter with book sales of more than 16 million. Co-funded with UKFC, Prescience and Aegis Film Fund, Horrid Henry: The Movie will be distributed by Vertigo Films in the UK. Release is set for Summer 2011.
