Oscars 2024: Visual Effects Supervisor Stephane Ceretti on Managing 3,000+ VFX Shots and Saying Goodbye to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

“[It] made me happy to see that people were using CGI, almost as a compliment in this case, like, ‘how could this CGI raccoon look so good, and make me cry and make me feel so much as a human person about this CGI thing, these pixels.’ That’s the thing I’m striving for—how do we, with our illusions, how do we make people feel something.” -Stephane Ceretti

Commitments to other Marvel projects kept visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti from returning for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, so when he got the call from writer/director James Gunn to help him complete the beloved Marvel trilogy, he jumped at the chance to finish what he started.

Ceretti and Gunn have similar filmmaking philosophies rooted in putting storytelling and emotional connections at the forefront. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 features 3,066 VFX shots—some of the most ever for a single film. In overseeing ten visual effects houses and the creation of everything from new characters, CGI furry animals, and epic battle sequences, Ceretti remained focused on highlighting the natural chemistry between the actors.

Ceretti is set to reteam with Gunn for the upcoming Superman: Legacy. For now, he joins Awards Daily’s Shadan Larki to discuss his work on the superhero threequel, which has earned Ceretti his third Academy Award nomination. He details his close collaboration with Gunn, the incredible scope of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s visual effects work, maintaining his vision on a big-budget project, and saying goodbye to a significant career highlight.

Watch the full interview with Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti below: