Frankenstein in Miniature: Building, and Destroying, Victor's Lab
This photo gallery offers multiple views of the miniature builds that helped bring Victor Frankenstein's laboratory to life for Guillermo del Toro's gothic science-fiction feature.
Editors' note: This spotlight on the visual effects of Frankenstein is part of AC's in-depth coverage of the film, which is featured in our December 2025 issue. Below is an expanded photo gallery showcasing the production's miniature builds.
Frankenstein’s laboratory, a neo-Gothic pinnacle on a rugged Scottish clifftop, took shape
in miniature for establishing scenes and for
the tower’s destruction. Dan Laustsen, ASC,
DFF photographed the miniatures — working with miniature supervisor José Granell
and Nigel Stone, BSC at The Magic Camera
Company — and accompanied Del Toro and
VFX supervisor Dennis Berardi for five weeks
at White Waltham Airfield in England.
“First, we shot wide shots of the tower
outside on a parking lot,” says the cinematographer. “We then shot miniature laboratory
interiors collapsing. It was a challenge to
match the lighting for the miniatures to the
full-scale sets, and when shooting miniatures,
you have to shoot high speeds at around T11
to get the depth of field. But it was a fantastic
experience and so much fun.”
The filmmakers covered the miniatures
using five Red V-Raptor XLs with Arri Signature Prime lenses and elected to shoot
without Laustsen’s signature Tiffen Black Pro-Mist filtration. “I wanted to capture as much
dynamic range as possible in the miniatures,”
says Berardi. “I also knew we’d be adding a lot
of digital enhancements. We shot takes with
the Pro-Mist as reference, but we shot our
hero takes clean.”
For wide exteriors, Magic Camera Company built a 1/40-scale tower, which stood 11'6"
tall, surrounded by a 24'x18' landscape. Two
additional 1/20-scale towers were used for
close-up details and for up-angles. VFX then
sampled textures in digital set extensions. For scenes wherein Frankenstein causes the
tower to explode in flames, technicians rigged
more than 120 pyrotechnic events. Rubble then served for VFX composites of the
ruined aftermath.
To build a 1⁄4-scale interior of Frankenstein’s lab, Granell visited the full-scale
sets in Toronto and collected details of the
glowing fuel cells and the spiral staircase,
which model makers rigged for high-frame-rate destruction. “We worked out frame
rates using the rule of thumb of taking the
denominator of the scale,” Berardi explains.
“You multiply that by frame rate, and
that gets you in the ballpark. The formula
doesn’t always work with fire and water, so
we did a lot of frame-rate explorations. For
instance, we shot the 1⁄4-scale lab interior at
around 144 fps [at T11], and that allowed us
to force perspective and make it believable.
VFX then added digital fire as needed.”
Frankenstein's Lab — Interior
Frankenstein's Lab — Exterior
Images courtesy of Netflix and the filmmakers.
