FILM
OKJA
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
Bong Joon-ho’s Okja is another left-field possibility for VFX Oscar contention. It did receive a cinema release, but its predominant run was via Netflix. Nevertheless, Visual Effects Supervisor Erik-Jan De Boer’s handling of the CG super-pig integration into live-action frames is superb, and there’s something about this quirky tale that makes you forget Okja is not real at all.
Two huge accomplishments in terms of visual effects were made on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, co-directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, with VFX supervision by Gary Brozenich. One was digital character makeup, particularly for Javier Bardem’s Salazar. The other was a very deliberate methodology for digital water, which ranged all the way from flat calms to raging seas.
The biggest set pieces in Jon Watts’s Spider-Man: Homecoming – such as the ferry sinking scene, the Washington Monument rescue and the Avengers airport tarmac battle – all relied heavily on visual effects. What might be considered an even bigger achievement, however, is the consistent appearance of a CG Spider-Man in both large stunt sequences and even smaller scenes.
The recent Star Wars films have made the most of the latest advancements in practical creature effects and digital visual effects. Sometimes the practical side is pushed harder in pre-release, but no one can question Industrial Light & Magic’s commitment to generating a dazzling array of digital space imagery, space creatures and space battles.
TOP: Okja acts occasionally like a playful puppy, and Method’s animators looked to canine, hippo and other reference to get that right feeling in the creature’s movements. (Photo copyright © 2017 Netflix. All Rights Reserved.)
BOTTOM: Filmed on set with practical makeup, Javier Bardem was augmented by MPC to feature further scarring and an underwater look for his hair. (Photo credit: Film Frame. Copyright © 2017 Disney Enterprises Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
TOP: Visual Effects Supervisor Janek Sirrs oversaw many studios in bringing Spidey’s swinging actions to life, including this scene completed by Digital Domain. (Photo courtesy of Digital Domain. Copyright © 2017 Columbia Pictures/CTMG Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
BOTTOM: A winning formula in ILM’s creation of spaceships and battle scenes in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars:The Last Jedi is a nod to its roots in miniatures. (Photo credit: Film Frames. Copyright © 2017 Industrial Light & Magic/Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.)
16 • VFXVOICE.COM WINTER 2018
PG 10-21 VFX OSCAR.indd 17
WINTER 2018 VFXVOICE.COM • 17
11/22/17 4:50 PM