VFXVOICE.COM SUMMER 2025
NASA SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION STUDIO VFX EMMY CONTENDERS • ELIO • VFX WITHOUT BORDERS ANDOR S2 • MURDERBOT • PROFILE: PETER HJORTH
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[ EXECUTIVE NOTE ]
Welcome to the Summer 2025 issue of VFX Voice! Thank you for being a part of the global VFX Voice community. Our interplanetary VFX Voice cover story goes where art meets science inside NASA’s use of VFX to enhance the solar system. We go behind the scenes of animated fantasy film Elio and hot sci-fi streamers Andor Season 2 and Murderbot. We delve into trends around harnessing macro photography; the evolving on-set relationship between directors, DPs and VFX supervisors; the rise of VFX studios in all corners of the world; and tech advances pushing the boundaries of immersive theme-park experiences. VFX Voice gets up close and personal with a profile of award-winning Danish VFX supervisor Peter Hjorth, and with Nosipho Marketo-van den Bragt, Founder and CEO of Johannesburg, South Africa-based VFX and animation studio Chocolate Tribe, on her fortuitous career change. We highlight the state of streaming; new applications for LiDAR; and take a first look at this year’s potential VFX Emmy contenders. And we go deep in the heart of Texas to spotlight our newest VES Section, and much more. Dive in and meet the innovators and risk-takers who push the boundaries of what’s possible and advance the field of visual effects. Cheers!
Kim Davidson, Chair, VES Board of Directors
Nancy Ward, VES Executive Director
P.S. You can continue to catch exclusive stories between issues only available at VFXVoice.com. You can also get VFX Voice and VES updates by following us on X at @VFXSociety.
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[ CONTENTS ] FEATURES 8 THE VFX EMMY: THE 77TH EMMY AWARDS Previewing defenders and contenders for this year’s prize.
VFXVOICE.COM
DEPARTMENTS 2 EXECUTIVE NOTE 68 ON THE RISE
20 COVER: VFX SOARS INTO NASA’S ORBIT NASA adopts widely-used industry tools to enhance science. 26 PROFILE: PETER HJORTH The roots of Danish VFX supervisor’s grounded naturalism. 30 VFX TRENDS: FROM SET TO PIXELS Director/cinematographer/VFX supervisor on-set connections. 36 ANIMATION: ELIO Turning Red team turns to visual effects to capture Communiverse. 42 PATHWAYS: NOSIPHO MARKETO-VAN DEN BRAGT Attorney’s passion for animation led her to found Chocolate Tribe. 46 TECH & TOOLS: LIDAR REVOLUTIONS VFX supervisors view LiDAR as part of their essential toolkit.
90 THE VES HANDBOOK 92 VES SECTION SPOTLIGHT – TEXAS 94 VES NEWS 96 FINAL FRAME – VP TRANSFORMS THE SET
ON THE COVER: Mercury’s enhanced colors, produced by special filters fitted on the camera, tell a story about the chemical, mineralogical and geological history of the innermost planet in our solar system. (Image courtesy of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/ Carnegie Institution of Washington)
52 SPECIAL FOCUS: VFX WITHOUT BORDERS VFX studios have emerged in the most varied places in the world. 58 TELEVISION/STREAMING: ANDOR, SEASON 2 Rebellion, new planets and characters broaden the series’ canvas. 64 VFX TRENDS: EXPLORING SMALL WORLDS Filmmakers use macro photography to focus on compelling stories. 70 TELEVISION/STREAMING: MURDERBOT Storytelling with voice-overs and UI set apart sci-fi thriller-comedy. 76 VR/MR/AR TRENDS: THEME PARKS & OTHER VENUES VR, AR, VFX keep pushing the boundaries of immersive design. 82 TELEVISION/STREAMING: STATE OF STREAMING Streamers command a growing viewership with effects-heavy menu.
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SUMMER 2025 • VOL. 9, NO. 3
WINNER OF THREE FOLIO AWARDS FOR PUBLISHING EXCELLENCE.
VFXVOICE
Visit us online at vfxvoice.com PUBLISHER Jim McCullaugh publisher@vfxvoice.com
VISUAL EFFECTS SOCIETY Nancy Ward, Executive Director VES BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EDITOR Ed Ochs editor@vfxvoice.com CREATIVE Alpanian Design Group alan@alpanian.com ADVERTISING Arlene Hansen Arlene-VFX@outlook.com SUPERVISOR Ross Auerbach CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Naomi Goldman Trevor Hogg Chris McGowan Barbara Robertson Oliver Webb ADVISORY COMMITTEE David Bloom Andrew Bly Rob Bredow Mike Chambers, VES Lisa Cooke, VES Neil Corbould, VES Irena Cronin Kim Davidson Paul Debevec, VES Debbie Denise Karen Dufilho Paul Franklin Barbara Ford Grant David Johnson, VES Jim Morris, VES Dennis Muren, ASC, VES Sam Nicholson, ASC Lori H. Schwartz Eric Roth
OFFICERS Kim Davidson, Chair Susan O’Neal, 1st Vice Chair David Tanaka, VES, 2nd Vice Chair Rita Cahill, Secretary Jeffrey A. Okun, VES, Treasurer DIRECTORS Neishaw Ali, Fatima Anes, Laura Barbera Alan Boucek, Kathryn Brillhart, Mike Chambers, VES Emma Clifton Perry, Rose Duignan Dave Gouge, Kay Hoddy, Thomas Knop, VES Brooke Lyndon-Stanford, Quentin Martin Julie McDonald, Karen Murphy Janet Muswell Hamilton VES, Maggie Oh Robin Prybil, Lopsie Schwartz David Valentin, Sean Varney, Bill Villarreal Sam Winkler, Philipp Wolf, Susan Zwerman, VES ALTERNATES Fred Chapman, Dayne Cowan, Aladino Debert, John Decker, William Mesa, Ariele Podreider Lenzi Visual Effects Society 5805 Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 620 Sherman Oaks, CA 91411 Phone: (818) 981-7861 vesglobal.org VES STAFF Elvia Gonzalez, Associate Director Jim Sullivan, Director of Operations Ben Schneider, Director of Membership Services Charles Mesa, Media & Content Manager Eric Bass, MarCom Manager Ross Auerbach, Program Manager Colleen Kelly, Office Manager Mark Mulkerron, Administrative Assistant Shannon Cassidy, Global Manager P.J. Schumacher, Controller Naomi Goldman, Public Relations
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VFX Voice is published quarterly by the Visual Effects Society. Subscriptions: U.S. $50: Canada/Mexico $60; all other countries $70 a year. See vfxvoice.com Advertising: Rate card upon request from publisher@vfxvoice.com or VFXVoiceAds@gmail.com Comments: Write us at comments@vfxvoice.com Postmaster: Send address change to VES, 5805 Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 620, Sherman Oaks, CA 91411. Copyright © 2025 The Visual Effects Society. Printed in the U.S.A.
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THE VFX EMMY
VFX EMMY CONTENDERS: SETTING THE BENCHMARK FOR VISUAL EFFECTS ON TV By JENNIFER CHAMPAGNE
TOP: House of the Dragon expands its dragon-filled world in its second season, offering more large-scale battles and heightened aerial warfare. (Image courtesy of HBO) OPPOSITE TOP TO BOTTOM: The Penguin, with its subtle yet immersive world-building, stands apart from the spectacle-driven contenders, using “invisible” VFX to transform Gotham into a post-flooded, decaying metropolis. (Image courtesy of HBO) The SSVFX team helped shape a world for Lady in the Lake that felt rich, lived-in and historically precise. (Image courtesy of Apple TV+) One of most ambitious effects for Season 4 of The Boys was Splinter, who has the ability to duplicate himself. The sequence required eight hours of rehearsal, six hours of filming, for one shot. The final effect was a mix of prosthetic cover-up pieces and VFX face replacement. (Image courtesy of Prime Video)
The 2025 Emmy race for outstanding visual effects is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in years with major genre heavyweights breaking new ground on what’s possible on television. As prestige fantasy and sci-fi continue to dominate, the battle for the category will likely come down to sheer scale, technical innovation and how seamlessly effects are integrated into storytelling. Returning titans like House of the Dragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power have proven their ability to deliver breathtaking visuals. At the same time, Dune: Prophecy enters the conversation as a visually stunning newcomer. The Boys remains the category’s wildcard, bringing its own brand of hyper-realistic, shock-value effects to the race. With its subtle yet immersive world-building, The Penguin stands apart from the spectacle-driven contenders, using “invisible” VFX to transform Gotham into a post-flooded, decaying metropolis. Each series offers a distinct approach to digital effects, making for an intriguing showdown between blockbuster-scale world-building and more nuanced, atmospheric craftsmanship. Sharing the arena with marquee pacesetters HBO’s The Last of Us, Disney+’s Andor and Netflix’s Squid Game, these series lead the charge in ensuring that the 2025 Emmy race isn’t just about visual spectacle; it’s about which shows will set the next benchmark for visual effects on television. The following insights and highlights from VFX supervisors of likely Emmy contenders illustrate why their award-worthy shows have caught the attention of TV watchers and VFX Emmy voters. For The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power VFX Supervisor Jason Smith, the second season presented some of the Amazon series’ most ambitious visual effects challenges. From the epic
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“Telling Victor’s story of how he lost his entire family in the bombing and floods of Gotham was heartbreaking. Normally, you create an event like that for excitement, for tension. But for us, it was about capturing emotional devastation.” —Johnny Han, VFX Supervisor, The Penguin Battle of Eregion to the painstaking design of the Entwives, Smith and his team at Wētā FX sought to advance digital world-building while staying true to J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision. “The Battle of Eregion was amazing to work on – and challenging too, because it’s a pivotal moment in Tolkien’s story,” Smith states. Unlike typical large-scale clashes, this battle begins as a siege culminating in an explosive cavalry charge. “We looked for every way we could to heighten the action during the siege by keeping the armies interacting, even at a distance,” Smith explains. His team introduced projectiles and siege weaponry to create dynamic action, ensuring the prolonged standoff felt kinetic. The environment work for Eregion posed another challenge. The city was initially constructed as a massive digital asset in Season 1, showcasing the collaborative brilliance of the Elves and Dwarves. In Season 2, that grandeur had to be systematically razed to the ground. “The progression of destruction had to be planned extremely carefully,” Smith notes. His team devised seven distinct levels of damage, mapping out in granular detail which areas would be smoldering, reduced to rubble or utterly consumed by fire. “Our goal was to have the audience feel the loss that the Elves feel as this beautiful symbol of the height of Elvendom is utterly razed.” The Penguin, HBO Max’s spinoff series of The Batman, centers on Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobb’s ruthless rise to power, and relies
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THE VFX EMMY
TOP AND MIDDLE: Zimia spaceport, an enormous hub of interstellar commerce in Dune: Prophecy. The production team built a vast practical set to provide a strong scale foundation, but its full grandeur came to life in post by extending this environment with CG. (Images courtesy of HBO) BOTTOM: The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power refined its environments, which elevate Middle-earth’s realism. (Image courtesy of Prime Video)
on meticulous environmental effects, smoothly integrating CG elements to enhance Gotham’s noir aesthetic without ever calling attention to the work itself. “The most rewarding part of our work was crafting VFX that don’t feel like VFX,” says VFX Supervisor Johnny Han. Across the series’ 3,100 VFX shots, every collapsing freeway, skyline extension and flicker of light from a muzzle flash had to feel utterly real – woven so naturally into the world of Gotham that viewers never stopped to question its authenticity. Some of the series’ most striking visual moments were also its most understated. The shift of Gotham’s seasons – transforming sunlit summer shoots into autumn’s muted chill – helped shape the show’s somber tone, reinforcing the bleak, crime-ridden undercurrent. The city’s bridges and skyscrapers were meticulously augmented, stretching Gotham beyond the limits of practical sets while preserving its grounded, brutalist aesthetic. Even the scars and wounds on Sofia Falcone were enhanced through digital artistry, ensuring that her past traumas remained everpresent, etched into her skin. The series wasn’t without its large-scale effects – far from it. Han and his team orchestrated massive sequences of urban devastation. “The floodwaters were one of our biggest challenges,” Han notes, referring to the ongoing impact of the catastrophic deluge that left Gotham in ruins. One particularly harrowing sequence required simulating a tsunami tearing through the streets – not as an action set piece, but as a deeply personal moment of loss. “Telling Victor’s story of how he lost his entire family in the bombing and floods of Gotham was heartbreaking,” Han says. “Normally, you create an event like that for excitement, for tension. But for us, it was about capturing emotional devastation.” Perhaps the most technically intricate sequences were the shootouts, hallmarks of Gotham’s criminal underbelly. “We programmed millisecond-accurate synced flash guns to mimic dramatic gunfire light,” Han explains, ensuring that the interplay
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of practical and digital elements remained imperceptible. Every muzzle flash, every ricochet was meticulously planned and rendered. The ultimate achievement for Han and his team wasn’t crafting the biggest explosion or the most elaborate digital sequence – it was making Gotham itself feel inescapably real. He says, “Nothing was more important to us than for you to forget that there are 3,100 VFX shots in this series.” Bringing the universe of Dune to life on TV for HBO’s Dune: Prophecy requires a delicate balance of realism and imagination, grounded in natural physics, yet awe-inspiring in scale. Dune: Prophecy looks to challenge traditional fantasy dominance with its stunning, desert-bound landscapes and intricate space-faring visuals, uniting the grandeur of Denis Villeneuve’s films with the demands of episodic storytelling. Set thousands of years before the events of the films, the series explores the early days of the Bene Gesserit, a secretive order wielding extraordinary abilities. Translating that power into a visual language required technical innovation. “Kudos to Important Looking Pirates for the space folding and [Lila’s] Agony work,” says VFX Supervisor Mike Enriquez. No Dune project would be complete without its most iconic inhabitant, the sandworm. VFX Producer Terron Pratt says. “We’re incredibly proud of what the team at Image Engine created. Precise animation conveyed this creature’s weight and massive scale, while incredibly detailed sand simulations integrated it into the environment.” Every grain of sand had to move believably in response to the worm’s colossal presence to ensure the physics of Arrakis remained authentic. For the Zimia spaceport, an enormous hub of interstellar commerce, the Dune: Prophecy production team built a vast practical set to provide a strong scale foundation. However, its full grandeur came to life in post. “By extending this environment with CG, we amplified the scope of our world, making it feel expansive and deeply impactful,” Pratt explains. The result was a sprawling,
TOP TO BOTTOM: The challenge for The Residence was making one of the most recognizable buildings in the world feel both immersive and narratively engaging. (Photo: Erin Simkin. Courtesy of Netflix) Floodwaters play a significant part in the destruction of Gotham in The Penguin. One particularly harrowing sequence required simulating a tsunami tearing through the streets. (Image courtesy of HBO) American Primeval integrated visual effects with practical techniques in creative, unconventional ways. The massacre sequence showcases technical mastery and pulls the audience into the brutal reality of the American frontier. (Photo: Justin Lubin. Courtesy of Netflix)
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THE VFX EMMY
TOP AND MIDDLE: Wētā FX sought to advance digital world-building for Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power while staying true to J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision. (Image courtesy of Prime Video) BOTTOM: Visual effects extended beyond character work for Lady in the Lake, playing a key role in the show’s immersive world-building. (Image courtesy of Apple TV+)
futuristic cityscape that retained a tangible weight with impeccably amalgamated practical and digital elements. For House of the Dragon VFX Supervisor Daði Einarsson, Season 2 presented some of the HBO show’s most complex and ambitious visual effects work. The Battle at Rook’s Rest in Episode 4 was a milestone for the series, marking the first full-scale dragon-ondragon aerial battle. “We were tasked with pitting three dragons against each other in an all-out aerial war above a castle siege,” Einarsson says. Capturing the actors’ performances mid-flight required a combination of motion-controlled cameras, preprogrammed motion bases with saddles and LED volume lighting – all mapped directly from fully animated previsualized sequences approved by director Alan Taylor and Showrunner Ryan J. Condal. On the ground, the battlefield required digital crowd replication, extensive environment extensions, and pyrotechnic enhancements to create a war zone that felt both vast and intimately chaotic. “In the air, we created a fully CG version of the environment to have full control over the camera work,” Einarsson explains. Under the supervision of Sven Martin, the Pixomondo team stitched together breathtaking aerial combat, ensuring the dragons moved with the weight and raw power befitting their legendary status. Episode 7 introduced Hugh Hammer’s claim of Vermithor, Westeros’ second-largest dragon. Rather than breaking the sequence into multiple shots, Einarsson and director Loni Peristere saw an opportunity to craft something exceptional: a single, uninterrupted long take reminiscent of Children of Men and Gravity. “It took a lot of planning to design a series of beats that cohesively flowed from one into the next, with Hugh leading the camera by action and reaction,” Einarsson says. The sequence, which involved Hugh dodging Vermithor’s flames and ultimately claiming the beast through sheer bravery, was technically demanding. To achieve this, the team stitched together five separate takes of Hugh’s performance, shot over two separate
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THE VFX EMMY
TOP: Blood, weapon effects and period-accurate muzzle flashes heightened the intensity of the brutal fight sequences in American Primeval. The natural elements and violence reflected the harsh realities of the American west in 1857. (Image courtesy of Netflix) BOTTOM: The Residence brings a refined, detailed approach to environmental augmentation, using visual effects to take the audience on a journey through the White House in this political murder mystery. (Photo: Jessica Brooks. Courtesy of Netflix)
days weeks apart, due to the set needing to be struck and rebuilt in different configurations. VFX Supervisor Wayne Stables and the team at Wētā ensured the transitions were imperceptible, uniting practical and digital elements into a continuous, immersive moment. “The Dragonmont Cavern environment was a beautiful, raised gantry and cave designed by [Production Designer] Jim Clay and expanded by Wētā,” Einarsson says. Then Rowley Imran’s stunt team and Mike Dawson’s SFX team engulfed the set in practical flames so every element, from fire to dust to movement, contributed to the illusion of real-time danger. For Einarsson, the most significant challenge wasn’t just in making these sequences visually spectacular – it was ensuring they belonged within the same world as the quiet, dialogue-driven moments in King’s Landing. “The aim is for incredibly complex and spectacular visual effects scenes to feel like they belong in the same world as two people talking in a council chamber,” he states. Every dragon, flame and gust of wind had to feel as lived-in as the politics playing out beneath them. The Boys continues to defy genre norms, delivering audacious, technically complex effects that lean into its hyperviolent, satirical take on superheroes. For The Boys VFX Supervisor Stephan Fleet, Season 4 delivered some of the Amazon Prime show’s most dramatic effects yet, from the self-replicating Splinter to the fully CG octopus character, Ambrosius. Splinter, who has the ability to duplicate himself, presented a unique challenge. Fleet says, “His introduction on the podium was a complex motion control sequence. Eight hours of rehearsal, six hours of filming – for one shot.” Splinter’s design came with an added layer of difficulty. “We had to figure out how to make a nude male clone,” Fleet says. “Normally, you can hide doubles’ bodies in clothes – not this time!”
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THE VFX EMMY
TOP: Season 4 of The Boys delivered the fully CG octopus character, Ambrosius. A challenge was crafting a believable yet expressive sea creature and keeping it grounded while still embracing the show’s signature absurdity. (Image courtesy of Prime Video) MIDDLE AND BOTTOM: In The Penguin, Gotham isn’t just a city; it’s a living, breathing entity shaped by destruction, decay and the quiet menace lurking beneath its streets. (Images courtesy of HBO)
The final effect required a mix of prosthetic cover-up pieces and VFX face replacement, requiring multiple iterations to make it work. Ambrosius became one of The Boys’ most unexpected breakout characters. “It’s fun making a full-on character in the show that’s an octopus,” Fleet reveals in a nod to the show’s absurd side. “As much as possible, we aim for a grounded approach and try to attain a level of thought and detail you don’t often find on TV.” While the battle for outstanding visual effects will likely be dominated by large-scale fantasy and sci-fi productions, several standout series are also making waves with their innovative and immersive visual storytelling. Netflix’s The Residence, led by VFX Supervisor Seth Hill, brings a refined, detailed approach to environmental augmentation, enhancing the grandeur of the White House setting in this political murder mystery. “Using visual effects to take the audience on a journey through an iconic location like the White House was really fun,” Hill says. “It’s a cool and unique use of visual effects.” One of the most ambitious sequences involved what the team called the Doll House, a digital rendering of the White House with its south façade removed, exposing the interior like a cross-section of a dollhouse. Hill explains. “Going back and forth from filmed footage to full CGI – that jump from grounded realism to abstract yet still real – was quite tricky,” he says, adding, “VFX is best when it is in service of the storytelling, and The Residence presented a unique opportunity to do just that. It was a big challenge and a tough nut to crack, but those creative and technical hurdles are a good part of what makes it so rewarding.” For Jay Worth, VFX Supervisor on Apple TV+’s Lady in the Lake, the challenge was two-fold: create seamless effects and preserve the raw emotional truth of a performance. One of the most significant technical achievements was de-aging Natalie Portman. “It seems so easy on paper, but the reality was far more challenging,” Worth admits. Worth had tackled de-aging before, but never with the same level of success. “For me, it is simply because of her
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THE VFX EMMY
“We were tasked with pitting three dragons against each other in an all-out aerial war above a castle siege. In the air, we created a fully CG version of the environment to have full control over the camera work.” —Daði Einarsson, VFX Supervisor, House of the Dragon
TOP TWO: The Battle at Rook’s Rest in Episode 4 of House of the Dragon Season 2 was a major milestone for the series, marking the first full-scale dragon-on-dragon aerial battle. (Image courtesy of HBO) BOTTOM: Season 2 of House of the Dragon presented some of the most complex and ambitious visual effects work for the show to date. (Photo: Theo Whiteman. Courtesy of HBO)
performance.” Portman delivered a nuanced, youthful portrayal that felt entirely authentic to the time period. “It made our job both so much easier and set the bar so high for us. Sometimes, you can hide in a scene like this – you pull the camera back, cut away before the most expressive parts of the dialogue, or the illusion breaks,” Worth explains. In Lady in the Lake, there was nowhere to hide. “I think that is what I am most proud of with these shots. It felt like the longer you stayed on them, the more you believed them. That is a real feat with this sort of work.” Skully VFX handled the de-aging. “They nailed the look early on and delivered throughout the project on this difficult task.” Working alongside Production Designer Jc Molina, the VFX team helped shape a world that felt rich, lived-in and historically precise. “We were entrusted with the most important part of this show – do we believe this performance from this character in this part of her journey? – and we feel like we were able to deliver on this challenge.” On the other end of the spectrum, Netflix’s American Primeval, under the guidance of VFX Supervisor Andrew Ceperley, delivers rugged, visceral realism in its portrayal of the untamed American frontier. With brutal battle sequences, sprawling landscapes and historical re-creations that interweave practical and digital effects, the series stands as a testament to how VFX can enhance grounded, historical storytelling. Ceperley says, “The standout is definitely the nearly three-minute single-shot massacre sequence in the forest episode.” Designed to immerse the audience in the raw, chaotic violence of the frontier, the scene captures every brutal detail with unrelenting intensity. The challenge was crafting invisible visual effects, enhancing practical stunts and destruction without breaking the immersive, handheld camera style. “The sequence was designed to be one shot made up of 10 individual takes, shot over seven days, seamlessly stitched together, all while using a handheld camera on an extremely wide-angle lens.” One of the most complex moments involved a bull smashing through a wagon while the characters hid underneath. Rather than relying on CGI, the team took a practical approach, placing a 360-degree camera under the wagon while the special effects team rigged it to explode in a way that simulated an impact. “A real bull was then guided to run toward the 360 camera and leap over it,” Ceperley says. The footage was blended with live-action shots of the actors with minimal CGI enhancements – just dust and debris – to complete the effect. Adding to the difficulty, the scene was set at sunset, giving the team an extremely limited window to capture each day’s footage. The massacre sequence was a prime example of integrating visual effects with practical techniques in creative, unconventional ways, blending old-school in-camera effects with modern stitching techniques to create a visceral cinematic moment that stayed true to the show’s raw, historical aesthetic. “Using old techniques in new, even strange ways and seeing it pay off and deliver on the original vision was the most rewarding part.”
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VFX TRENDS
HOLLYWOOD VFX TOOLS FOR SPACE EXPLORATION By CHRIS McGOWAN
TOP: This image of Jupiter from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows stunning details of the majestic planet in infrared light. (Image courtesy of NASA, ESA and CSA) OPPOSITE TOP TO BOTTOM: This global map of CO2 was created by NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio using a model called GEOS, short for the Goddard Earth Observing System. GEOS is a high-resolution weather reanalysis model, powered by supercomputers, that is used to represent what was happening in the atmosphere. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) This is the ‘beauty shot version’ of Perpetual Ocean 2: Western Boundary Currents. The visualization starts with a rotating globe showing ocean currents. The colors used to color the flow in this version were chosen to provide a pleasing look. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio)
Special effects have been used for decades to depict space exploration, from visits to planets and moons to zero gravity and spaceships – one need only think of the landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Since that era, visual effects have increasingly grown in realism and importance. VFX have been used for entertainment and for scientific purposes, outreach to the public and astronaut training in virtual reality. Compelling images and videos can bring data to life. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) produces visualizations, animations and images to help scientists tell stories of their research and make science more approachable and engaging. A.J. Christensen is a senior visualization designer for the NASA Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. There, he develops data visualization techniques and designs data-driven imagery for scientific analysis and public outreach using Hollywood visual effects tools, according to NASA. SVS visualizations feature datasets from Earth- and space-based instrumentation, scientific supercomputer models and physical statistical distributions that have been analyzed and processed by computational scientists. Christensen’s specialties include working with 3D volumetric data, using
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“The NASA Scientific Visualization Studio operates like a small VFX studio that creates animations of scientific data that has been collected or analyzed at NASA. We are one of several groups at NASA that create imagery for public consumption, but we are also a part of the scientific research process, helping scientists understand and share their data through pictures and video.” —A.J. Christensen, Senior Visualization Designer, NASA Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) the procedural cinematic software Houdini and science topics in Heliophysics, Geophysics and Astrophysics. He previously worked at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications’ Advanced Visualization Lab where he worked on more than a dozen science documentary full-dome films as well as the IMAX films Hubble 3D and A Beautiful Planet – and he worked at DNEG on the movie Interstellar, which won the 2015 Best Visual Effects Academy Award. About his work at NASA SVS, Christensen comments, “The NASA Scientific Visualization Studio operates like a small VFX studio that creates animations of scientific data that has been collected or analyzed at NASA. We are one of several groups at NASA that create imagery for public consumption, but we are
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VFX TRENDS
also a part of the scientific research process, helping scientists understand and share their data through pictures and video. This past year we were part of NASA’s total eclipse outreach efforts, we participated in all the major earth science and astronomy conferences, we launched a public exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History called the Earth Information Center, and we posted hundreds of new visualizations to our publicly accessible website: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov.” WORKING WITH DATA
TOP: The Gulf Stream and connected currents. (Image courtesy of NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) BOTTOM: Venus, our nearby “sister” planet, beckons today as a compelling target for exploration that may connect the objects i n our own solar system to those discovered around nearby stars. (Image courtesy of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center)
While Christensen is interpreting the data from active spacecraft and making it usable in different forms, such as for science and outreach, he notes, “It’s not just spacecraft that collect data. NASA maintains or monitors instruments on Earth too – on land, in the oceans and in the air. And to be precise, there are robots wandering around Mars that are collecting data, too.” He continues, “Sometimes the data comes to our team as raw telescope imagery, sometimes we get it as a data product that a scientist has already analyzed and extracted meaning from, and sometimes various sensor data is used to drive computational models and we work with the models’ resulting output.” HOUDINI AND OTHER TOOLS
“Data visualization means a lot of different things to different people, but many people on our team interpret it as a form of filmmaking,” Christensen says. “We are very inspired by the approach
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to visual storytelling that Hollywood uses, and we use tools that are standard for Hollywood VFX. Many professionals in our area – the visualization of 3D scientific data – were previously using other animation tools but have discovered that Houdini is the most capable of understanding and manipulating unusual data, so there has been major movement toward Houdini over the past decade.” Christensen explains, “We have always worked with scientific software as well – sometimes there’s only one software tool in existence to interpret a particular kind of scientific data. More often than not, scientific software does not have a GUI, so we’ve had to become proficient at learning new coding environments very quickly. IDL and Python are the generic data manipulation environments we use when something is too complicated or oversized for Houdini, but there are lots of alternatives out there. Typically, we use these tools to get the data into a format that Houdini can interpret, and then we use Houdini to do our shading, lighting and camera design, and seamlessly blend different datasets together.” INTERSTELLAR & GARGANTUA
Christensen recalls working for DNEG on Interstellar (2014). “When I first started at DNEG, they asked me to work on the giant waves on Miller’s ocean planet [in the film]. About a week in, my manager took me into the hall and said, ‘I was looking at your reel and saw all this astronomy stuff. We’re working on another sequence with an accretion disk around a black hole that I’m wondering if we should put you on.’ And I said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve done
TOP: Jupiter’s moon Europa may have life in a vast ocean beneath its icy surface. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) BOTTOM: Satellite imagery from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows the Sun in ultraviolet light colorized in light brown. Seen in ultraviolet light, the dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space. (Image courtesy of NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio)
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VFX TRENDS
TOP TO BOTTOM: While cruising around Saturn in early October 2004, Cassini captured a series of images that have been composed into this large global natural color view of Saturn and its rings. This grand mosaic consists of 126 images acquired in a tile-like fashion, covering one end of Saturn’s rings to the other and the entire planet in between. (Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute) The black hole Gargantua and the surrounding accretion disc from the 2014 movie Interstellar. (Image courtesy of DNEG and Paramount Pictures) Another visualization of the black hole Gargantua. (Image courtesy of DNEG and Paramount Pictures)
lots of accretion disks.’ So, for the rest of my time on the show, I was working on the black hole team.” He adds, “There are a lot of people in my community that would be hesitant to label any big-budget movie sequence as a scientific visualization. The typical assumption is that for a Hollywood movie, no one cares about accuracy as long as it looks good. Guardians of the Galaxy makes it seem like space is positively littered with nebulae, and Star Wars makes it seem like asteroids travel in herds. But the black hole Gargantua in Interstellar is a good case for being called a visualization. The imagery you see in the movie is the direct result of a collaboration with an expert scientist, Dr. Kip Thorne, working with the DNEG research team using the actual Einstein equations that describe the gravity around a black hole.” Thorne is a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist who taught at Caltech for many years. He has reached wide audiences with his books and presentations on black holes, time travel and wormholes on PBS and BBC shows. Christensen comments, “You can make the argument that some of the complexity around what a black hole actually looks like was discarded for the film, and they admit as much in the research paper that was published after the movie came out. But our team at NASA does that same thing. There is no such thing as an objectively ‘true’ scientific image – you always have to make aesthetic decisions around whether the image tells the science story, and often it makes more sense to omit information to clarify what’s important. Ultimately, Gargantua taught a whole lot of people something new about science, and that’s what a good scientific visualization aims to do.” FURTHER CHALLENGES
The sheer size of the data often encountered by Christensen and his peers is a challenge. “I’m currently working with a dataset that is 400GB per timestep. It’s so big that I don’t even want to move it from one file server to another. So, then I have to make decisions
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about which data attributes to keep and which to discard, whether there’s a region of the data that I can cull or downsample, and I have to experiment with data compression schemes that might require me to entirely re-design the pipeline I’m using for Houdini. Of course, if I get rid of too much information, it becomes very resource-intensive to recompute everything, but if I don’t get rid of enough, then my design process becomes agonizingly slow.” SVS also works closely with its NASA partner groups Conceptual Image Lab (CIL) and Goddard Media Studios (GMS) to publish a diverse array of content. Conceptual Image Lab focuses more on the artistic side of things – producing high-fidelity renders using film animation and visual design techniques, according to NASA. Where the SVS primarily focuses on making data-based visualizations, CIL puts more emphasis on conceptual visualizations – producing animations featuring NASA spacecraft, planetary observations and simulations, according to NASA. Goddard Media Studios, on the other hand, is more focused towards public outreach – producing interviews, TV programs and documentaries. GMS continues to be the main producers behind NASA TV, and as such, much of their content is aimed towards the general public. Christensen notes, “One of the more unique challenges in this field is one of bringing people from very different backgrounds to agree on a common outcome. I work on teams with scientists, communicators and technologists, and we all have different communities we’re trying to satisfy. For instance, communicators are generally trying to simplify animations so their learning goal is clear, but scientists will insist that we add text and annotations on top of the video to eliminate ambiguity and avoid misinterpretations. Often, the technologist will have to say we can’t zoom in or look at the data in a certain way because it will show the data boundaries or data resolution limits. Every shot is a negotiation, but in trying to compromise, we often push the boundaries of what has been done before, which is exciting.”
CLOCKWISE: The SVS produces an annual visualization of the Moon’s phase and libration comprising 8,760 hourly renderings of its precise size, orientation and illumination. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) An impact crater on the moon. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) Image of Mars showing a partly shadowed Olympus Mons toward the upper left of the image. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) Mars. Hellas Basin can be seen in the lower right portion of the image. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) Mars slightly tilted to show the Martian North Pole. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio)
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PROFILE
SHINING A LIGHT ON ESSENTIAL DANISH VFX WITH PETER HJORTH By OLIVER WEBB
Images courtesy of Peter Hjorth and Zentropa, except where noted. TOP: Peter Hjorth. (Photo courtesy of Danish Film Institute) OPPOSITE TOP: Hjorth was pleased with his collaboration with director Tarik Saleh on the U.S. film The Contractor (2022), on which he served as Production Visual Effects Supervisor. (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures) OPPOSITE MIDDLE: Hjorth was the Visual Effects Supervisor for several episodes of the 1994-2022 TV series The Kingdom and The Kingdom: Exodus. OPPOSITE BOTTOM TWO: Hjorth has worked on eight feature films and a TV series with director Lars von Trier, left, on the set of The Kingdom: Exodus. (Photo: Peter Hjorth)
When Peter Hjorth first started out, visual effects were virtually non-existent in the Danish film industry. “We had one guy at the lab who did work on the Oxberry [rostrum animation camera], and I worked at a video production company,” Hjorth states. “I trained as a videotape editor, then it went into online. When the first digital tools arrived, I joined one of the hot post places where they got the first digital VTRs. All my first years of experience were with commercial clients and music videos and making the transition from analogue to digital in video post-production. I did a little bit of work for friends of mine where we actually did it at the lab. I’m old enough to have done stuff with the optical printer and waiting for weeks to get it right. There were some very early start-ups in Copenhagen doing files to film, and I started working with them.” Hjorth’s first feature film came in 1998 with Thomas Vinterberg’s Festen, where he served as camera operator and digital consultant. Festen also marked Hjorth’s first foray into the Dogme 95 movement. “We shot on MiniDV, and I was attached to the whole project. I shot the second camera and then was asked if I could do some advanced work in visual effects for commercials. I was then asked by Lars von Trier to help out on Dancer in the Dark when he was starting.” Working on Dancer in the Dark marked the beginning of Hjorth’s frequent collaborations with Lars von Trier. “That was sort of a two-fold thing because we had 100 DV cameras that needed some kind of infrastructure to work, and my television background was good for that. We also needed some visual effects work to get rid of some cameras. If you put 100 cameras in the same set, you’re going to get into a visual effects situation. So, I did that and worked on the editing. At that time, people were a little bit afraid of Lars, but I’m up for anything. We had a great time, especially during the editing and post-production.” Initially, production experimented with a wall of cameras, where Hjorth did a test compositing that into an image. Von Trier found it interesting, but felt it wasn’t right for Dancer in the Dark. He later came back to Hjorth with Dogville and explained that he wanted to implement the multi-camera technique for this project. “Lars didn’t want linear perspective, instead he wanted something more like visual arts, fine arts, a notion of perspective, even cubism maybe,” Hjorth adds. “At that point in between those two projects, I did the first big Vinterberg film, It’s All About Love.” Hjorth worked as Visual Effects Supervisor for the film. “We did lots of precise visual effects, matched lenses, matched camera heights, everything by the book. Then I went into this totally crazy project for Lars and really developed a close understanding of what Lars wanted. We’ve done eight feature films and a TV series together. The last one was the third season of The Kingdom. I also did his last feature film, The House That Jack Built. I was Production Visual Effects Supervisor on all the stuff in-between, such as Antichrist and Melancholia.” Hjorth explains that he was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time. “Working on those projects has given me a network all over Europe with good people. We had some decent budgets, and people were thrilled to work on Lars’ films. I’ve made some excellent friends and good connections. If you wanted VFX for a movie in the early 2000s you hired someone from a post house for a specific scene. The notion of a production visual effects supervisor was not
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“There’s a special thing about Denmark, which is that we tend to all stick together... It’s not competitive in this way because people will get the jobs they get. Everybody realizes we have to work together, and what really matters is that we put something on screen that gives the audience a good experience.” —Peter Hjorth, Visual Effects Supervisor very common in Denmark, and the role has since developed. I find that my contribution is now mostly in pre-production. With post-production, I usually take a step back and leave it to the vendors to get right, but I’m happy I’ve been able to assist when the need arose.” Throughout his career, Hjorth has worked across the board as camera operator, colorist and editor. “I did some camera work on the side for music videos, and so on,” he explains. “When I speak to the DP and the gaffers, I know the language. I wouldn’t say I did great work as a cinematographer, but I know the language, the equipment and the limitations. Actually, my first job before even going into post-production was as an electrician. I used to work on really old, heavy movie lights back in the day, so I also know a little bit about departments on set and how it works. That has made it a little bit easier for me to be on set because as a visual effects supervisor, it can be a super scary experience. If you feel like a tourist, it’s just horrible. I, of course, worked on the Dogme 95 films, where we worked closely with the actors, and I’m not afraid to have a conversation with an actor. No matter how good the VFX is, if the actors don’t believe a scene they are in, it doesn’t work. So, I’ve been lucky to do a bit of everything, and I feel blessed that things turned out the way that they did.”
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PROFILE
TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: Hjorth was Visual Effects Supervisor on The House That Jack Built, directed by Lars von Trier. (Photo: Christian Geisnæs) Hjorth with Simone Grau Roney, Production Designer on The House That Jack Built (2018), directed by Lars von Trier. Hjorth was Production Visual Effects Supervisor on Lamb (2021), directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson. (Image courtesy of Go To Sheep and A24) Peter Hjorth was recognized for his work as European Visual Effects Supervisor for the Swedish-Danish feature and Cannes winner Border, directed by Ali Abbasi. (Image courtesy of Meta Film Stockholm)
Starting out in Dogme 95 also proved to be a huge learning curve when it came to film language and understanding how to work within a set of specific rules and guidelines. The movement was founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the Dogme 95 Manifesto. The Manifesto consisted of 10 rules, which included: camera must be handheld, shooting must be done on location and special lighting isn’t allowed. “It’s a good background to have,” Hjorth states. “We’ve had rules for all of the films I’ve made with Lars, even on projects such as Melancholia.” Setting rules hasn’t been limited to Danish cinema and extends beyond that. “We made kind of a set of rules for the films I’ve made with Ali Abbasi, and that’s always made things easier,” Hjorth says. “He first called me when he was in film school. He was doing some early tests and was audacious enough to ask me for a VFX shot. It was hard to understand what he was saying, but then he talked about a scene with a guy coming out of a cake and he kills his brother, slicing his throat with a knife, and he wanted to see that in close-up. I appreciate younger directors calling and asking me to work with them, and it has really paid off.” Choosing a favorite visual effect shot from his career, however, is a difficult task for Hjorth, though he’s particularly proud of the work achieved on Dogville. “Nobody noticed how messed up it was,” he explains. “Toward the end of the movie, you can see the masks, and you can see that we didn’t bother to match the grain between layers and all that. We did the first test on Flame, and when we went to layer 99, it just stopped working. We ended up doing it with combustion software, which was crummy, but it worked, and we got the shots done. I think we went to 170 layers on the opening shot. It was a learning experience for everybody involved, and I still work with some of those same people, most recently on the Netflix series I did this spring.” Hjorth believes that there’s been an immense upgrade in professionalism in Denmark in the years since he’s worked in the
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business. “The beginning was much less industrial. The directors that I have worked with tend to work with me multiple times. A lot of the stuff I say in the first meeting is really defining for how that [job] is going to go. I’ve been so lucky to work on films that I actually think made a difference. It has mostly been art house films with limited budgets and resources. When we work together with the same producer or director a few times, sometimes they come back and say, ‘We’d like to have a creature or some special thing.’ It’s an evolving process.” Hjorth works closely with stunts, special effects makeup, animal wranglers and other specialists. “I know the craft and what they need from me. They know more about what’s going to be effective on screen, so I just leave them to it and make sure they have what they need. Same thing with animals and visual effects, makeup and stuff like that, physical things. You know I have a bit of a reputation for trying to get as many pieces of the puzzle as possible with a camera. Some production VFX people get quotes from, say, three different vendors, and then they pick all the cheapest bids for each sequence or shot, and that’s how they get down in budget. I tried to avoid that. I’d rather actually sit down with the director and say for example, ‘We should have some breathing space here.’” When it comes to the future of visual effects in Denmark, Hjorth takes an optimistic view. “I think this trend that we have more production supervisors is basically going to continue in the way that even if you have very little work, you hire someone from the get-go and you make sure that’s a balance in ambition and resources. There’s a special thing about Denmark, which is that we tend to all stick together, even people who are not in the same line of work. We have lots of experience sharing. There are no limits to who you can call and ask questions. It’s not competitive in this way because people will get the jobs they get. Everybody realizes we have to work together, and what really matters is that we put something on screen that gives the audience a good experience.”
TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: Hjorth worked as Visual Effects Supervisor on Holy Spider, directed by Ali Abbasi. (Photo: Nadim Carlsen. Image courtesy of Profile Pictures) Hjorth worked as Visual Effects Supervisor on the Lars von Trier-directed Melancholia (2011), and was also credited for his astrophotography of auroras for the film. (Image courtesy Magnolia Pictures) Hjorth served as Visual Effects Supervisor on Antichrist (2009), directed by Lars von Trier. Hjorth was Visual Effects Supervisor on Dogville (2003), directed by Lars von Trier. Hjorth worked with director Lars von Trier to develop the Automavision technique, which was credited with the cinematography for The Boss of It All (2006). A computer algorithm randomly changes the camera’s tilt, pan, focal length and/or positioning as well as the sound recording without being actively operated by the cinematographer.
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VFX TRENDS
FROM SET TO PIXELS: CINEMATIC ARTISTS COME TOGETHER TO CREATE POETRY By TREVOR HOGG
TOP: Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two) finds the difficulty of working with visual effects are sometimes the intermediaries between him and the artists and therefore the need to be precise with directions to keep things on track. (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures) OPPOSITE TOP: Motion capture is visually jarring because your eye is always drawn to the performer in the mocap suit, but it worked out well on Better Man because the same thing happens when he gets replaced by a CG monkey. (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
If post-production has any chance of going smoothly, there must be a solid on-set relationship between the director, cinematographer and visual effects supervisor. “It’s my job to have a vision and to bring it to the screen,” notes Denis Villeneuve, director of Dune: Part Two. “That’s why working with visual effects requires a lot of discipline. It’s not like you work with a keyboard and can change your mind all the time. When I work with a camera, I commit to a mise-en-scène. I’m trying to take the risk, move forward in one direction and enhance it with visual effects. I push it until it looks perfect. It takes a tremendous amount of time and preparation. [VFX Supervisor] Paul Lambert is a perfectionist, and I love that about him. We will never put a shot on the screen that we don’t feel has a certain level of quality. It needs to look as real as the face of my actor.” A legendary cinematographer had a significant influence on how Villeneuve approaches digital augmentation. “Someone I have learned a lot from about visual effects is [Cinematographer] Roger Deakins. I remember that at the beginning, when I was doing Blade Runner 2049, some artwork was not defined enough, and I was like, ‘I will correct that later.’ Roger said, ‘No. Don’t do that. You have to make sure right at the start.’ I’ve learned the hard way that you need to be as precise as you can, otherwise it goes in a lot of directions.” Storyboards are an essential part of the planning process. “When I finish a screenplay, the first thing I do is to storyboard, not just to define the visual element of the movie, but also to rewrite the movie through images,” Villeneuve explains. “Those storyboards inform my crew about the design, costumes, accessories and vehicles, and [they] create a visual inner rhythm of the film. This is the first step towards visual effects where there
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will be a conversation that will start from the boards. That will be translated into previs to help the animators know where we are going because the movie has to be made in a certain timeframe and needs choreography to make sure everybody is moving in the same direction.” The approach towards filmmaking has not changed over the years. “You have a camera and a couple of actors in front of you, and it’s about finding the right angle; the rest is noise. I try to protect the intimacy around the camera as much as possible and focus on that because if you don’t believe the actor, then you won’t believe anything.” Before transforming singer Robbie Williams into a CG primate, Michael Gracey started as a visual effects artist. “I feel so fortunate to have come from a visual effects background early on in my career,” recalls Michael Gracey, director of Better Man. “I would sit down and do all the post myself because I didn’t trust anyone to care as much as I did. Fortunately, over the years I’ve met people who do. It’s a huge part of how I even scrapbook ideas together. Early on, I was constantly throwing stuff up in Flame, doing a video test and asking, ‘Is this going to work?’ Jumping into 3D was something I felt comfortable doing. I’ve been able to plan out or previs ideas. It’s an amazing tool to be armed with if you are a director and have big ideas and you’re trying to convey them to a lot of people.” Previs was pivotal in getting Better Man financed. “Off the page, people were like, ‘Is this monkey even going to work?’ Then they were worried that it wouldn’t work in a musical number. We showed them the previs for Feel, the first musical number, and My Way at the end of the film. I would say, ‘If you get any kind of emotion watching these musical numbers, just imagine what it’s going to be like when it’s filmed and is photoreal.” Several shots had to be stitched together to create a ‘oner’ that
features numerous costume changes and 500 dancers. “For Rock DJ, we were doing LiDAR scans of Regent Street and full 3D motion capture with the dancers dancing down the whole length of the street to work out all of the transition points and how best to shoot it,” Gracey states. “That process involved Erik Wilson, the Cinematographer; Luke Millar, the Visual Effects Supervisor; Ashley Wallen, the Choreographer; and Patrick Correll, Co-Producer. Patrick would sit on set and, in DaVinci Resolve, take the feed from the camera and check every take against the blueprint that we had already previs.” Motion capture is visually jarring to shoot. “Everything that is in-camera looks perfect, then a guy walks in wearing a mocap suit and your eye zooms onto him. But the truth is, your eye does that the moment you replace him with a monkey as well. It worked out quite well because that idea is true to what it is to be famous. A famous person walks into the room and your eye immediately goes to them.” Digital effects have had a significant impact on a particular area of filmmaking. “Physical effects were a much higher art form than it is now, or it was allowed to be then than it is now,” notes Dan Mindel, Cinematographer on Twisters. “People will decline a real pyrotechnic explosion and do a digital one. But you get a much bigger reaction when there’s actual noise and flash.” It is all about collaboration. Mindel explains, “The principle that I work with is that the visual effects department will make us look great, and we have to give them the raw materials in the best possible form so they can work with it instinctually. Sometimes, as a DP, you might want to do something different, but the bottom line is, you’ve got to listen to these guys, because they know what they want. It gets a bit dogmatic, but most of the time, my relationship with visual effects is good, and especially the guys who have had a foot in the analog
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VFX TRENDS
TOP TO BOTTOM: Visual effects enabled the atmospherics on Wolfs to be art directed, which is not always possible with practical snow. (Image courtesy of Apple Studios) One of the most complex musical numbers in Better Man is “Rock DJ,” which required LiDAR scans of Regent Street and doing full 3D motion capture with the dancers dancing down the whole length of the street to work out how best to shoot it. (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures) Cinematographer Dan Mindel favors on-set practical effects because the reactions from the cast come across as being more genuine, which was the case for Twisters. (Image courtesy of Universal Pictures)
world at one point or another and have transitioned into the digital world. When we made Twister, it was an analog movie with digital effects, and it worked great. That’s because everyone on set doing the technical work understood both formats, and we were able to use them well.” Digital filmmaking has caused a generational gap. “The younger directors don’t think holistically,” Mindel notes. “It’s much more post-driven because they want to manipulate on the Avid or whatever platform it is going to be. What has happened is that the overreaching nature of these tools has left very little to the imagination. A movie that is heavy visual effects is mostly conceptualized on paper using computer-generated graphics and color; that insidiously sneaks into the look and feel of the movie before you know it. You see concept art blasted all over production offices. People could get used to looking at those images, and before you know it, that’s how the movie looks. That’s a very dangerous place to be, not to have the imagination to work around an issue that perhaps doesn’t manifest itself until you’re shooting.” There has to be a sense of purpose. Mindel remarks, “The ability to shoot in a way that doesn’t allow any manipulation in post is the only way to guarantee that there’s just one direction the look can go in. But that could be a little dangerous for some people. Generally, the crowd I’m working with is part of a team, and there’s little thought of taking the movie to a different place than what was shot. I work in the DI with the visual effects supervisor, and we look at our work together so we’re all in agreement that it fits into the movie.” “All of the advances in technology are a push for greater control,” notes Larkin Seiple, Cinematographer on Everything Everywhere All at Once. “There are still a lot of things that we do with visual effects that we could do practically, but a lot of times it’s more efficient, or we have more attempts at it later in post, than if we had tried to do it practically. I find today, there’s still a debate about what we do on set and what we do later digitally. Many directors
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have been trying to do more on set, and the best visual effects supervisors I work with push to do everything in-camera as much as possible to make it as realistic as possible.” Storytelling is about figuring out where to invest your time and effort. Seiple states, “I like the adventure of filmmaking. I prefer to go to a mountain top and shoot some of the scenes, get there and be inspired, as opposed to recreate it. Now, if it’s a five-second cutaway, I don’t want production to go to a mountain top and do that. For car work, we’ll shoot the real streets, figure out the time of day and even light the plates for it. Then, I’ll project those on LED walls with actors in a car on a stage. I love doing that because then I get to control how that looks.” Visual effects assist in achieving the desired atmospherics. Seiple says, “On Wolfs, we tried to bring in our own snow for every scene. We would shoot one take, the snow would blow left, and the next take would blow right. Janek Sirrs is probably the best visual effects supervisor I’ve worked with, and he was like, ‘Please turn off the snow. It’ll be a nightmare trying to remove the snow from all these shots then add our own snow back for continuity because you can’t have the snow changing direction every other cut.’ Or we’d have to ‘snow’ a street, which would take ages. Janek would say, ‘Let’s put enough snow on the ground to see the lighting on it and where the actors walk. We’ll do the rest of the street later because we have a perfect reference of what it should look like.” Certain photographic principles have to be carried over into post-production to make shots believable to the eye. Seiple explains, “When you make all these amazing details that should be out of focus sharper, then the image feels like a visual effect because it doesn’t work the way a lens would work.” Familiarity with the visual effects process is an asset in being able to achieve the best result. “I inadvertently come from a lot of visual effect-heavy shoots and shows, so I’m quick to have an opinion about it. Many directors love to reference the way David Fincher uses visual effects because there is such great
TOP TO BOTTOM: Visual effects have freed Fallout Cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh to shoot quicker and in places that in the past would have been deemed imperfect because of power lines, out-of-period buildings or the sky. (Image courtesy of Prime Video) Cinematographer Fabian Wagner and VFX Supervisor John Moffatt spent a lot of time in pre-production for Venom: The Last Dance discussing how to bring out the texture of the symbiote through lighting and camera angles. (Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures) Game of Thrones Director of Photography Fabian Wagner had to make key decisions while prepping and breaking down the script so visual effects had enough time to meet deadline. (Image courtesy of HBO)
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VFX TRENDS
TOP TO BOTTOM: Twisters was an analog movie with digital effects that worked well because everyone on set doing the technical work understood both formats. (Image courtesy of Universal Pictures) For Cinematographer Larkin Seiple, storytelling is about figuring out where to invest your time and effort. Scene from the Netflix series Beef. (Image courtesy of Netflix) Cinematographer Larkin Seiple believes that all of the advances in technology are a push for greater control, which occurred on Everything Everywhere All at Once. (Image courtesy of A24)
behind-the-scenes imagery that showcases how they were able to do simple things. Also, I like to shoot tests even on an iPhone to see if this comp will work or if this idea is a good one.” Nothing beats reality when it comes to realism. “Every project I do I talk more about the real elements to bring into the shoot than the visual effect element because the more practical stuff that you can do on set, the more it will embed the visual effects into the image, and, therefore, they’re more real,” observes Fabian Wagner, Cinematographer on Venom: The Last Dance. “It also depends on the job you’re doing in terms of how real or unreal you want it to be. Game of Thrones was a good example because it was a visual effects-heavy show, but they were keen on pushing the reality of things as much as possible. We were doing interactive lighting and practical on-set things to embed the visual effects. It was successful.” Television has a significantly compressed schedule compared to feature films. “There are fewer times to iterate. You have to be much more precise. On Game of Thrones, we knew that certain decisions had to be made early on while we were still prepping and breaking down the script. Because of their due dates, to be ready in time, they had to start the visual effects process for certain dragon scenes months before we even started shooting.” “Like everything else, it’s always about communication,” Wagner notes. “I’ve been fortunate to work with extremely talented and collaborative visual effects supervisors, visual effects producers and directors. I have become friends with most of those visual effects departments throughout the shoot, so it’s easy to stay in touch. Even when Venom: The Last Dance was posting, I would be talking to John Moffatt, who was our talented visual effects supervisor. We would exchange emails, text messages or phone calls once a week, and he would send me updates, which we would talk about it. If I gave any notes or thoughts, John would listen, and if it were possible to do anything about, he would. In the end, it’s about those personal relationships, and if you have those, that can go a long way.” Wagner has had to deal with dragons, superheroes and symbiotes. “They’re all the same to me! For the symbiote, we had two previous films to see what they had done, where they had succeeded and where we could improve it slightly. While prepping, John and I spent a lot of time talking about how to bring out the texture of the symbiote and help it with the lighting and camera angles. One of the earliest tests was to see what would happen if we backlit or side lit it as well as trying different textures for reflections. We came up with something we all were happy with, and that’s what we did on set. It was down to trying to speak the same language and aiming for the same thing, which in this case was, ‘How could we make the symbiote look the coolest?’” Visual effects has become a crucial department throughout the filmmaking process. “The relationship with the visual effects supervisor is new,” states Stuart Dryburgh, Cinematographer on Fallout. “We didn’t really have that. On The Piano, the extent of the visual effects was having somebody scribbling in a lightning strike over a stormy sky and a little flash of an animated puppet. Runaway Bride had a two-camera setup where one of the cameras pushed into the frame, and that was digitally removed, but we weren’t using it the way we’re using it now. For [the 2026 Netflix limited series] East of Eden, we’re recreating 19th and early 20th century Connecticut, Boston and Salinas, California in
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New Zealand. While we have some great sets built and historical buildings that we can use, there is a lot of set extension and modification, and some complete bluescreen scenes, which allow us to more realistically portray a historical environment than we could have done back in the day.” The presence of a visual effects supervisor simplified principal photography. Dryburgh adds, “In many ways, using visual effects frees you to shoot quicker and in places that might otherwise be deemed imperfect because of one little thing, whether it’s power lines or out-of-period buildings or sky. All of those can be easily fixed. Most of us have been doing it for long enough that we have a good idea of what can and can’t be done and how it’s done so that the visual effects supervisor isn’t the arbiter.” Lighting cannot be arbitrarily altered in post as it never looks right. “Whether you set the lighting on the set and the background artist has to match that, or you have an existing background and you, as a DP, have to match that – that is the lighting trick to the whole thing,” Dryburgh observes. “Everything has to be the same, a soft or hard light, the direction and color. Those things all need to line up in a composited shot; that is crucial.” Every director has his or her own approach to filmmaking. “Harold Ramis told me, ‘I’ll deal with the acting and the words. You just make it look nice, alright?’ That’s the conversation we had about shots, and it worked out well. [Director] Garth Davis, who I’m working with now, is a terrific photographer in his own right and has a great visual sense, so he’s much more involved in anything visual, whether it be the designs of the sets, creation of the visual effects, my lighting or choice of lenses. It becomes much more collaborative. And that applies to the visual effects department as well.” Recreating vintage lenses digitally is an important part of the visual aesthetic. “As digital photography has become crisper, better and sharper, people have chosen to use fewer perfect optics, such as lenses that are softer on the edges or give a flare characteristic. Before production, we have the camera department shoot all of these lens grids of different packages and ranges, and visual effects takes that information so they can model every lens. If they’re doing a fully CG background, they can apply that lens characteristic,” remarks Dryburgh. Cinematographers like Greig Fraser have adotped Unreal Engine. “Greig has an incredible curiosity about new technology, and that helped us specifically with Dune: Part Two,” Villeneuve explains. “Greig was using Unreal Engine to capture natural environments. For example, if we decide to shoot in that specific rocky area, we’ll capture the whole area with drones to recreate the terrain in the computer. If I said, ‘I want to shoot in that valley on November 3rd and have the sun behind the actors. At what time is it? You have to be there at 9:45 am.’ We built the whole schedule like a puzzle to maximize the power of natural light, but that came through those studies, which were made with the software usually used for video games.” Technology is essentially a tool that keeps evolving. Villeneuve adds, “Sometimes, I don’t know if I feel like a dinosaur or if my last movie will be done in this house behind the computer alone. It would be much less tiring to do that, but seriously, the beauty of cinema is the idea of bringing many artists together to create poetry.”
TOP: Television schedules for productions like House of the Dragon do not allow a lot of time to iterate, so decisions have to be precise. (Image courtesy of HBO) Bluescreen and stunt doubles on Twisters. (Image courtesy of Universal Pictures)
“The principle that I work with is that the visual effects department will make us look great, and we have to give them the raw materials in the best possible form so they can work with it instinctually. Sometimes, as a DP, you might want to do something different, but the bottom line is, you’ve got to listen to these guys because they know what they want. It gets a bit dogmatic, but most of the time, my relationship with visual effects is good, and especially the guys who have had a foot in the analog world at one point or another and have transitioned into the digital world.” —Dan Mindel, Cinematographer, Twisters
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ANIMATION
DISCOVERING ELIO By TREVOR HOGG
Images courtesy of Pixar. TOP AND OPPOSITE TOP: The character design of Glordon is based on a tardigrade, which is a microscopic water bear. OPPOSITE BOTTOM: Green is the thematic color for Elio.
Rather than look at the unknown as something to be feared, Pixar has decided to do some wish fulfillment with Elio, where a lonely adolescent astrophile gets abducted by aliens and is mistaken as the leader of Earth. Originally conceived and directed by Adrian Molina, the coming-of-age science fiction adventure was shepherded by Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian, who had previously worked together on Turning Red. “Space is often seen as dark, mysterious and scary, but there is also so much hope, wonder and curiosity,” notes Shi, director of Elio. “It’s like anything is ‘out there.’ Elio captures how a lot of us feel at different points of our lives, when we were kids like him, or even now wanting to be off of this current planet because it’s just too much. For Elio, it’s a rescue. I feel that there’s something so universal about that feeling of wanting to be taken away and taken care of. To know that you’re not alone and somebody chose you and picked you up.”
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There is a stark contrast between how Earth and the alien world, known as the Communiverse, are portrayed. “The more we worked with the animators on Glordon and Helix, they began to realize that Domee and I respond positively when those [alien] characters are exaggerated, made cute, round and chubby,” states Sharafian, director of Elio. “That automatically started to differentiate the way the Earth and space feel.” A certain question had to be answered when designing the United Nations-inspired Communiverse. “It was coming from a place of this lonely kid who feels like no one wants him on Earth,” Shi explains. “What would be heaven and paradise for him? The Communiverse was built around that idea.” A sense of belonging is an important theme. “It’s also inspired by Adrian Molina’s backstory, and our backstories too, of going to animation college,” Sharafian remarks. “For the first time, we said, ‘This is where everybody like me is!’” Visual effects are an important storytelling tool. “Especially, for our movie, which is about this boy going to this crazy incredible world of the Communiverse,” Shi observes. “It has to be dazzling and look spectacular on the big screen and feel like paradise. Elio is such a visual feast, and you do feel like, ‘I want to stay here no matter what. I can’t believe that this place even exists.’ Visual effects are a powerful tool to help you feel what the characters are feeling.” A wishlist became a reality for the directors. “Claudia
Chung Sanii [Visual Effects Supervisor] gave Domee and me carte blanche for wish fulfillment for ourselves,” Sharafian remarks. “What do you want Elio’s outfit in space to look like? It was a difficult costume, but now when we watch the movie, we’re all so proud of it. Elio looks fabulous, and he’s so happy to be wearing that outfit. Who would want to take that off?” Methodology rather than technology went through the biggest change for the production. “The Communiverse is super complex and has lots of moving pieces. But there’s not much CG can’t do anymore,” notes Claudia Chung Sanii. “Elemental did effects characters. We did long curly hair, dresses, capes, water and fire. What we hadn’t done before was be a part of that design process. How do we get lighting into layout? How do we see the shaders in animation in layout? The tools department was working on a software called Luna which does that. I went to the tools department and asked, ‘Can I play around with it?’ They were like, ‘Okay. But it’s not ready yet.’ Tools will basically be bringing RenderMan and an interactive lighting workflow to the pipeline across all of these DCCs. Because we light in Katana, you can’t get back upstream. The conceit that we were dipping our toe in on Elio was, ‘Whatever you do in lighting, anyone on the pipeline can see it.’” There were no departmental borders, in particular with cinematography. “We had our layout and lighting DPs start on the same
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ANIMATION
TOP TO BOTTOM: The Communiverse was meant to feel like a place that a child would love to visit and explore. The influence of microscopic forms and macro photography grounded the Communiverse in natural phenomena. The variety in the Communiverse is a contrast to the regimented world on the military base.
day. Derek Williams wouldn’t shoot anything without Jordan Rempel, our lighting DP, seeing it,” Sanii states. “Jordan would drop in lighting and start doing key lighting as Derek’s team was laying out. It wasn’t like you had to hit the render button, wait for the render to come up and go, ‘Oh, my god, it’s dark! I didn’t know that it was nighttime.’” A new term was adopted. “Meredith Hom [Production Manager] and I pulled the entire crew and leadership into this mental concept that we called the ‘college project.’ For some of us, college was a time when we didn’t have titles and crafts. You begged, borrowed and stole to hit that deadline. So much of our world has become linear in our process that I wanted to break that down to, ‘No. We’re all working together. The scope of this film is too large for us to wait for each other to finish our piece. If this person is slammed, fine. Figure out a different idea to do it with what tools you have.’” Forgoing the word ‘no’ led to the technology breaking down. “I remember times when crowds [department] is dressing all of the aliens and because of forgetting to constrain it to the Communiverse, they all show up at the origin, and you’re going, ‘Why is there a whole party going on over there?’” Sanii laughs. “On Elio, it was always forward. There were no rules about locking things down or not installing over the weekend. It was always like, ‘Put it all in, and we’ll deal with it on Monday.’ There would be some funny stuff. We never QC’d something before walking it into the room. Everyone saw how the sausage was made. It was fun and not fun for Harley Jessup [Production Designer] because sometimes there would be a big thing in the middle screen, and he would say, ‘Is that finished?’ There was no way we could get through this film if we kept trying to fix the thing that broke.” A former visual effects art director at ILM, Harley Jessup found his previous experiences on projects like Innerspace to be helpful on Elio. “I liked that the directors wanted to build on the effects films from the 1980s and early 1990s,” reflects Jessup. “I was there
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and part of that. It was fun to look back. At the time, the techniques were all practical, matte paintings and miniatures, which are fun to work with, but without the safety net of CG. One thing Dennis Muren [VES] was keen on, was how people see things like the natural phenomenon you might see in a microscopic or macro photography form. We were using that. I was looking at the mothership of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which Dennis shot when he was a young artist. It was nice to be able to bring all of that history to this film.” Earth was impacted by a comment made by Pete Docter (CCO, Pixar). “He said, ‘The military base should feel like a parking lot,” Jessup reveals. “You should know why Elio wants to be anywhere else. And the Communiverse needs to be inviting. We built a lot of contrast into those two worlds. The brutalist architecture on the military base, with its hard edges and heavy horizontal forms close to the earth, needed to be harsh but beautiful in its own way, so we tried for that. The Communiverse would be in contrast and be all curves, translucent surfaces and stained-glass backlit effects. Things were wide open about what it could be because each of the aliens are from a different climate and gravity. There are some buildings that are actually upside down on it, and the whole thing is rotating inside like clockwork. It is hopefully an appealing, fun world. It’s not a dystopian outer space.” Architecture was devised to reflect the desired tone for scenes. “In the Grand Assembly Hall where each alien has a desk and booth, the booth is shaped like an eyelid that can close or open,” Jessup explains. “It increases the feeling that they’re evaluating and observing Elio and each of the candidates that have come to join the Communiverse.” A couple of iconic cinematic franchises were avoided for aesthetic reasons. “As much as I love Star Wars and Star Trek, we wanted to be different from those kinds of aliens that are often more humanoid.” Ooooo was the first alien to be designed. “We did Ooooo in collaboration with the effects team,
TOP TO BOTTOM: Directors Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian are drawn to chubby, exaggerated and cute characters. An aerial image of Elio as he attempts to get abducted by aliens. Part of the design of the Coummuniverse was inspired by Chinese puzzle balls.
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ANIMATION
TOP TO BOTTOM: Character designs of Elio and Glordon. which shows them interacting with each other. A tough character to get right was Aunt Olga, who struggles to be the guardian of her nephew. Exploring various facial expressions for Elio.
which was small at that time. She was described as a liquid supercomputer. We actually used the wireframe that was turning up and asked, what if it ended up being this network of little lights that are moving around and can express how much she was thinking? Ooooo is Elio’s guide to the Communiverse; her body would deform, so she could become a big screen or reach out and pluck things. Ooooo has an ability like an amoeba to stretch.” Flexibility is important when figuring out shot design. “On Elio, we provided the layout department with a rudimentary version of our environments,” states David Luoh, Sets Supervisor. “It might be simple geometry. We’re not worried necessarily about shading, color and material yet. Things are roughly in place but also built in a way that is flexible. As they’re sorting out the camera and testing out staging, they can move elements of the set around. Maybe this architectural piece needs to be shifted or larger or smaller. There was a variation on what was typically expected of set deliveries of environments to our layout department. That bar was lowered to give the layout department something to work with sooner and also with more flexibility. From their work we get context as to how we partner with our art and design department to build and finalize those environments.” Regional biomes known as disks are part of the Communiverse. “There are aquatic, lush forest, snow and ice, and hot lava disks,” Luoh remarks. “The hot disk is grounded in the desert, volcanic rock and lava, while for the lush disk we looked at interesting plant life found in the world around us.” The Communiverse is a complex geometric form. “We wanted these natural arrangements of alien districts, and that was all happening on this twisting and curving terrain in a way that made traditional dressing approaches clunky. Oftentimes, you’re putting something on the ground or mounted, and the ground is always facing upward. But if you have to dress the wall or ceiling, it becomes a lot more difficult to manipulate and place on something with that dynamic and shape. You have stuff that casts light, is see-through and shifting over time. Ooooo is a living character that looks like electronic circuitry that is constantly moving, and we also have that element in the walls, floors and bubble transport that carry the characters around.” Sets were adjusted throughout the production. “We try to anticipate situations that might come up,” Luoh states. “What if we have a series of shots where you’re getting closer and closer to the Communiverse and you have to bridge the distance between your hero and set extension background? There is a partnership with story, but certainly with our layout camera staging department. As we see shots come out of their work, we know where we need to spend the time to figure out, are we going to see the distant hills in this way? We’re not going to build it until we know because it can be labor-intensive. There is a responsiveness to what we are starting to see as shots get made.” Combining the familiar into something unfamiliar was a process. “There was this curation of being inspired by existing alien sci-fi depictions, but also reaching back into biological phenomena or interesting material because we wanted to ground a lot of those visual elements and ideas in something that people could intuitively grasp on to, even if they were combined or arranged in a way that is surprising, strange and delightful.”
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PATHWAYS
NOSIPHO MAKETO-VAN DEN BRAGT ALTERED HER CAREER PATH TO LAUNCH CHOCOLATE TRIBE By TREVOR HOGG
Images courtesy of Chocolate Tribe. TOP: Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt, Owner and CEO, Chocolate Tribe OPPOSITE TOP: Chocolate Tribe hosts what has become the annual AVIJOZI festival with Netflix. AVIJOZI is a two-day, free-access event in Johannesburg focused on Animation/Film, Visual Effects and Interactive Technology. This year’s AVIJOZI is scheduled for September 13-14 in Johannesburg. Photo: Casting Director and Actor Spaces Founder Ayanda Sithebe (center in black T-shirt) and friends at AVIJOZI 2024. OPPOSITE MIDDLE AND BOTTOM: Chocolate Tribe provided VFX and post-production for Checkers supermarket’s “Planet” ad promoting environmental sustainability. The Chocolate Tribe team pushed photorealism for the ad, creating three fully CG creatures: a polar bear, orangutan and sea turtle.
After initially pursuing a career as an attorney, Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt discovered her true calling was to apply her legal knowledge in a more artistic endeavor with her husband, Rob Van den Bragt, who had forged a career as a visual effects supervisor. The couple co-founded Chocolate Tribe, the Johannesburg and Cape Town-based visual effects and animation studio that has done work for Netflix, BBC, Disney and Voltage Pictures. “It was following my passion and my passion finding me,” observes Maketo-van den Bragt, Owner and CEO of Chocolate Tribe and Founder of AVIJOZI. “I grew up in Soweto, South Africa, and we had this old-fashioned television. I was always fascinated by how those people got in there to perform and entertain us. Living in the townships, you become the funnel for your parents’ aspirations and dreams. My dad was a judge’s registrar, so he was writing all of the court cases coming up for a judge. My dad would come home and tell us stories of what happened in court. I found this enthralling, funny and sometimes painful because it was about people’s lives. I did law and to some extent still practice it. My legal career and entertainment media careers merged because I fell in love with the storytelling aspect of it all. There are those who say that lawyers are failed actors!” A personal ambition was to find a way to merge married life into a professional partnership. “I never thought that a lawyer and a creative would work together,” admits Maketo-van den Bragt. “However, Rob and I had this great love for watching films together and music; entertainment was the core fabric of our relationship. That was my first gentle schooling into the visual effects and animation content development space. Starting the company was due to both of us being out of work. I had quit my job without any sort of plan B. I actually incorporated Chocolate Tribe as a company without knowing what we would do with it. As time went on, there was a project that we were asked to come to do. The relationship didn’t work out, so Rob and I decided, ‘Okay, it seems like we can do this on our own.’ I’ve read many books about visual effects and animation, and I still do. I attend a lot of festivals. I am connected with a lot of the guys who work in different visual effects spaces because it is all about understanding how it works and, from a business side, how can we leverage all of that information?” With a population of 1.5 billion, there is no shortage of consumers and content creators in Africa. “Nollywood is great because it shows us that even with minimal resources, you can create a whole movement and ecosystem,” Maketo-van den Bragt remarks. “Maybe the question around Nollywood is making sure that the caliber and quality of work is high end and speaks to a global audience. South Africa has the same dynamics. It’s a vibrant
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traditional film and animation industry that grows in leaps and bounds every year. More and more animation houses are being incorporated or started with CEOs or managing directors in their 20s. There’s also an eagerness to look for different stories which haven’t been told. Africa gives that opportunity to tell stories that ordinary people, for example, in America, have not heard or don’t know about. There’s a huge rise in animation, visual effects and content in general.” Film tax credits have contributed to The Woman King, Dredd, Safe House, Black Sails and Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning shooting in South Africa. “People understand principal photography, but there is confusion about animation and visual effects,” Maketo-van den Bragt states. “Rebates pose a challenge because now you have to go above and beyond to explain what you are selling. It’s taken time for the government to realize this is a viable career.” The streamers have had a positive impact. “For the most part, Netflix localizes, and that’s been quite a big hit because it speaks to the demographics and local representation and uplifts talent within those geographical spaces. We did one of the shorts for Disney’s Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, and there was huge global excitement to that kind of anthology coming from Africa. We’ve worked on a number of collaborations with the U.K., and often that melding of different partners creates a fusion of universality. We need to tell authentic stories, and that authenticity will be dictated by the voices in the writing room.” AVIJOZI was established to support the development of local talent in animation, visual effects, film production and gaming. “AVIJOZI stands for Animation Visual Effects Interactive in JOZI [nickname for Johannesburg],” Maketo-van den Bragt explains. “It is a conference as well as a festival. The conference part is where we
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PATHWAYS
TOP TO BOTTOM: Rob van den Bragt served as Creative Supervisor and Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt as Studio Executive for the “Surf Sangoma” episode of the Disney+ series Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire. Rob van den Bragt, CCO, and Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt, CEO, Co-Founders of Chocolate Tribe, in an AVIJOZI planning meeting. Stella Gono, Software Developer, working on the Chocolate Tribe website. Family photo of the Maketos.
have networking sessions, panel discussions and behind-the-scenes presentations to draw the curtain back and show what happens when people create avatars. We want to show the next generation that there is a way to do this magical craft. The festival part is people have film screenings and music as well. We’ve brought in gaming as an integral aspect, which attracts many young people because that’s something they do at an early age. Gaming has become the common sport. AVIJOVI is in its fourth year now. It started when I got irritated by people constantly complaining, ‘Nothing ever happens in Johannesburg in terms of animation and visual effects.’ Nobody wanted to do it. So, I said, ‘I’ll do it.’ I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, and four years later I have lots of gray hair!” Mentorship and internship programs have been established with various academic institutions, and while there are times when specific skills are being sought, like rigging, the field of view tends to be much wider. “What we are finding is that the people who have done other disciplines are much more vibrant,” Maketo-van den Bragt states. “Artists don’t always know how to communicate because it’s all in their heads. Sometimes, somebody with a different background can articulate that vision a bit better because they have those other skills. We also find with those who have gone to art school that the range within their artistry and craftsmanship has become a ‘thing.’ When you have mentally traveled where you have done other things, it allows you to be a more well-rounded artist because you can pull references from different walks of life and engage with different topics without being constrained to one thing. We look for people with a plethora of skills and diverse backgrounds. It’s a lot richer as a Chocolate Tribe. There are multiple flavors.” There is a particular driving force when it comes to mentoring. “I want to be the mentor I hoped for,” Maketo-van den Bragt remarks. “I have silent mentors in that we didn’t formalize the relationship, but I knew they were my mentors because every time I would
encounter an issue, I would be able to call them. One of the people
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who not only mentored but pushed me into different spaces is Jinko Gotoh, who is part of Women in Animation. She brought me into Women in Animation, and I had never mentored anybody. Here I was, sitting with six women who wanted to know how I was able to build up Chocolate Tribe. I didn’t know how to structure a presentation to tell them about the journey because I had been so focused on the journey. It’s a sense of grit and feeling that I cannot fail because I have a whole community that believes in me. Even when I felt my shoulders sagging, they would be there to say, ‘We need this. Keep it moving.’ This isn’t just about me. I have a whole stream of people who want this to work.” Numerous unknown factors had to be accounted for, which made predicting how the journey would unfold extremely difficult. “What it looks like and what I expected it to be, you don’t have the full sense of what it would lead to in this situation,” Maketo-van den Bragt states. “I can tell you that there have been moments of absolute joy where I was so excited we got this project or won that award. There are other moments where you feel completely lost and ask yourself, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ The journey is to have the highs, lows and moments of confusion. I go through it and accept that not every day will be an award-winning day. For the most part, I love this journey. I wanted to be somewhere where there was a purpose. What has been a big highlight is when I’m signing a contract for new employees who are excited about being part of Chocolate Tribe. Also, when you get a new project and it’s exciting, especially from a service or visual effects perspective, we’re constantly looking for that dragon or big creature. It’s about being mesmerizing, epic and awesome.” Maketo-van den Bragt has two major career-defining ambitions. “Fostering the next generation of talent and making sure that they are ready to create these amazing stories properly – that is my life work, and relating the African narrative to let the world see the human aspect of who we are because for the longest time we’ve been written out of the stories and narratives.”
TOP TO BOTTOM: Rob van den Bragt served as Animation Supervisor/Visual Effects Supervisor and Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt as an Executive Producer on iNumber Number: Jozi Gold (2023) for Netflix. (Image courtesy of Chocolate Tribe and Netflix) South African director/producer/cinematographer and drone cinemtography specialist FC Hamman, Founder of FC Hamman Films, at AVIJOZI 2024. Netflix VFX Manager Ben Perry, who oversees Netflix’s VFX strategy across Africa, the Middle East and Europe, at AVIJOZI 2024. Netflix is a partner in AVIJOZI with Chocolate Tribe. Zama Mfusi, Founder of IndiLang, and Isabelle Rorke, CEO of Dreamforge Creative and Deputy Chair of Animation SA, at AVIJOZI 2024.
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TECH & TOOLS
SCANNING THE CONSTRUCTIVE IMPACT OF LIDAR By TREVOR HOGG
TOP: Since LiDAR can generate so much data, managing and processing it can be computationally intensive. (Image courtesy of Clear Angle Studios) OPPOSITE TOP TO BOTTOM: High-accuracy 3D LiDAR scanning of an iconic monumental sculpture called “Awakening” located at Hains Point in Washington, D.C. The results of this documentation process can be used for various conservation processes or to reproduce the complex 3D sculpture. (Image courtesy of Direct Dimensions) LiDAR scanning of the inside of the fuselage of a C-5 military transport aircraft to create an accurate 3D model of the interior structure for loading optimization analysis. (Image courtesy of Direct Dimensions) LiDAR scanning the historic Bethesda Terrace in Central Park in New York City for preservation and conservation planning. (Image courtesy of Direct Dimensions)
There is a belief that technology has not gone mainstream until it can be found on a smartphone. LiDAR achieved this when Apple introduced the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The introduction of Light Detection and Ranging is not surprising given that the camera is the cornerstone feature driving consumer interest in the mobile device. LiDAR has had a transformative impact on various industries, including visual effects. Companies like Direct Dimensions provide advanced 3D scanning and convert raw 3D ‘point cloud’ data into precise high-resolution CAD models for military and commercial vehicles. At the same time, Virtual Production Partners and Clear Angle Studios have developed a reputation for scanning film and television sets, locations and props to assist with the post-production process. The Third Floor has elevated the visualization process with LiDAR to ensure that costly creative and technical mistakes are avoided. Leica Geosystems, who manufactures LiDAR scanners, has a range of product lines that reflect the diverse applications for the technology. Finally, clients like visual effects supervisors view LiDAR as part of their toolkit to ensure that digital effects seamlessly integrate with practical elements to create a believable image. Approximately 25 years ago, LiDAR was developed for industrial purposes. “Gas and oil plants and facilities, like offshore oil rigs, are complex, gigantic, magnificent places, and they’re constantly doing re-engineering and retrofits,” states Michael Raphael, Founder & CEO of Direct Dimensions. “The idea of having 3D data is so valuable to them. As gas and oil companies got their first whiff of LiDAR, they would underwrite R&D companies to make it smaller, lighter and faster, which drove its development. Eventually, LiDAR got picked up by surveyors responsible for measuring terrain and buildings for construction. Probably eight or 10 years ago, a little
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bit got picked up in the autonomous vehicle world and automation in general. Today, it has gone into all kinds of things including film production. Around 80% of the market is Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC). The idea of scanning ‘the as-built world’ is gigantic. If you are an architect hired to renovate a building, you would go out and do a LiDAR scan to create an ‘as-built model’ so you can do the renovation design in the computer. The idea of construction scanning is even bigger than that in the building space. Construction companies scan every couple of days or weeks as they’re building, so you can document where everything is inside the walls and building. If you scan the building as it’s being built and put all of the data together at the end of the day, when that building is completed it’s like having a CT scan of a human body.” Diversity rather than specialization reigns supreme at Direct Dimensions. “We do many different things, but fundamentally we scan everything. Every day, we go in six different directions, and it’s hard, but it has kept us able to ebb and flow as the economy moves in various directions as it does.” LiDAR scanners have entered the realm of portability. “The original scanner was this massive box that would sit on a big tripod, it had to be connected to your computer and plugged into a processing unit that had cables which had to be lined up in a big circle,” remarks Andy Fontana, Product Marketing at Leica Geosystems. “That was in the early 2000s. Now we have a LiDAR scanner that can do much more and is the size of a can of Coke. A tremendous amount of innovation and technology has been squeezed into a smaller package. Also, the price and accessibility to the technology have come down, so it has opened up the market to what used to be a dedicated customer to this technology to something that a prosumer can use in their work.” There are different
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TECH & TOOLS
TOP TO BOTTOM: Drones have proven handy when having to LiDAR huge environments. (Image courtesy of Clear Angle Studios) LiDAR scanning has become an essential tool in creating virtual versions of real locations that crew members can access remotely. (Image courtesy of Virtual Production Partners and Amazon MGM Studios) Rendering of a 3D CAD model developed from the LiDAR scan of life safety systems under one of the large marine tanks at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, needed for the design of critical renovations. (Image courtesy of Direct Dimensions)
levels of LiDAR scanners. “Manufacturing is doing it on a level of microns, and that’s a level of precision that isn’t even remotely necessary for most of the other industries in the world. There are people who are scanning bridges or a massive infrastructure project and need a LiDAR scanner with a range of half a mile and accuracy less than a millimeter. Those scanners are $150,000 to $200,000, big, bulky and made for construction sites. On the lower side, you have something like our BLK scanner, which you would use for a scout, which is more in the $20,000 range. The range is about 30 to 50 feet. You’re scanning an interior or smaller exterior space or object and still get a great idea of that environment. You don’t need such a powerful LIDAR, which brings the cost down, makes all of the components a lot smaller and turns it into something that you can throw in a backpack.” The construction of the device has been altered. Fontana notes, “Traditionally, the LiDAR has had numerous pieces, which are subject to damage. What we are doing with our new scanners is making that LiDAR solid state, so there are no moving pieces. It’s a lot more durable and will last a lot longer.” Virtual production has caused LiDAR scanning to become an essential tool in creating virtual versions of actual locations. “Productions can now capture detailed LiDAR and photographic data to generate photorealistic digital environments,” states Dominic Ridley, Director & Co-Founder of Clear Angle Studios. “This allows directors and teams to explore virtual locations in VR before the actual shoot takes place, offering a new level of flexibility and planning. This is especially useful for films that need complex set extensions or large-scale environments, where building everything physically would be impractical or impossible. By using LiDAR for virtual scouting, filmmakers can make better decisions about camera placement, lighting and scene design, saving time and resources during production. The ability to navigate these virtual environments also helps teams visualize and adjust scenes long before they hit the physical set.” Limitations do exist when it comes to color and texture resolution. Ridley observes, “This can hinder its use in applications where visual details are crucial, like in detailed architectural renderings or film production. Depending
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on the equipment, the resolution and point density can also be an issue, especially with mobile LiDAR systems where you often sacrifice level of detail for mobility. Another challenge is that the need for higher scanning resolution can slow down data collection or require more advanced [and expensive] equipment. Since LiDAR can generate so much data, managing and processing it can be computationally intensive. For industries like visual effects or autonomous vehicles, this can slow down real-time processing, and the large file sizes create storage and data management challenges.” Smartphones with LiDAR come in handy. “If we are ever in a pinch, and it’s a scene that I didn’t expect anything to be needed, and suddenly we have to add x, y and z, rather than bring out a LiDAR team, I do a quick scan on my phone,” remarks Mark Russell, director and VFX Supervisor. “At least it gets you the basic geometry of a scene, which greatly helps in recreating stuff. There is an app called Polycam that is spectacular when it comes to that.” Cloud services assist with processing power, sharing and portability. “On the last show I did, we staged everything in the cloud, and we were able to use that to help distribute the material and re-mesh some of the point clouds. But it all could be done on a local machine. It’s just easier when you do it in the cloud. You don’t have to carry the thing with you. Cloud computing is changing and shaping things by using photogrammetry as a way to supplement LiDAR or possibly replace it. You have processor-intense algorithms to figure out the geometry of that scene from 50 pictures. LiDAR is still reliable, fast and more accurate; however, in a pinch it’s the other stuff that takes more advantage from the cloud computing.” The desire is for the highest quality imagery. “It’s always about capturing the most data you possibly can, then figure out what you need later. The idea now is that you can use LiDAR scans and bring your point cloud into your camera-tracking software, which will help make the camera move better in the computer. The better data you get, the better the results are down the road.” LiDAR is getting to be more universal in the film production process. “Originally, only a handful of companies knew what to
TOP TO BOTTOM: LiDAR is getting to be more universal in the film production process, which requires the recreation of landmarks such as Casa Cipriani New York, the luxury members club and hotel in lower Manhattan. (Image courtesy of Mark Russell and Apple Studios) A game-changer for The Third Floor during production of Avatar: The Way of Water was being able to extract single points from within a Leica Cyclone Register 360 Plus. (Image courtesy of The Third Floor and 20th Century Studios) 3D CAD model created from a LiDAR scan of a military jet used for subsequent digital airflow analysis. (Image courtesy of Direct Dimensions)
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TOP TO BOTTOM: Rendering of a full-color 3D model developed from the LiDAR scan of a large educational exhibit at a children’s exhibit of a sperm whale in West Hartford, Connecticut. (Image courtesy of Direct Dimensions) Iconic Piccadilly Square in London gets LiDAR scanned by Clear Angle Studios. (Image courtesy of Clear Angle Studios) Lighting and rigging grips benefited from being able to look at sets from places that would have normally required a cherry picker. (Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios and The Third Floor)
do with the data from a full high-end LiDAR scan. Now, everybody knows what to do with it. Art departments often use LiDAR to build their sets or design a location where we’re going to shoot. If we know that we’re going to shoot in this location, I will always try to get in early because everyone along the way can use that data, which is great.” Some of the applications for LiDAR have been surprising. “A game-changer for me that I didn’t initially realize was possible was extracting single points from within a Leica Cyclone Register 360 Plus,” reveals Casey Schatz, Head of Virtual Production at The Third Floor. “LiDAR will not pick up gaff tape marks or Sharpie marks on the ground. Yet, these markings are usually how you lay out critical construction, set decoration measurements and known points for your motion capture volume. Before using the scanner, I figured I’d have to have the corner of an apple box at the marks or some other calibration object that would be picked up in the scan. In Register 360, you can be inside the panoramic sphere of your scan location with the actual photo and pick points at the middle of that Sharpie mark with millimeter precision. These coordinates output to a text file that is easy to import as locators in your 3D software. This is how we have done all our live-action mocap volume offsets to the digital environments. Another cool thing we stumbled upon was other departments, particularly lighting and rigging grips, benefiting from quickly being able to look at the set from places you normally need a cherry picker to get to. As I mentioned earlier with the 360 scanning, you get everything, which means you’re also getting the catwalk, truss, chains, forklifts, and anything that makes a movie set function. More and more, as live-action progressed, the rigging folks look over my shoulder, and we’d do some live techvis just utilizing the colored point cloud and measure tools within Register360.” LiDAR has been invaluable while filming the Avatar sequels for the eyeline system and Simulcam. Schatz says, “The eyeline system is a small monitor and speaker that moved around the set via four cables, much like
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a cable cam you’d see during a sporting event. It was a neat way of physically representing the CG character on set for the live-action talent to respond to. As the set was being lit and other departments would descend onto the set with their required gear, I would do a LiDAR scan almost hourly and run the simulation to ensure the cables would not intersect. This let us find clashes before running the system and allowed us to make slight adjustments and compromises.” Digital replicas of distant locations have been created for studio projects so production crew members can access them remotely. “We have also done digital replicas for fine artists and other folks who are starting to see the value in different situations,” notes Conrad Curtis, Co-Founder of Virtual Production Partners and a 2nd assistant director. “This has been normalized in the visual effects side of our industry, and other industries are starting to realize that it’s more valuable and more acceptable than they might have thought before. One of my favorite quotes from Jensen Huang, CEO and Co-Founder of Nvidia, is, ‘Digital twins help companies build very complicated things perfectly the first time.’ He’s not talking about entertainment because if he were, then the entertainment industry would be much more functional. Jensen is talking about heavy industry and manufacturing. Digital replicas are beneficial because people can look and talk about something, explore a space or idea before they show up. Nothing is worse than being on set and having this time where people are figuring out why everything is not working. Now we can allow a director and some actors to take a rehearsal, use virtual production in that rehearsal, and have an edited version of their movie before they get to the set. I’ve been working with a director who is able to understand what lines and shots to throw away because he’s already done a cut of the movie inside of a digital replica. That’s the kind of power people don’t quite understand. Coming from the perspective of planning people, that’s where we get to see these technologies blossom into a new space.”
TOP: Image showing the three phases of a typical LiDAR scanning project. The left shows the original condition of the facility. The center shows the point cloud data of the LiDAR scan indicating the intensity of the laser return. The right shows the 3D visualization of the redesigned facility after renovations. (Image courtesy of Direct Dimensions) BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT: Using LiDAR scanning to take measurements at Santa Monica State Beach. (Image courtesy of Virtual Production Partners and Amazon MGM Studios)
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VFX WITHOUT BORDERS: ENRICHING THE GLOBAL VFX LANDSCAPE By CHRIS McGOWAN
Iceland is a land with a midnight summer sun and an exceedingly dark winter. It is also home to Reykjavik Visual, an example of how VFX studios have emerged in the most varied places, including on islands and every continent save Antarctica. Individual vendors and outposts of multinationals are present from Iceland to South Africa to Colombia. These studios are not only geographically unique, but they also bring diverse cultural and creative perspectives to their work, enriching the global VFX landscape. REYKJAVIK VISUAL
TOP: Brazil is becoming better known in the VFX world as a result of the Netflix mini-series Senna based on the life of Formula 1 racing champion Ayrton Senna. The $170-million production had 2,089 VFX shots and featured the work of three Brazilian studios. (Photo: Alan Roskyn. Courtesy of Netflix) OPPOSITE TOP: Part of the Pitch Black Company, El Ranchito has studios in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, and has contributed effects to One Hundred Years of Solitude. (Image courtesy of El Ranchito and Netflix)
Reykjavik Visual was officially founded in 2021 as the Icelandic branch of the Visual group that consists of four offices in northern Europe: Copenhagen Visual, Reykjavik Visual, Malmö Visual and Hamburg Visual. “Many of the founding and senior staff in the Visual group have prior experience at some of the biggest VFX houses in the world, such as Framestore, MPC, The Mill, Animal Logic and DNEG,” says Jörundur Rafn Arnarson, CEO and Primary VFX Supervisor of Reykjavik Visual. “The guiding principles for the operations of the entire group are to take the best from big VFX and the best from the small-size workflows that are the mainstay of northern Europe’s VFX market.” There are many challenges to being located in Iceland. Arnarson explains, “One being that of raising awareness of our company in areas that we don’t have a presence in currently. The size of the population makes scaling up a particular challenge, but that is mitigated and balanced by the staff in the other offices such as Copenhagen Visual.” “Shooting in Iceland is, of course, unique and, quite frankly, very
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“Filmmakers, producers and VFX supervisors love working with Colombian artists – they are highly creative, proud and deeply dedicated to their craft. Bogotá also felt like a natural fit, especially as South American productions continue to raise their standards and gain international traction on streaming platforms. For our Folks brand and the broader film industry, Bogotá has been a tremendous asset.” —Sébastien Bergeron, CEO, Pitch Black Company rough and not without its dangers,” Arnarson remarks. “This is where big American or U.K. productions often request my services as the local man with experience with on-set VFX supervising in these extreme environments.” The light in such remote locations can be unique. “The light in Iceland is made by ‘The Great Gaffer in the Sky’ for the gaffers and DPs here to enjoy. The midnight sun is the biggest mind-bender for people and even for me. You never get used to it really, but I love it! Midsummer means that losing light is never a thing, and you can pack some long days, if you don’t mind paying OT,” Arnarson says. “The winter is very dark and has a fair bit of crazy, violent weather, but we are very used to working in it, around it and with it. Even though the winter has very little daylight, the light that you do have is all low-horizon, soft, magic-hour-type light. I love watching the DP go into a manic frenzy when they work in Iceland for the first time. It’s almost impossible to screw it up, and the visuals are all around all the time.” Arnarson notes, “One major plus with operating from Reykjavik is that our work is covered by the Film in Iceland reimbursement
scheme that the Icelandic government runs. Depending on the project’s specifics, you can get reimbursed from 25% to 35% of your VFX spend. Among Reykjavik Visual’s VFX credits are Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness and Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider. As a hired-gun On-Set VFX Supervisor, Arnarson has worked on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Mandalorian Season 2, Game of Thrones and Black Mirror. PITCH BLACK
Opening new branches in regions less known for high-quality VFX work, such as Bogotá, has been a rewarding experience for FOLKS, part of the Pitch Black Company. CEO Sébastien Bergeron explains, “In establishing operations there as part of the FOLKS brand, we discovered an exceptional blend of cultural affinity, a strong education system, cutting-edge data center infrastructure, competitiveness, discipline, resourcefulness, enthusiasm and passion. Filmmakers, producers and VFX supervisors love working with Colombian artists – they are highly creative, proud and deeply dedicated to their craft. Bogotá also felt like a natural fit, especially
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TOP TWO: DNEG sees having a network of VFX studios in several countries as “a big advantage,” offering greater flexibility and stability as well as new and different types of creative work. DNEG contributed effects for Venom: The Last Dance. (Images courtesy of DNEG and Columbia Pictures) FatBelly VFX has studios in Vancouver and Brisbane, contributing effects to Sonic the Hedgehog 2. (Image courtesy of FatBelly, Sega of America and Paramount Pictures) FatBelly VFX added effects for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. (Image courtesy of FatBelly VFX and Paramount+)
as South American productions continue to raise their standards and gain international traction on streaming platforms. For our FOLKS brand and the broader film industry, Bogotá has been a tremendous asset.” According to Bergeron, “Having a network of VFX studios across multiple countries offers significant advantages, particularly in flexibility and collaboration. Pitch Black brings together well-established VFX brands – FOLKS, Rising Sun Pictures and El Ranchito – across 13 locations in six countries, each maintaining its authentic roots. Our shared technological platform connects us and enables real-time collaboration on projects, talent sharing, hardware resources, workflows and innovations. This network allows us to instantly educate and learn from one another, creating a personalized experience with the scale of a global workforce in the industry’s most in-demand productions and rebate locations. Maximum flexibility has been a core principle of this approach from the beginning, and we continue to cultivate it as a key strength of our organization.” Bergeron continues, “The geographically unique locations of our studios bring diverse cultural and creative perspectives that enrich the global VFX landscape. Art, storytelling and creative processes are deeply shaped by culture, and our artists’ unique backgrounds, languages and experiences add depth and originality to every project we take on. We are proud of this – it’s a fundamental part of who we are as an organization. We truly believe this diversity gives us one of the strongest offerings in the industry.” Bergeron adds, “I see Pitch Black as the world’s nimblest ‘large VFX company.’” Bergeron observes, “The globalization of VFX saw a significant acceleration around 2020, and while the pace has slowed, the industry continues to move in that direction. Globalization fosters collaboration, improves communication and encourages cultural exchange – all of which create opportunities for artists to develop their soft skills and break beyond the traditional stereotype often associated with VFX professionals. However, maintaining a globally-connected, creatively-led organization requires strong discipline at the operational level. The fact that VFX companies can now navigate this complexity speaks to how much the industry has matured over the past two decades.” The FOLKS/Pitch Black group recently tackled projects such as Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Deadpool & Wolverine, A Complete Unknown, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, 3 Body Problem, Halo Season 2, The Creator, The Umbrella Academy Season 4 and One Hundred Years of Solitude. FATBELLY
FatBelly VFX is a female-owned and operated visual effects studio launched in Vancouver in February 2020, just two weeks before COVID-19 brought film and TV productions to a halt. It was a challenging start for a new business with work only beginning in September of that year. “From small beginnings, great things grow – and, in 2023, we expanded by opening a studio in Brisbane, Australia,” recalls Shannan Louis, Owner and Head of Sales. The firm has worked on titles such as Creed III, Fargo, Upload, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Yellowjackets and The Expanse.
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What sets FatBelly VFX apart isn’t just the work we do but the unique perspective behind it,” Louis comments. “Unlike most VFX studios, FatBelly was founded by someone who has never been a VFX artist. That distinction made the early days particularly challenging – breaking into an industry that traditionally values hands-on technical experience over leadership from the outside wasn’t easy. Rather than seeing it as a limitation, I’ve come to recognize it as one of our greatest strengths. My role isn’t to dictate the creative process but to support the talented artists and supervisors who bring our work to life.” Louis cites several past and present challenges. “I initially thought COVID would be the biggest challenge for the business, but the strikes of 2023 proved to be far more disruptive. Productions came to a standstill, uncertainty spread across the industry, and the ripple effects were felt long after the strikes ended,” Louis explains. “At the same time, the shift toward remote work has made it harder than ever to cultivate a strong team dynamic and truly collaborative environment. VFX thrives on communication, problem-solving and creative synergy – things that don’t always translate seamlessly to remote setups.” “Beyond that,” Louis remarks, “shrinking production budgets have led to increasingly aggressive bidding, with some VFX vendors pricing work so low they’re essentially paying to win projects. This race to the bottom is unsustainable and devalues the artistry and expertise that go into high-quality visual effects.” Louis continues, “Then, there’s AI – the two little letters I love to hate. Automation has always played a role in our industry, helping to streamline workflows and improve efficiency. But now, there’s a growing misconception that AI is some magic button that can instantly deliver complex VFX shots faster and cheaper. The reality is far more nuanced, and while AI has its place, it doesn’t replace the artistry, problem-solving and human touch that make great visual effects truly exceptional.” TURKEY
Turkey is an up-and-coming VFX location boosted by Netflix. The EFEKT Visual Effects Days event that Netflix Turkey supported this year was organized by the ANIKA Women’s Animation Association with support from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. “It is a significant industry event. This year’s focus is aimed at highlighting the role of women in VFX, recognizing and celebrating the contributions of women in the field, a mission that aligns with our industry engagement efforts at Netflix Türkiye [Turkey],” says Can Deniz Sahin, Netflix Manager for Turkey. Sahin explains, “As part of this initiative, Netflix is participating in a panel discussion titled ‘Representation of Women in VFX Roles in Netflix Turkey,’ where we will showcase the substantial presence of women in critical VFX roles in our productions. Our panel will feature professionals from various VFX departments, including the VFX Manager of Netflix Türkiye, a VFX producer, a post-production supervisor and a virtual production art director. Through this discussion, we aim to share diverse career journeys, highlight industry challenges and inspire the next generation of female talent.”
TOP TO BOTTOM: DNEG believes in bringing together its global talent across all its studio locations based on skillset and requirements. DNEG provided VFX for Mickey 17. (Image courtesy of DNEG and Warner Bros. Pictures) FOLKS’ creature design and animation department in Montreal was responsible for the majestic moose from Yellowjackets and many creatures over several seasons for The Umbrella Academy. (Image courtesy of FOLKS, Showtime and Paramount+) Jörundur Rafn Arnarson, Founder, CEO and Primary VFX Supervisor of Reykjavik Visual in Iceland, was On-Set Visual Effects Supervisor for Holy Spider (2022). (Image courtesy of Netflix) Arnarson was On-Set Visual Effects Supervisor for Triangle of Sadness (2022). He has also worked on Games of Thrones, The Mandalorian Season 2, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Black Mirror. (Image courtesy of Lionsgate)
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Regarding Netflix Turkey, Sahin notes, “[Our] numbers indicate that women are present and leading in critical areas of VFX within our projects, demonstrating that gender representation in VFX is shifting toward a more inclusive and diverse environment. Although the Turkish VFX industry has grown substantially with its strong foundation in TVCs and feature films, we now see more women stepping into key roles, shaping its future and driving the industry forward.” THE CHIMNEY POT
The Chimney Pot is based in Stockholm and has offices in Warsaw, Sydney, Frankfurt, Berlin, Malmö, Gothenburg and Singapore. Her, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Searching for Sugarman, Den of Thieves 2, The Contractor and Atomic Blonde are some of the Chimney Pot’s projects. “We are still owned by the staff. We act as a post house as well as a co-producer helping independent producers to close financing in Europe,” comments CEO Fredrik Zander. “With multiple offices around the world from Singapore to L.A., our team and workflows are built to manage multiple time zones.” Zander thinks the industry is already globalized. “So, I’m not sure it will change much compared to today. We will see more specialized boutique shops leveraging AI to manage large-scale projects.” The pluses of working and living in Sweden include low costs. Zander explains, “The [non-Swede] only knows about high taxes, but some states in the U.S. have the same levels. The average salary in Sweden is $40K yearly only, but the cost of living is low due to a lot being financed through taxes. The downside is the weather. It is amazing during Spring and Summer but sucks [in the] wintertime.” Sweden’s culture can affect the work. Zander notes, “Swedes have a very collaborative culture with no egos and only focus on what is best for the team and the project. It comes from thousands of years where we had to work together to survive tough winters. Plus, every manager needs to prove they are a leader, so everybody dares to speak up and voice their view on things, if things are not going as planned. This also drives innovation since not everything is managed from the top.” BRAZIL
TOP TWO: Based in Stockholm, Sweden, The Chimney Pot has offices in Warsaw, Sydney, Frankfurt, Berlin, Malmö, Gothenburg, Singapore and L.A. The company worked on Searching for Sugar Man. (Photo: Kevin Winter. Courtesy of Getty Images and Sony Pictures Classics) Collaborating with Sony Pictures’ VFX team, FOLKS contributed 242 shots, creating 49 CG assets and sequences to Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024). (Image courtesy of FOLKS and Sony Pictures Television)
Brazil is starting to become better known in the VFX world, with a recent example being the Netflix mini-series Senna based on the life of the Brazilian Formula One racing champion Ayrton Senna. The $170-million production had 2,089 VFX shots and featured the work of three Brazilian studios, Quanta, Picma Post and Miagui, teaming with NetFX, Scanline VFX and Eyeline Studios. “Senna was a chance to put Brazil on the global VFX map,” states Overall VFX Supervisor Marcelo Siqueira. LUMBRE
LUMBRE is a multidisciplinary creative studio based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, specializing in television and entertainment, led by Executive Producer Pablo Encabo and Creative Director Sergio Saleh. “Operating from Buenos Aires, LUMBRE benefits from Argentina’s rich cultural heritage and vibrant arts scene. This environment fosters creativity and innovation, allowing the studio
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“Although the Turkish VFX industry has grown substantially with its strong foundation in TVCs and feature films, we now see more women stepping into key roles, shaping its future and driving the industry forward.” —Can Deniz Sahin, Manager, Netflix Turkey to infuse local flair into their projects,” Encabo states. LUMBRE has worked with prominent networks and brands, including National Geographic Channels International, Fox International Channels, ID Discovery, Fox Sports and ESPN. Encabo notes, “What sets LUMBRE apart from other VFX studios is its ability to wear multiple hats, functioning as an agency, production company and consulting firm.” The most significant challenge facing LUMBRE is the economy and reacting to it strategically. Encabo remarks, “Operating within Argentina’s fluctuating economic landscape presents obstacles, such as currency volatility and resource constraints. However, the studio’s adaptive project-based team structure and diverse international client base suggest a strategic approach to mitigating these challenges and maintaining resilience in a dynamic market.” DNEG
Having a network of VFX studios in several countries “is a big advantage, and it does offer greater flexibility. It helps us remain relevant and focused on what we do well, which is creative leadership and technical excellence on a global scale,” says Rohan Desai, President of VFX at DNEG. “Working in different markets also gives a certain level of stability that every business needs. It allows our crews to work on different types of creative work. Today we are working with filmmakers from China, India and Europe, including non-English-language European content through our studios in Barcelona, Budapest and Sofia, in addition to our Hollywood work.” “Our studios in lesser-known regions are very important to our global network. We operate in 19 locations globally, allowing us to bring a lot of different cultural and creative ideas to our clients and partners. Different outlooks and cultures result in more interesting creative collaborations,” Desai notes. “It is important in that it allows us to tap into the best artists from across all the different geographies of the world. There is great talent everywhere. Opening new locations can be challenging, but we believe in bringing together the fantastic minds across all our studio locations, based on skillset and requirements.” Current DNEG projects include: Mickey 17, Animal Friends, Eden, The Cat in the Hat, Mercy, Heads of State, Motor City, Bad Fairies, Ramayana and The Angry Birds Movie 3. Desai adds, “By empowering artists in locations that are not the normal Hollywood go-to locations, we see the amazing levels of passion and pride that these artists bring to the creative process because they want to prove and showcase that they’re as good as anybody else out there in the world.”
TOP TWO: DNEG’s studios in lesser-known regions are vital to its global network, bringing different cultural and creative ideas to clients and partners, and fresh creative collaborations with artists from around the world. DNEG provided VFX for Skeleton Crew. (Images courtesy of DNEG, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney+) Operating in 19 locations globally, DNEG is working with filmmakers from China, India and Europe, including non-English-language European content through its studios in Barcelona, Budapest and Sofia, in addition to its Hollywood work on blockbusters such as Dune: Part Two. (Image courtesy of DNEG and Warner Bros.)
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REVOLUTION SPREADS THROUGH THE STAR WARS GALAXY IN ANDOR SEASON 2 By TREVOR HOGG
Images courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. TOP: Shooting in real locations such as in Spain gave Coruscant a more believable visual foundation. OPPOSITE TOP: Cassian Andor attempts to steal a prototype TIE fighter. The motion graphics were provided by Blind.
Breaking away from the Skywalker family saga, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was inspired by John Knoll’s (Executive Creative Director and Senior VFX Supervisor, ILM) desire to tell the story of how the original Death Star plans were obtained by the Rebel Alliance. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the feature introduced the leader of the dangerous covert mission, Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna. The character has subsequently become the subject of the Lucasfilm and Disney+ prequel series Andor, created by Tony Gilroy, who was heavily involved in reshaping Rogue One. The first season chronicles what led Andor to revolt against the Galactic Empire, while Season 2 covers him in full revolutionary mode with three episodes devoted to each of the four years that preceded his fateful decision to lead the mission that paves the way for Luke Skywalker to destroy the weapon of mass destruction in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Aesthetically, Rogue One is not the same as Andor. “Certain looks, such as the Ring of Kafrene, would have stood out in our show,” observes Luke Hull, Production Designer for Andor. “However, we were keen to get a Yavin 4 Rebel Base that felt like the one you experience in Rogue One. Then, build off from that to get more of a sense of how exiled civilians took refuge on Yavin, and take a look at what the living situation could be like there. I was keen to connect the elements of it as much as possible even if we did not do a full journey through it in one take. I wanted to be able to walk from and see beyond the depths of the temple hangar, out past the parked X-wings, out of the temple mouth,across the airfield. Then up into the jungle perimeter with various base camps, pilot bars, ration tents, and through the jungle to Cassian’s and Bix Caleen’s [Adria Arjona] dwelling. That way, we start to add into our Yavin something that we have tried to keep throughout Season 1 and 2 – scope and a clear sense of geography.”
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“We have been doing Star Wars projects in the U.K. [for a long time], so fortunately we have quite a big depository of things that we can go and get, tweak and change. For instance, there are a number of V8 vehicles that we often pull out and put our speeders on those and gimbals. We try to be clever and want to be sustainable. Movies are expensive, and sometimes movies can be classified as being quite wasteful. We try to repurpose and reuse whatever we can. It was nice to blow the cobwebs off some old speeders and repurpose them for the show.” —Luke Murphy, SFX Supervisor Former members of the Rogue One team were brought on board for Andor. “The fact that we had worked on Rogue One meant there was already an understandable language and an indication of Tony Gilroy’s style and the way that he likes to portray things,” explains Neal Scanlan, Creature & Droid Effects Supervisor for Andor. “You get a sense of how much time and attention Tony will be paying to certain aspects. When we looked specifically at the creatures and droids, it’s helpful to know that, because we’re building for an almost unknown amount of use. If you have some idea, then you can start to tailor what you’re building and performing and make sure it’s in the right tone, feel and look. But it also means we can refer to a timeline that is quite definitive.” Not much could be leveraged from Season 1. “It’s almost all new ships and planets,” observes Mohen Leo, VFX Supervisor for Andor, who is also a Rogue One alumnus. “We were lucky that almost all the people from Season 1 continued straight on to Season 2. On Season 1, everyone still had to find out, ‘Where do I step on someone else’s toes? How far should I go in making suggestions?’ On Season 2, everyone trusted each other blindly.” A major change for Season 2 was having to deal with time jumps between each set of three episodes. “Creatively, it was great
because that allowed us to look at blocks of three episodes as units in terms of the way we approached the droids and the environments,” Leo remarks. “There are a couple of locations and environments that we see over multiple blocks. One of the jobs of visual effects was to help understand the passing of time by seeing how a place looks different a year later and different another year later.” Principal photography took place at Pinewood Studios and Longcross Studios in the U.K. and Spain. “Pinewood was the creative hub. We had a lot of stages there, and we had the backlot,” notes Luke Murphy, SFX Supervisor for Andor. “Longcross provided more big stages, and it’s a great playground. Some of the big pyrotechnics we did for the show were at Longcross.” Props had to be moved between the studios. “Luke Hull came up with this design for the prototype TIE fighter,” Murphy explains. “It was going to be a tricky build. We sat down and said, ‘Look, we can make this full-size and fly it with a crane.’ We had to move it between Pinewood Studios, Longcross Studios and location, so this thing had to be modular and go together quickly. It had carbon fiber and lots of aluminum. We had to put the TIE fighter on a gimbal, fly it around in an aggressive way and give energy to our pilot.”
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TOP TO BOTTOM: The cockpit of the prototype TIE Avenger fighter was fully interactive and lit. Andor Season 2 was a major logistical feat with sets constructed at Longcross Studios and Pinewood Studios. No CG was required for groundmech salvage assist unit B2EMO.
Visual effects is closely tied to the art department. “Like every project, I start working with visual effects from day one and try to stay in the fold until the end of post,” Hull remarks. “I like to build physical sets. It works well for the scope that a TV series requires, but when we design, we try to design the built set in context to how it sits in the wider world.” Special effects made a contribution to the virtual production shoot by adding practical rain to the Coruscant window shots. “You don’t want those LED screens replaced!” Murphy laughs. “You have to be careful. Ariel Kleiman [director] and Christophe Nuyens [Cinematographer] wanted the rain to be on the windows for that sequence. We scaled down a bit. We were clear about how we rigged. We sat down and talked about where the LED wall was going to be and where the set wall was going to be and made sure that we had enough space for both visual effects and special effects. It worked perfectly.” World-building requires being distinct and universal at the same time. “I feel the bigger creative challenges came with finding contrast between multiple worlds while still feeling coherent as a look across the whole show,” Hull believes. “Ghorman presented a particular challenge as we embarked on a classical European [French/Italian] feel, which was felt in our Stars Wars world, but also felt credible and looked like it had existed for years. Like Ferrix needed in Season 1, Ghorman needed to feel lived in, with a sense of community and a proud culture. But, unlike Ferrix, we needed to approach the design as larger set pieces that sat spread apart within a bigger city.” Along with 80 studio sets being constructed, shooting took place in approximately 60 locations. “The locations that drew us out of the studio and into London were primarily to help give us scale and complexity for Andor’s version of Coruscant,” Hull explains. “The Barbican and locations like Lloyds in the city gave us great looks for mid-level Coruscant away from the gleaming spires of the top level. Using locations to shoot Star Wars help bring credibility to the look.”
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The opening scene of Episode 201 revolves around Cassian Andor attempting to steal the prototype TIE fighter. “Because it’s a prototype, Cassian isn’t familiar with the controls, so there is this chaotic sequence of him trying to fly it out of the hanger but at the same time trying to figure out how it actually works and smashing into things and shooting things,” Leo remarks. “We had a partial set that looked like giant hangar. On the opposite side are the hangar doors that lead out onto an Arctic landscape, so we had bluescreen there. We were able to shoot all of that practically, having special effects in that as well. Once the ship takes off, it’s a mix in the wider shots of still shooting in the hanger but with a CG ship flying around and shooting. All of the exteriors ended up being full CG with the interiors of Diego in the cockpit shot on the gimbal.” Making a cinematic debut is the grain planet of Mina-Rau. “For Mina-Rau, our biggest challenge was the crop,” Hull remarks. “We had to find a good field near the studio first, one that gave us multiple horizon lines so we didn’t need to remove sets that we shouldn’t see in the background all the time. We also had to plant a crop a year before to grow it for the shoot as we were shooting out of season. We wanted to use an ancient rye grain because we looked at a lot of types and felt it had an interesting look and height that felt not too alien but also not as common as wheat and other more recognizable crops. We then had to plan our builds into the field and create a digital Mina-Rau layout with visual effects that placed everything in the correct relationship to each other so they could plan the sequences. The biggest challenge was unforeseen, though. The actors’ strike hit us just at the point of the end of our shoot, which was all in the crop field. We had to pack the sets, harvest the crop, and then painstakingly the greens department had to thread each crop strand into polystyrene boards which we stored in the James Bond stage at Pinewood Studios. When we finally got back up and running, we had to recreate the sets and fields of Mina-Rau across three stages in Pinewood Studios.”
TOP: One of the joys of the special effects team was getting to dust off some speeders for Andor. MIDDLE AND BOTTOM: Chandrila is the homeworld of Senator Mon Mothma.
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TOP: An aerial view of a habitat located on Mina-Rau. BOTTOM: A significant effort was made to ensure that many creature and alien effects were achieved practically.
Over 4,000 visual effects shots were produced for the 12 episodes by ILM, Scanline VFX, Hybride, Soho VFX, Midas VFX and Blind, made all the better because of the in-camera component. “We have a practical department doing practical effects working alongside brilliant CG artists and techniques,” Scanlan remarks. “We can literally sit around the table and say, ‘Can you help me here? I hear that this puppet has a rod attached to it because that’s the most efficient and best way of doing it. Are you able to remove the rod for us?’ Of course they can. Maybe we’re adding some extra limbs here. We don’t need to build all of this character because it can be CG enhanced. It’s fruitful and always fresh because each character suggests a different avenue. There is an almost endless number of tools that allows us to do so much – and so much more in the future. That works so well because we are one family and next door to each other. Communication is easy.” Groundmech salvage assist unit B2EMO returns from Season 1 and was achieved without any digital assistance. “Inherently, part of what we do is try to put personality in inanimate objects,” Scanlan explains. “The Pixar angle pose is a wonderful example. There are things like body movement that allows for excitement or emotion to come from raising or lowering your body. Then, there is the general motion. We are able as human beings to move in any direction we want to go. One of the things we look at there is what kind of motivation? For instance, BB-8 is a ball and could roll 360 degrees. B2EMO has a similar yet different mechanical solution to the same problem. The most baseline elements we relate to as humans are the things that we try to put into the droids. I’m sure Mohen Leo would feel the same and the animators, too. When they animate them, there’s a certain range in which one wants to keep that almost childlike quality to it.” Imperial security droid K-2SO, which becomes Andor’s trusted co-pilot in Rogue One, is part of the cast. “The approach was the
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same as Rogue One,” Leo notes. “We basically had Alan Tudyk on set for all of the scenes, wearing the stilts where appropriate. He wore a mocap suit so we could capture his performance as well. In post, our first step would always be to faithfully match exactly what Alan did in each plate. It was great having that experience of Rogue One because there are occasionally things that Alan might do with his face that you can’t then do with K-2SO because he can’t raise an eyebrow or smirk. You have to then cleverly find little ways like a tilt of the head or a glance of the eye that convey the same idea of what Alan did.” Speeders were dusted off for Andor. “We have been doing Star Wars projects in the U.K. [for a long time], so fortunately we have quite a big depository of things that we can go and get, tweak and change,” Murphy remarks. “For instance, there are a number of V8 vehicles that we often pull out and put our speeders on those and gimbals. We try to be clever and want to be sustainable. Movies are expensive, and sometimes movies can be classified as being quite wasteful. We try to repurpose and reuse whatever we can. It was nice to blow the cobwebs off some old speeders and repurpose them for the show.” Audience members can expect to see some great new designs for droids. “There are some real surprises to come,” Scanlan states. “I won’t spoil that for you. Tony doesn’t write something if it doesn’t have a reason to be there. Nearly all of the things that we’ve made, you’ll see has a purpose, and some of them have strong emotional connection to other characters in a surprising way. When we’re in Coruscant and places where all of the species are coming together, we see our aliens having speaking parts and having their moments. Of course, there are all of the lovely little moments in the background that are all part of the storytelling. Compared to Season 1, Season 2 is a smorgasbord of aliens, droids and characters that I know the fans will enjoy.”
TOP TO BOTTOM: Due to the actors’ strike, some of the scenes that take place on Mina-Rau had to be shot on a soundstage with the art department harvesting individual rye stocks, which were then incorporated into the set. The art department built the prototype TIE Avenger fighter, which had a full interior and exterior ship that could be self-supporting and stand on its wing tips, as well as an opening step hatch door. There is no shortage of Stormtroopers making their presence felt.
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MASTERING THE MICRO – IN A BIG WAY By TREVOR HOGG
TOP: Leaves served as a scale cue and contributed to drama in A Bug’s Life when Flik is situated on top of a plant looking down. (Image courtesy of Pixar) OPPOSITE TOP TO BOTTOM: The cinematography aimed to emphasize the beauty of insects, such as the peacock spider. (Image courtesy of National Geographic) Leaves and pebbles were studied for A Bug’s Life to get enough detail to convey what the world looks like from an insect’s perspective. (Image courtesy of Pixar)
There is a microscopic realm within and around us that we often take for granted, but the tiny size does not reflect the significance it plays in creating and sustaining life. Magnifying matters to a more comprehensible level are filmmakers and documentarians who make the most of macro photography to tell compelling stories. In an interesting turn of events, a Pixar-animated movie inspired a National Geographic documentary series, thereby turning A Bug’s Life (1998) into A Real Bug’s Life (2024 to present)! Technology has greatly evolved from the time of Fantastic Voyage (1966), which relied upon practical effects to create a miniaturized ship and crew traveling through a human circulatory system to perform surgery, to CG simulating the insect point of view for Ant-Man (2015). Then there are those driven by personal enjoyment and curiosity, which led to the establishment of the YouTube channel Journey to the Microcosmos (2019 to 2024). All of these scenarios have educated and entertained us about the micro details in a big way. After achieving its first CG-animated feature film, Pixar decided to go from toys to insects with the release of the Seven Samuraiinspired A Bug’s Life. “Neftali Alvarez, a hardware and technical guy here, created the ‘bug-cam’ which was a little circuit board with a tiny camera on it,” recalls Bob Pauley, Art Director on A Bug’s Life. “We put that at the end of a stick, went down into the bushes, ran it around and looked at what the environments were like, as well as the insects. I caught this little beetle, placed it on a turntable that we used for clay sculpting and had a camera set up. We turned it as the beetle moved. I remember looking at the footage afterwards and going, ‘Wow. Look at all of this rich detail and super-tight depth of field.’ It looked small and yet that little bug had so much personality and character.” An ant colony needed to be created. “We ended up with crowds, which we had never done before,” remarks Bill Reeves, Supervising Technical Director on A
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Bug’s Life. “We had to try to make the animation of those crowds as simple as possible by removing a set of limbs. When we built a crowd, we used different animation libraries to make them feel as if they were different. That was the other thing with the four legs for ants. We decided to have the ants stand up and walk on two legs, so what do we do with that third set of legs?” Technology had to be modified to achieve the proper sense of scale. “Shaders had to be built at that scale,” Reeves explains. “If you had a shader for a brick and used that in Toy Story, the shading would be scaled for what and how you would see it. If you wanted to reuse that brick in A Bug’s Life, we would potentially have to go back in and re-shade or add much more detailed texture to make it look good at that scale with the camera.” Shading and lighting were significantly improved from Toy Story. “Everything is not plastic in A Bug’s Life. Rick Sayre, VES [Shading Supervisor] and Sharon Calahan [Cinematographer] went off and did a whole bunch of stuff for our shading networks and how lighting interacts with the shading. At the time, it was a significant change to how detailed the shading was and the interaction between shading and lighting.” Scale cues were inserted into the visuals. “When a sprig or leaf of dandelion floats across, it becomes enormous,” Pauley states. “You get to see that world with cues that we know from our world. I remember how hard it was to do those things. Nowadays, it’s not hard to do it. But the payoff was good because it’s all for storytelling. When Flik climbs up on that dandelion, everybody knows what a dandelion is, so you get that scale right away, and you can give drama to it as well.” When rumors of A Bug’s Life 2 did not materialize, the founder and CEO of Plimsoll Productions, Grant Mansfield, went to National Geographic with a proposal to make a real-life version. “We weren’t copying the movie, but we were using some of the
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TOP TO BOTTOM: Probe lenses are indispensable when it comes to capturing insects at the ground level. (Image courtesy of National Geographic) Wide lenses came in handy when trying to capture the speedy tiger beetle. (Image courtesy of National Geographic) Fireflies take on a surreal quality at night as they attempt to attract a mate. (Image courtesy of National Geographic)
same tropes,” explains Bill Markham, Series Producer of A Real Bug’s Life. “In A Bug’s Life, the leaf falling down is an iconic moment, and that happens in the jungle episode. We got Pixar’s blessing, and they did a beautiful mashup video where their bugs are getting excited about our series. It’s really fun.” A humanistic approach is adopted for the storytelling. “‘Life’s a Beach’ was about growing up, wanting to move out and find a new home, and getting into the property market in a way. Each episode has a theme, and we chose bugs where we could tell their story with that lens on them.” Body doubles appear on the screen. Markham notes, “I don’t think you could stay on a single insect for more than a few hours because you’re going to lose or upset them, and that would be to the detriment of their welfare. The good thing about bugs is they generally are programmed by their biology to do the same things, so you can use different individuals to tell the same story.” In order to get the lens down on the ground to capture the shots, the camera team for A Real Bug’s Life has had to be resourceful. “Camera movement on that scale is difficult,” states Chris Watts, Cinematographer for A Real Bug’s Life. “A lot of normal cinema lenses don’t have a good minimum focus and are quite big, whereas probe lenses have great minimum focus, and you can get them into small spaces and into their world. We’ve got lenses that are as small as a medical endoscope, which is five millimeters across at its end and were designed to go inside human bodies, so they’re waterproof. Then you’ve got your standard probes that you can get off the shelf.” Probe lenses are compromised optically. “They don’t let a lot of light in because you’re trying to get not much light up a long tube to a camera. The cameras have improved massively with their frame rates, so we can really slow down important moments, and they are much more light-sensitive as well, which allows us to use these complicated lenses.” Wide lenses came in handy when trying to capture the speedy tiger beetle. “You go, ‘I’m going to film the fastest bug in the world.
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What do I need? I need a camera that can shoot at the highest frame rate,’” remarks Nathan Small, Producer, Director and Cinematographer of A Real Bug’s Life. “But when Dale Hudson [Assistant Camera] did that, it looked like rubbish, like watching the tiger beetle played back slowly. It just looked clumsy and ungainly. What they actually needed to do was to shoot it at the correct speed, stick with it, and try get as much out of each shot as they could. You’re shooting at real-time, but close with very wide lenses so the shots last for longer.” Some of the scenes required sets being built, such as interior shots of an anthill. “We tried to do as much as is humanly possible outside in the wild. Maybe we need to change the environment a little bit so we can get our cameras in and show people new ways of seeing these things. But unless there’s a really good reason, we try not do things on sets to keep it as real as possible.” There is definitely a certain feel to macro photography that had to be emulated for an MCU franchise. “Macro photography basically means that the sensor is 1:1, and the amount that you can see in focus goes down to a sliver,” explains Jake Morrison, VFX Supervisor for Marvel Studios on Ant-Man. “You can pour on tons of light, which allows you to open up that sliver; however, at a certain point, you get diffraction, and it falls apart. There are only a certain number of ways you can shoot this. I studied a bunch of stuff. The Saharan silver ant was in a David Attenborough documentary that was particularly interesting. There was some stunning macro photography to the point where you can see the individual hairs on the ant, and that was the level I wanted to get to because, obviously, we had to convey story. The whole point with the ants was that you had to get to empathize with them. To get to that stage, I was rationalizing that they had to be the size of pets.” Tests were conducted with Cinematographer Bill Pope. “We got some macro lenses and shot the ant version of a terrarium. I had all of this photography, which was incredible reference. You get down
TOP TO BOTTOM: For Ant-Man, VFX Supervisor Jake Morrison created customized lens profiles to be used by visual effects artists. (Image courtesy of Marvel Studios) Stentors have a remarkable ability to regenerate from a small fragment back into a complete organism, according to Microscopic Videographer James Weiss. (Image courtesy of James Weiss) Microscopic Videographer James Weiss places his Fujifilm X-T5 digital camera on a monitor holder, which he swings over and records through the eyepiece when something of interest happens under the microscope. (Image courtesy of James Weiss)
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TOP TO BOTTOM: Heimlich is an obese lime caterpillar who dreams of becoming a beautiful butterfly in A Bug’s Life. (Image courtesy of Pixar) A Bug’s Life Art Director Bob Pauley and sculptor Norm DeCarlo examine maquettes for Slim and Heimlich. (Image courtesy of Pixar) A trick for making the ants more appealing to the viewer was having them be the size of puppies in relation to Ant-Man. (Image courtesy of Marvel Studios)
to the macro level, and you see an astonishing amount of detail on the stuff that you do see in focus.” Fur proved to be problematic. “When you see something that looks shiny, it is usually covered in fur,” Morrison remarks. “We would call that isotropic in the business, which is to say that all the specular response is along one line. We went straightaway for spherical lenses. When you see anything defocused in any film, there is a particular effect that is a byproduct of the lens called ‘bokeh’ or the circle of confusion. An anamorphic lens squeezes the image, and what happens weirdly is if you have a bright highlight behind you, it looks like an almond. You would think when the image is un-squeezed the bokeh would go wide, but it doesn’t. You never get that with macro stuff. We shot the entire film 1.85:1, and whenever you go into the macro realm, the depth of field compresses deeply. Similarly, if you do a long lens throw, like with a zoom lens, the depth of field compresses completely. Macro is like that but more intense. You could use that as an element of surprise and interest, because my concern was that the background would be completely mushy. I made these customized lens profiles, which at the edges had all these round shapes. If you watch Ant-Man, you see this because it’s a macro motif.” Microbes are even smaller than bugs, but equally fascinating for those responsible for producing Journey to the Microcosmos, with Microscopic Videographer James Weiss making some surprising discoveries with a Fujifilm X-T5 digital camera, a Zeiss Axioscope 5 Smart Laboratory Microscope and Zeiss Objective Plan-Apochromatic 40x-1000x lens. “I relate to these things that I record under the microscope, so they’re a cure for my existential crisis!” laughs Weiss. “Traditionally, you have this microscope, and there is this phototube that you attach to your camera, but I don’t like that structure. I place my Fujifilm camera on a monitor holder, and when I see something under the microscope, I swing the monitor holder arm and record through the eyepiece. This is what I’ve been doing since I started seven or eight years ago.” Weiss has 5,000 hours of footage. “I’ve collected from the same pond for five or six years over 1,000 samples to find one organism, and I found four cells of it in my entire life.” Like with any cinematography, there is an element of artistry. “It depends on what the production wants from me. Some people want to focus on the microbe in a scientific way while others want to capture an emotion,” Weiss notes. “There was one project about a dying fencer, so for that I needed to use a microbe that extends its neck further away from its body. I misaligned the microscope so you get some scattered light, which is not a proper technique, but it gives you this visual effect. There are hundreds of thousands of things I have to do to get that emotion across.” Microbes are living creatures. Weiss states, “In my house, I have 4,000 jars from different places, and when you put everything in a jar or smaller container, you cannot keep the same environmental conditions for these organisms. They last for a week or two weeks. For most days, I go through a sample for 12 to 16 hours. Drop by drop, you have to check it. This hope for something you want to find is a big dopamine surge, so that keeps me going!”
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FOLLOWING THE DATA STREAM OF A SENTIENT ANDROID FOR MURDERBOT By TREVOR HOGG
Images courtesy of Apple TV+, except where noted. TOP: There were numerous hidden moments where visual effects had to help the edit make sense by digitally opening or closing the helmet of Murderbot. OPPOSITE TOP: Murderbot allows himself to be swallowed by a worm, then destroys the creature from the inside out. (Image courtesy of Sean Faden and Apple TV+)
When a security android successfully hacks his protocol programming and gains free will, he has to decide whether or not to hide the accomplishment from the company that made him and his clients. This is the premise of Murderbot conceived by novelist Martha Wells and adapted by Chris and Paul Weitz for Paramount Television Studios and Apple TV+. The sci-fi thriller-comedy consists of 10 episodes that run approximately 22 minutes each and features just under 1,800 visual effects shots by DNEG, FOLKS, Pixomondo, PANC, CBS VFX, Image Engine, Fin Design + Effects, Supervixen and Island VFX. Prominent storytelling tools are the voice-overs spoken by Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) and the UI that reflects his point of view as a SecUnit. “When we were on set, Alex would run some of the voice-overs so we knew what might happen as the shots were being constructed,” remarks Danny McNair, VFX Producer for Murderbot. “We wanted to do something that wasn’t the same as anything you had seen before. We had a lot of conversations back and forth with vendors and each other about how that might reflect onscreen. We’re now becoming more than information. We’re storytelling and pushing the narrative forward with UI sometimes by itself; that was a challenge.” There are shots where computer graphics are overlaid on the entire frame rather than confined to a monitor or tablet. “Sometimes, we did plan, but on other occasions, we didn’t know that a graphic was going to be added,” states Sean Faden, VFX Supervisor on Murderbot. “It happened to be a pensive moment for Alexander Skarsgård. There is a bright background behind him on the left, so we can’t put the graphic there, or something is distracting on the right. We have to treat the plate to make it more receptive to graphics. We did a lot of testing early on. The first thing
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“We assumed that [Murderbot’s] arm cannons have a dial to them. And a warning blast or ‘you’re dead’ blast! We worked closely with special effects and the prosthetics team to make things we could blow up with blood spray everywhere. We used a lot of that. It was great.” —Sean Faden, VFX Supervisor that sold it for the showrunners was Murderbot being worked on by the repair cubicle and waking up in a fog. We had AR floating graphics, not literally in front of his face because we still wanted to see the actor, but we wanted to bring the audience in as if it feels like something Murderbot is seeing.” A full body scan was taken of Skarsgård to assist with any digital double work or when Murderbot gets mended by the repair cubicle. “We knew roughly what Sue Chan, our Production Designer, was coming up with for the repair cubicle,” Faden explains. “It had these arc-shaped arms, and off of those had these robotic arms capable of moving in all possible directions. In the end, we only had a chance to show a couple of hero things. We made sure to show that this unit was capable of printing flesh, mechanical parts like tubing, and the structural mesh that holds it all together. There were numerous pieces and a lot of story to tell. The layer cake of Murderbot was based on a torso created by our prosthetic team, who we had on set for a lighting reference and also scanned and photographed. We reverse engineered how all of those pieces could be built in 3D.” Skarsgård was a willing collaborator. “Alex would say, ‘Tell me what you need,’” McNair recalls. “We painted his skin blue. You don’t always get that, so having an actor willing to be part of the visual effects process was great.” The blue wound had some tracking markers, and the prosthetics team dressed a torn, bloody
skin edge. “Trying to track a wound edge is a classic difficulty in visual effects, so having that for real was helpful,” Faden remarks. “The little arm that came off the curved arm of the repair cubicle was fully CG, but the larger curved arm was practical. A guy on another side of the wall with a pulley was moving this thing back and forth, and we had a light on that. The interactive light kicking on Alex’s stomach and torso was helpful because once we matched it in CG, the whole thing tied together.” Security camera footage was part of the visual language. “Because many times Murderbot would have visual overlays on top of things, it was an interesting way to further the story,” Faden states. “If you were looking at an image of Mensah [Noma Dumezweni], we added the graphics showing this irregular heartbeat. Those sorts of things help the audience understand the shot’s intention. We did a lot of subtle warping and chromatic aberrations. We worked with the colorist on what that final color would look like.” The camera format ranged from GoPros, Sony FX30, DJI drones, ARRI ALEXA LF and [ALEXA] Mini. “Generally, the security camera was the cheaper smaller cameras buried on set,” Faden remarks. “Sometimes, we would have to remove them.” Outer-space establishing shots of Mining Station Aratake and Port FreeCommerce were done in 3D. “If you move the camera too much in space, everything looks small, and the space stations are large,” Faden states. “There is movement. I’m sure there were
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TELEVISION/STREAMING
TOP TO BOTTOM: Extensive animation tests were conducted for the worms. (Image courtesy of Sean Faden and Apple TV+) Alexander Skarsgård (Murderbot) was a willing collaborator with the visual effects team. The size of the planetary rings in the sky indicates how close the location is to the equator.
matte painting enhancements on top and 2.5D projections on some of these shots. We built the massive mesh spire structure seen in the Port FreeCommerce space station; that [structure] was built in 3D because we have it in a few different angles and shots. We went on scouts, took pictures of some universities in Toronto, and did quick Photoshop paint-overs with these large meshes to represent the sky. It was supposed to feel 3D-printed by little flying bots that would create these massive meshes, and the meshes were a part of the spires, and the spires were bored out of these asteroids. People live in buildings built into those spires.” No atmospherics exist in space. “Because this was based on an asteroid being mined, there’s always some amount of dust close to the surface of this thing, and at the end of every one of the spires, we have an atmosphere exhaust,” Faden explains. “Those allowed us to play with the lighting. We have a lot of small lights within the actual space station. If you look at some of the shots in the final episode, I said to Pixomondo, ‘What if the light is clear at this moment because there’s no atmosphere? Then, as a ship rotates through the dust, you get a flare or atmospheric scattering of the light.’ I had landed at LAX on a particularly foggy night and put my iPhone to the window as our plane was taxiing around the runway. You see all the flashes and light play in the background. There is so much variety in the color of light. We used a lot of that for some of the final shots with the strobe lights you have at an airport.” Window shots are plentiful. “The Habitat had a large backdrop, which worked sometimes through the windows,” Faden states. “There were shots where you had to see the full Hopper or more detail through the windows, so we would do a full replacement on those. Because the windows of the Habitat were cloudy by design, you got a sense that there was something out there. The Hopper, however, was a massive LED wall [20 panels by 60 panels]. That footage was mostly based on two days of filming in Utah. I went there with a small crew and shot drone footage in Moab. That
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location served as the PreservationAux [a scientific research organization that purchases Murderbot] world or anything close to where our heroes were living. We also did the same thing with drones for the areas around Toronto for Episode 103, where they land in the river, and for Episode 106, where they crash-landed.” “We sent the plates to Fin Design + Effects in Australia to do rapid prototype treatments,” Faden remarks. “They replaced the skies, added planetary rings and introduced some prismatic effects. This planet has colorful clouds, like fire rainbows. We had one to two-minute clips running on the LED walls that worked for us on 90% of the shots. We had a greenscreen on our LED wall for certain things, like the crash and explosion of the beacon in Episode 105. All Sanctuary Moon [a space opera watched by Murderbot] was heavily based in VAD work. We had a 270-degree curved screen.” Clever visual trickery took place on the virtual production stage. “We did something cool,” McNair reveals. “Because some of our scenes were running two minutes [long] and the loops were two minutes, we built cloud transitions so you could bury the loop if the scene happened to go over the length of footage you had. In a couple of cases, it was successful.” Hostile worms with heads on either end are encountered by PreservationAux while conducting Mining Survey 0Q17Z4Y. Murderbot allows himself to be swallowed to eliminate the threat. “People on the show were like, ‘Can’t this be a CG thing?’” Faden reveals. “We said, ‘We want to see what Alex or a stunt guy is going to do in this moment.’ We mounted a kiddie tunnel with a small crane, so when the crane dropped, so did the tunnel. Once he’s actually in it, we had that same tunnel laying on the ground and grips moving it back and forth; that gave a much more realistic reaction to the stunt performer inside of this moving shape.” Camera equipment was customized for the shot. “Don’t forget the huge 360 rig that we built on the sand to mount a camera so we could get real footage of the spin, which we eventually replaced,”
TOP: The prop department built a full-scale drone, which was influenced by a Dyson Airblade. (Image courtesy of Sean Faden and Apple TV+) MIDDLE AND BOTTOM: Two Hoppers were built and hopscotched their way through different sets because it took too long to take one apart and rebuild again. (Images courtesy of Sean Faden and Apple TV+)
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TOP: Two Hoppers were built and hopscotched their way through different sets because it took too long to take one apart and rebuild again. (Image courtesy of Sean Faden and Apple TV+) MIDDLE AND BOTTOM: Previs and final image of the Hopper smashing up and down on a rogue SecUnit. (Images courtesy of Sean Faden and Apple TV+)
McNair states. “But we had done so many scans and 360 LiDAR of that whole space so we could rebuild it faithfully. Then, having grips swinging around the camera with Alex riding on this huge rig in the middle of a quarry was cool.” Extensive animation tests were conducted for the worms. “We had some good concept art from Sue Chan, but when you start making it for real and knowing how this thing is going to move, lots of stuff has to be changed,” Faden notes. “We had to find our way to make sure we had a worm that was cool-looking, terrifying, and functional at the right scale for the shots. Then, we started animating it. We began with walk cycles and making sure that there was variation in the legs so they didn’t all feel too even. This thing is heavy, so how does it displace the dirt? Little pebbles get kicked out, and bits of dust and displacement are in the ground. When it’s running and going fast, the worm is churning up a lot more volumetric material that obscures some of the legs. There was a lot of back and forth on that once we got a shot to work. We didn’t want it to look like the worm was floating on the ground or to see a leg digging into the ground because that would have looked fake, too. There was a balance between how much volumetric dust and larger pebbles get kicked out. Even the coloring of the worm itself [was a subject of discussion, as was] putting more aging on the belly or treating the plates as if they grow like fingernails. You might not notice it right away, but it feels organic for a creature like this.” The same flying technology are used in the Hopper and drone. “We figured it was like a Dyson Airblade on steroids. This thing is so strong that it can create such a high-pressure system inside of these hoops that it produces a downward thrust,” Faden states. “Our prop department built a full-scale drone. There are moments where the actors have to handle and walk around with it. That was more straightforward because we could scan and match the drone faithfully. A good-size rear third of the Hopper
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was built, but the actual turbines were never constructed. There was no front or back landing gear. It was a lot of CG extension work to build those. However, the on-set piece was amazing. We had two Hoppers that hopscotched their way through our different sets because it took too long to take the Hopper apart and rebuild again. We shot extensive footage of the interior of our Hopper, which was a set on airbags so it could still rock and roll around. That was on our stages, and we had an LED wall in front of it. When we looked out the backdoor, that was either greenscreen or, occasionally, we had some backings that worked.” The helmet of Murderbot posed difficulties. “One of the first things we started to develop was how the helmet could open in a cool way that feels somewhat mechanical,” Faden explains. “We have six or seven shots where the helmet is either opening or closing, which often has a narrative reason; he doesn’t want to talk about ‘this’ anymore or is mad. We would have Alex do his thing, but sometimes it would be decided in post, ‘We want to open the helmet here.’ Or, ‘We want to close the helmet for all of these shots.’ There were a lot of hidden moments that we had to work through to help the edit make sense and make those occasions when he opened a helmet be much more impactful.” Given that the protagonist calls himself Murderbot, blood and gore are unavoidable. “There is one particular death that we think everyone is going to love because it’s so not what you would expect,” McNair laughs. “Having special effects put blood on the wall, then have blood on the ground that we can pull into, but then making up how his arm cannon would kill a human. I imagine that if Chris Weitz were asked what his favorite death was, he would tell you this is it.” Assumptions were made. “We assumed that the arm cannons have a dial to them,” Faden notes. “And a warning blast or ‘you’re dead’ blast! We worked closely with special effects and the prosthetics team to make things we could blow up with blood spray everywhere. We used a lot of that. It was great.”
TOP TO BOTTOM: To reflect Murderbot’s point of view, computer graphics were incorporated into the frame with colors like orange highlighting the important information. Practical sections of the Habitat and Hopper were constructed and digitally augmented in post-production. Concept art exploring the Port FreeCommerce space station, which has been bored out of an asteroid. (Image courtesy of Sean Faden and Apple TV+)
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VR/AR/MR TRENDS
VR/AR/VFX MAGIC SURGES AT THEME PARKS AND OTHER VENUES By CHRIS McGOWAN
TOP: Framestore worked on Samsung’s “A Moon for All Mankind,” the world’s first lunar-gravity simulation VR experience, created in collaboration with NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), using Samsung Gear VR and a custom-built rig. (Images courtesy of Framestore and Samsung) OPPOSITE TOP TO BOTTOM: “SpongeBob’s Crazy Carnival Ride,” which opened in 2024 at Circus Circus Las Vegas, is an immersive interactive ride utilizing extensive VFX designed by Sally Dark Rides. (Photos: Cyril Conanan. Courtesy of Nickelodeon and Sally Dark Rides) Falcon’s Creative Group has partnered with Raging Power Limited, an arm of Hong Kong-based cultural commerce giant K11 Group, to develop innovative virtual sea-life entertainment experiences throughout China. (Image courtesy of Falcon’s Creative Group and TP-AQ Holdings Ltd.) Alpenexpress Coastiality in Germany’s Europa-Park was Mack’s first retrofit VR roller-coaster, upgrading an existing Mack Rides attraction with VR technology. Adding the enhanced-reality VR gives the ride fresh appeal and extends its operational lifespan. (Images courtesy of Mack Rides and Europa-Park)
VR, AR and VFX continue to enhance the range of rides and experiences in North America, Europe and Asia. Theme parks, malls, entertainment centers, museums, aquariums, zoos, cruise ships and various other venues are using digital magic to present new types of gaming, entertainment and educational attractions. Falcon’s Creative Group is an Orlando, Florida-based experience design company that has worked on a wide variety of immersive destinations. “Falcon’s Creative Group continues to expand in size, scope and ambition of our projects. We remain dedicated to innovation within the experience economy, constantly pushing boundaries in storytelling, technology and immersive design,” says Jason Ambler, President of Content Strategy & Innovation for Falcon’s Beyond. “Real-time engines like Unreal have become integral to our process, allowing us to create highly dynamic and interactive experiences. Beyond media-based or interactive attractions, we’re embracing personalized, extended experiences that seamlessly connect digital and physical worlds, redefining how audiences engage with entertainment across both location-based and virtual spaces.” One of Falcon’s efforts is an educational experience for the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida. The zoo commissioned Falcon’s to design and implement a turnkey AR experience for their new “Rainforest Revealed” exhibit. The goal was to educate guests about the seasonal flooding of the rainforest and how the pacu fish play a pivotal role in maintaining the health of the ecosystem. The AR experience was developed utilizing the Unity game engine that communicates with HTC Vive trackers and Lighthouse 2.0 cameras to generate 3D tracking data. The pass-through AR system integrates the real-time virtual content with a live video feed captured from a wireless tablet PC. The AR experience from the tablet is then wirelessly cast to a large external monitor and speaker system.
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Falcon’s also moved the platform forward by designing Falcon’s Vision, the first AR headset specifically designed for location-based entertainment. It debuted inside the National Geographic Museum’s award-winning “Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall” exhibition. “This technology has since continued to evolve, and we’re leveraging it for several upcoming projects. Our focus remains on developing immersive, practical AR applications that enhance guest experiences without disrupting operational efficiency,” comments Ambler. Falcon’s was also a leader in some of the first VR roller-coaster rides. “Several years ago, various operators explored retrofitting attractions with consumer-grade VR and AR headsets which was not ever going to be a sustainable solution in our opinion,” Ambler says. “However, we successfully developed ‘Battle for Eire’ at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, which became the world’s highest-capacity VR attraction. We achieved this by rethinking how and where headsets could be interfaced with, significantly improving both capacity and hygiene. We believe the industry will continue shifting toward more custom, seamless and scalable solutions. We’re seeing more custom applications designed to integrate seamlessly into existing experiences rather than retrofitting rides with consumer-grade hardware. The most successful implementations will be those that balance immersion with operational feasibility.” Ambler notes, “We’re fortunate to be developing both original and licensed experiences. Some of this work includes a joint venture with Raging Power Limited, an arm of Hong Kong-based cultural commerce giant, K11 Group, to develop innovative virtual sea life entertainment experiences throughout China. Additionally, we have a global licensing agreement with The Hershey Company to bring Hershey-themed location-based entertainment venues
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VR/AR/MR TRENDS
TOP TO BOTTOM: Spain’s PortAventura theme park features the “Sesame Street: Street Mission” dark ride from Sally Corp. and Sesame Workshop with animatronic Muppets and thousands of targets in interactive gameplay. (Photo: Gemma Miralda. Courtesy of Sesame Workshop and Sally Dark Rides) “Justice League: Battle for Metropolis” at Six Flags parks mixes animatronics and CG media for an interactive dark ride that utilizes lasers, film elements and interactive gameplay. (Images courtesy of DC Entertainment and Sally Dark Rides) Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, features the “Adler Ski Stadium” ski-jumping experience in collaboration with VR Coaster and the Black Forest Ski Museum. Visitors experience the thrill of ski jumping through a virtual reality simulation. (Images courtesy of VR Coaster and Europa-Park)
to life with experiential attractions and retail experiences. We’re also collaborating with Qiddiya Investment Company on an extensive scope of work focused on the master planning and designing of several first-of-its-kind immersive entertainment projects for Qiddiya City, the world’s first city built for play, near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.” Theme park Europa-Park, a subsidiary of Mack Rides based in Rust, Germany, has some 20 themed areas, around 100 attractions, including shows, and 14 roller coasters. It is also a leader in VR experiences and there are several in Europa-Park and next door in the affiliated Rulantica water park. Marcus Ernst, Project Leader for Mack Research, says, “Alpenexpress Coastiality was our first retrofit VR coaster, meaning we upgraded an existing Mack Rides attraction with VR technology. The goal was to give the ride a fresh appeal and extend its operational lifespan. The success of this approach led to the founding of VR Coaster GmbH & Co., which now offers this technology to theme parks worldwide.” With Eurosat Coastiality, Europa-Park took a step further by incorporating free-roaming VR. Ernst explains, “Guests put on the VR headset in the pre-show, then board the ride without taking it off, seamlessly transitioning into the ride experience. Since 2023, we have been offering a brand-new IP with ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ which includes entirely new VR content.” YULLBE, a free-roaming VR experience center, was the logical next step for Europa-Park, creating a fully digital VR attraction independent of a physical ride. Ernst comments, “With high capacity and minimal space requirements, YULLBE offers immersive experiences for the whole family and represents the cutting edge of VR technology in themed entertainment.” “Dr. G – Victory on Venus” is a VR experience at YULLBE. Developed in cooperation with fivetime Oscar winner Richard Taylor (The Lord of the Rings series, King Kong) and Wētā Workshop artist Greg Broadmore, “Dr. G – Victory on Venus” is a VR adventure that catapults the visitor to Venus where war is raging between the nations of Earth over colonies on our sister planet. Regarding MR, Ernst adds, “Over the past two years, we have been heavily investing in Mixed Reality (MR) as the next evolution of VR. Several attractions now feature MR onboarding using Passthrough MR before transitioning to VR for the main experience. This builds on the ‘roam and ride’ concept pioneered with Eurosat Coastiality.” “We are [also] actively researching Optical See-Through (OST) AR glasses for rides like the Euro-Tower, as well as for Dark Rides and even entire themed areas. Currently in prototype testing, we are optimistic about launching a permanent and large-scale AR experience in the near future,” Ernst says. “The use of VR, AR and MR in theme parks is rapidly expanding, driven by continuous technological advancements.” “SpongeBob’s Crazy Carnival Ride,” which opened in 2024 at Circus Circus Las Vegas, is an interactive, immersive ride utilizing extensive VFX designed by Sally Dark Rides, based in Jacksonville, Florida, which has worked on numerous amusement attractions. “For years, we have been looking for a chance to take Sally Dark Rides interactive gaming to the next level. With the new ‘SpongeBob’s Crazy Carnival’ dark ride, we found the perfect opportunity,” says
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Rich Hill, Sally Rides Chief Creative Officer. “Basing the ride’s ‘story’ around a carnival in the undersea world of Bikini Bottom [where SpongeBob and his friends live] allowed us to play a series of midway games hosted by SpongeBob SquarePants’s incredible cast of characters,” Rich remarks. “Working closely with our friends at Nickelodeon and Ride Media Productions, the games were built in Unity Game Engine. 4K resolution games are displayed on LED video screens and highgain screens with laser projectors. Interactive gaming technology is provided by Alterface, using a proprietary camera-based system that allows us to not only blast objects in the digital environment, but also take the gaming off the screen, affecting practical elements in the show sets.” Rich continues, “For us, VFX has been and will always be an important piece of ride design, as it allows us to give characters who perform in our attractions dynamic action. In the past, those performances would [have been] too expensive to deliver with our animatronics or animated set pieces. [VFX] has proven to be an invaluable tool for creating a full-rounded experience for guests.” “As you can imagine, creating a superhero attraction like ‘Justice League: Battle for Metropolis’ at Six Flags parks would have been almost impossible without the use of digitally animated scenes. We used a nice mix of animatronics and CG media, but we knew animated media would be an important part of the equation,” Rich explains. “A hallmark of a Sally Dark Ride is delivering a perfect blend of practical sets and scenery and visual effects. We want to blow guests away with the feeling of being in a real, tangible setting while experiencing magical things that their eyes can’t believe.” Rich notes, “Augmented Reality is a recent innovation that has a lot of opportunity to develop in the theme park attraction world. Having digital video elements viewed on a transparent display overlaid on practical sets and scenery is kind of the perfect format for a dark ride. While Sally Dark Rides hasn’t created a ride that uses AR yet, we have conceptualized a few, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in rides we build soon.” Tokyo Joypolis is a three-story indoor amusement park in Japan operated by video game heavyweight Sega, and is known for its interactive tech-fueled attractions, including thrill rides with digital enhancements and virtual reality games. One of its attractions is Zero Latency, a multi-player, free-roaming VR game venue. One player can battle zombies, robots or other foes with up to five friends in an immersive shoot-’em-up using cutting-edge headsets and VR technology. With 100+ venues across 25+ countries, Zero Latency, based in Melbourne, Australia, is the largest free-roam VR network in the world and has been played by more than four million players worldwide, according to the firm. Framestore has worked on many immersive theme-park projects, such as “Jumanji: The Adventure” at Gardaland, Italy. “Jumanji: The Adventure” marked the first Jumanji ride created in a new partnership between Sony Pictures and Merlin Entertainments. Merlin involved Framestore from the concept stage to design. Guests journey through 12 unique scenes, transporting them into the Jumanji universe with animatronics, immersive screens, projection mapped environments, holographic
“Real-time engines like Unreal have become integral to our process, allowing us to create highly dynamic and interactive experiences. Beyond media-based or interactive attractions, we’re embracing personalized, extended experiences that seamlessly connect digital and physical worlds, redefining how audiences engage with entertainment across both location-based and virtual spaces.” —Jason Ambler, President of Content Strategy & Innovation, Falcon’s Beyond
TOP AND BOTTOM: Falcon’s Creative Group Falcon’s Vision AR headset for location-based entertainment was introduced at the National Geographic Museum’s “Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall” exhibit in Washington, DC in 2019. (Photo: Rebecca Hale. Courtesy of Falcon’s Creative Group and National Geographic)
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TOP TWO: Framestore has worked on many immersive theme-park projects, such as “Jumanji: The Adventure” at Gardaland, Italy. The ride marked the first in a partnership between Sony Pictures and Merlin Entertainments. (Images courtesy of Merlin Entertainments, Framestore and Sony Pictures) BOTTOM: Framestore partnered with Thinkwell Group on “The Twilight Saga: Midnight Ride” at Lionsgate Entertainment World in Hengqin, China, a group VR experience where visitors mount motorcycles to join Jacob Black and his wolfpack on a journey through a forest. (Images courtesy of Framestore and Lionsgate Entertainment World)
illusions and multi-motion ride vehicles. Framestore also worked on Samsung’s “A Moon for All Mankind,” the world’s first lunar-gravity simulation VR experience, created in collaboration with NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), using Samsung Gear VR and a custom-built rig. Framestore also worked with Thinkwell Group on “The Twilight Saga: Midnight Ride” at Lionsgate Entertainment World at Hengqin, China, a group VR experience that sees visitors mount motorcycles to join Jacob Black and his wolfpack on a journey through the forest. The immersive team at Framestore “has been working feverishly on several attractions due in 2025 across a range of attractions and other spaces,” says Framestore Global Head of Immersive Karl Woolley. That includes themed attractions like Universal’s Epic Universe as well as spaces such as museums. “Framestore has been busy with several groundbreaking exhibitions in development around the world,” Woolley notes. “The level at which these exhibits are aiming has reached new heights. Another exciting area of the industry that is growing rapidly is the development of bespoke and unique venue types, which currently don’t fit into any existing category.” “Our Immersive team often operates at the sharp end of innovation,” says Maximilian McNair MacEwan, Framestore Head of Strategic Partnerships. Over the next couple of years, we are excited to flip that and bring some of our big-screen prestige to the theme park industry – think high quality digital humans and recreations of much-loved IPs that are indistinguishable from reality. With breakthroughs in screen technologies, we can now create creatures or elements that feel, convincingly, as though they are in the room with you.” Quite often, it’s not just one breakthrough that enables an idea to come to life – it’s a series of technologies pooled together and combined with artistry to pull off this trickery. MacEwan comments, “We’ve worked with transparent and lenticular screens in the past with ‘Field Trip to Mars’ VR and AR for LBE and ‘Ascend the Wall for Game of Thrones,’ but these technologies are improving and coming down in cost all the time, meaning you’re far more likely to see them deployed for guest experiences.” MacEwan explains, “In the past, guest throughput was a blocker to the adoption of some of these technologies, but with underlying advancements in technology and by leveraging AI, we now have options available to the attractions industry that were previously limited to controlled studio environments. For example, motion capture used to need a lot of expensive equipment and a vast array of technology, servers and cables, but we can now live-track humans and other 3D objects on a much smaller and cost-effective footprint, which, combined with real-time generated visuals, [helps us] do some really amazing things.” “The intersection of real-time technology, immersive media and dynamic guest experiences is evolving faster than ever,” Ambler says. “As we move forward, the key to success will be blending innovation with operational pragmatism – creating experiences that are not only groundbreaking but also scalable and sustainable for years to come.”
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TELEVISION/STREAMING
STREAMING AND VFX: AN EXPANDING GLOBAL COLLABORATION By CHRIS McGOWAN
TOP: The Last of Us (Image courtesy of HBO) OPPOSITE TOP TO BOTTOM: Superman (Image courtesy of Warner Bros.) Ironheart (Image courtesy of Marvel Studios and Disney+) Snow White (Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios)
Streamers continue to command a growing share of TV viewership. Led by YouTube and Netflix, many high-profile releases from the big film and TV studios look to raise the VFX bar this year and in the future. In addition, the vast universe of influencers, podcasters and other creatives on YouTube and elsewhere is greatly expanding the overall use of visual effects. Current and coming soon effects-heavy titles include Snow White, The Electric State, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Tron: Ares, Superman, Wicked: For Good [Part Two], Avengers: Doomsday, The Mandalorian and Grogu, Avengers: Secret Wars, Animal Friends, The Cat in the Hat, Predator: Badlands, Frankenstein (directed by Guillermo del Toro), 28 Years Later and Avatar: Fire and Ash, as well as confirmed series Stranger Things Season 5, Wednesday Season 2, Squid Game Season 3, Ironheart, Star City, Alien: Earth, It: Welcome to Derry, Peacemaker Season 2, Murderbot, Blade Runner 2099 and The Last of Us Season 2. According to the firm’s January 21, 2025, Letter to Shareholders, Netflix finished 2024 with 302 million subscribers worldwide, leading the field. For the year, “Revenue grew 16% and operating margin expanded six points to 27%. Operating income exceeded $10B for the first time in our history. In Q4, revenue increased 16% year over year, helped by 19M paid net adds, while operating income rose 52% year over year. Our Q4 slate outperformed even our high expectations. The Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight became the most-streamed sporting event ever, and on Christmas Day we delivered the two most-streamed NFL games in history,” according to the Netflix shareholder’s letter. “Netflix notched a 14% increase over the previous interval. While some of that was attributable to the two NFL games, calculations showed the streamer’s monthly usage would have
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“Creators are bringing that startup mindset to Hollywood: leaning into new production models, building studios to elevate their production quality and exploring new creative avenues. They are creating a whole new playing field for entertainment and the businesses behind them.” —Neal Mohan, CEO, YouTube been up 11% even if contributions from the games were excluded,” according to Nielsen’s December 2024 The Gauge. “Netflix benefited from its action thriller film Carry-On, which generated 5.2 billion viewing minutes from Dec. 13–29 and achieved the third-most streamed title of the interval. It also received a boost following the Season 2 premiere of Squid Game, which accumulated 4.9 billion viewing minutes in the final week of the interval. It also notched the highest weekly total [measured Monday through Sunday] for any streaming title in 2024.” Also, according to The Gauge, “Prime Video reached a platform best 4.0% share of TV, as it benefited from hosting five NFL Thursday Night Football games, including one on Black Friday during the December interval, as well as from its holiday blockbuster film Red One, which racked up 5.6 billion viewing minutes as the month’s top streaming title. Prime Video also saw success from its new original reality series Beast Games starring YouTuber Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson, with over 700 million viewing minutes accumulated across its first three episodes.” In addition, “Max garnered an 18% monthly viewing increase in December, the largest among all streaming platforms with upticks driven by its deep library of available shows like The Big Bang Theory and Friends, as well as newcomer Dune: Prophecy,” according to The Gauge.
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TELEVISION/STREAMING
TOP TO BOTTOM: The Electric State (Image courtesy of Netflix) 28 Years Later (Photo: Terry Blackburn. Courtesy of Columbia Pictures) Andor (Photo: Des Willie. Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.)
By subscriber totals, the top 10 streamers were Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Max, Paramount+, Hulu, Peacock, Apple TV+, ESPN+ and Starz, according to Digital Trends. Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns Max, said in a February shareholder letter that it added 6.4 million global streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter for a total of 116.9 million subscribers. Fourth-quarter revenue for the streaming segment totaled $2.65 billion, up 5% from $2.53 billion in the same quarter last year. The company said it has a “clear path” to hit 150 million global subscribers by the end of 2026. Amazon Prime has over 200 million subscribers, according to the firm. And Disney+ hit 153.6 million subscribers in 2024, according to Statista and other analysts. Meanwhile, YouTube garnered the largest slice of streaming TV viewing time, 11.1%, in December 2024, according to Nielsen, followed by Netflix (8.5%), Prime Video (4.0%), Disney+ (2.1%), Roku (2.0%), Tubi (1.7%), Peacock (1.6%), Paramount+ (1.4%), Max (1.2%) and Pluto (0.9%). YouTubers are becoming the startups of Hollywood, according to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan in the company’s February 11, 2025, blog post. He comments, “Every thriving industry needs a healthy startup culture. Creators are bringing that startup mindset to Hollywood: leaning into new production models, building studios to elevate their production quality and exploring new creative avenues. They are creating a whole new playing field for entertainment and the businesses behind them.” Mohan continues, “Last November, I attended the opening of Alan Chikin Chow’s 10,000-square-foot studio in Burbank. It was a bold, fun and colorful space filled with cutting-edge equipment that produces incredible entertainment watched by millions around the world.” Chow is an American actor, digital creator, producer, writer and influencer. He is one of the highest-ranking YouTube shorts creators with over 82 million subscribers (as of
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March 3) and the creator of the YouTube series Alan’s Universe. Mohan adds, “This isn’t just happening in Hollywood. Kinigra Deon is building a studio in Birmingham, Alabama, and last November the creators behind channels Mia Plays and Kouman opened their studio in North Vancouver.” Mohan says, “As we look ahead, we’ll continue investing in AI tools that empower creators and artists throughout their creative journey. Last year, we rolled out Dream Screen and Dream Track which generate image backgrounds, video backgrounds and instrumental soundtracks for Shorts. We’ll continue investing in these features, including integrating Veo 2 into Dream Screen soon.” He adds, “As impressive as the generative models are, creators tell us they’re most excited about the ways AI can help with their breadand-butter production. That’s why we’re investing in tools to help them in the everyday work of creation, like coming up with a new video idea, title or thumbnail.” Mohan continues, “For more and more people, watching TV means watching YouTube. On average, viewers are watching over [one billion] hours of YouTube content on TVs daily, and TV is now the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S. But the ‘new’ television doesn’t look like the ‘old’ television. It’s interactive and includes things like shorts – yes, people watch them on TVs, podcasts and live streams alongside the sports, sitcoms and talk shows people already love.” Corridor Digital is an independent L.A.-based production studio known for creating pop-culture-related viral online short videos. It has also produced and directed the web series Rush: Inspired by Battlefield and the YouTube Premium series Lifeline. It has also made television commercials for various companies, including Google. Corridor Digital is another example of YouTube helping to expand production and post-production. Because of YouTube and other platforms, a substantial new arena for VFX has emerged. Corridor Digital Co-Founder and
TOP TO BOTTOM: Tron: Ares (Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios) Squid Game (Image courtesy of Netflix) Wednesday (Image courtesy of Netflix)
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TELEVISION/STREAMING
TOP TO BOTTOM: Wicked: For Good (Image courtesy of Universal Pictures) Murderbot (Image courtesy of AppleTV+) Peacemaker (Image courtesy of HBO Max)
Creative Director, Niko Pueringer, comments, “YouTube creates a market for teams that can deliver a complete product top-tobottom. While the traditional media industry is composed of many specialists working together, YouTube is a different beast. If you can deliver a finished product and include VFX as part of your skillset, you can stand out. In that way, it has created an additional market for effects, but not in the same way a film creates specialized VFX artist jobs.” The tools used on YouTube for VFX are “all the same ones used in traditional production. Resolve, Blender, Nuke, Fusion, Houdini, After Effects, etc. As an artist, you have to be willing and able to pick up new tools as they develop and evolve,” Pueringer says. In trends of VFX usage on YouTube, Pueringer notes, “As more and more people unlock powers of 3D animation and image manipulation, I’m seeing a trend away from polished cinematic content and towards personal unique visions and concepts that were previously too niche – and too expensive – to be brought to life in the traditional system. VFX are losing its high barrier to entry, and video creators are seeing a bloom of visual styles because of it. Educational videos now have incredible motion graphics, and many artists that may have struggled for recognition now have a personal brand and audience.” Of course, the big streamers are altering the VFX landscape in more sophisticated and cutting-edge ways. Matt Aitken, Head of VFX at Wētā FX, comments, “The advent of streaming has opened up a host of new opportunities for Wētā FX to create high-quality digital visual effects. Prior to streaming, we were unable to contribute to series-based work, as the budgets weren’t there to support our involvement. But with the movie and episodic work we are now undertaking with our many streaming clients, we get to work on a much wider range of projects. Our three Emmy wins to date underscore that we approach this work with the same level of commitment as we do our work for cinema release.” Regarding current trends experienced by streamers, Aiken explains, “Our work in the streaming space is subject to the same trends as our more traditional work: greater complexity of the visual effects work, a push for high quality, particularly
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“YouTube creates a market for teams that can deliver a complete product top-to-bottom. While the traditional media industry is composed of many specialists working together, YouTube is a different beast. If you can deliver a finished product and include VFX as part of your skillset, you can stand out. In that way, it has created an additional market for effects, but not in the same way a film creates specialized VFX artist jobs.” —Niko Pueringer, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Corridor Digital in the digital performance and simulation spaces, and reduced budgets. Interestingly, a trend that was initially more common in the streaming space, delivering final frames at 4K resolution, is now more widespread across our projects for cinema release as well.” Aitken sees the outlook for streamers and VFX studios in 2025 and 2026 as positive. He says, “There is a lot of high-end work being discussed, and there are opportunities to partner with key creatives to support them bringing their ideas to the screen and engaging with audiences on a global scale. We are excited to continue those collaborations.” On the globalization of production and VFX, Aitken says, “I don’t think that streaming is increasing the globalization of production and VFX in and of itself. That being said, we work with crew across multiple time zones on most of our projects, including for streaming platforms, where leveraging the benefits and mitigating the challenges is core to delivery. Ultimately, we see this global trend as a positive: our creative hubs in Melbourne and Vancouver have brought talented artists into the Wētā FX family that we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work with otherwise.” Wētā FX is currently in post-production on visual effects work for seven projects in the streaming space. Aitken notes, “Not all of those are announced yet, but we are very excited to be working again with Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann and the team at HBO Max on Season 2 of The Last of Us.”
TOP TO BOTTOM: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures) Frankenstein (Image courtesy of Netflix)
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[ ON THE RISE ]
Talent in Action
Georgina Cunningham Show-side Senior VFX Coordinator VES Member: Since Fall 2024 VES benefit most enjoyed: Q&A sessions with VFX filmmakers
Kate Xagoraris Houdini Generalist, FX Artist, Professor and VES Board Member VES Member: One year VES benefit most enjoyed: The VES Summer Party
Originally from Adelaide, Australia, Georgina recently relocated to London, ready to bring her expertise to high-profile projects across the globe. Most recently, she wrapped up work on A Minecraft Movie for Warner Bros. Pictures in Wellington, New Zealand. Georgina’s love for film sparked during her early days working at her local cinema at the height of blockbuster VFX spectacles like Avatar, The Avengers and the Harry Potter franchise. This passion led her to pursue a Bachelor’s degree during which she landed an internship at Rising Sun Pictures (RSP). From there, she started as a receptionist at local post-house KOJO, steadily climbing the ranks in post-production before heading to Sydney to work on Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway with Animal Logic. One of the standout moments in her career so far has been working on George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. From the vast landscapes of central Australia during production to the intricate world of post-production, she played a key role in streamlining the VFX delivery with the DI team – a two-and-a-half year experience she considers a career highlight. In the fast-paced world of visual effects, Georgina loves problem solving, ensuring that complex challenges are met with creative and efficient solutions all the way through to delivery. She believes that adaptability and clear communication are just as crucial as technical expertise in keeping productions running smoothly. For those eager to break into the industry, she offers this advice: “Every colleague is a mentor, from a VFX PA to a VFX Supervisor – everyone has something to teach and equally something to learn. Never be afraid to ask questions and always stay curious.” Outside the VFX world, Georgina finds joy in cooking, dog-sitting and indulging in her favorite film genre – romantic comedies.
Born and raised in Dundas, Ontario, Canada, Kate is now a full-time visual effects artist living in Toronto. Her interest in visual effects stemmed from watching Stargate SG-1 and its sequel series as a kid. This fascination grew, and she started to draw layouts of the sets and worlds the characters would travel to throughout the series. This led to her academic track in animation programs and graduating from Humber College’s 3D animation program in 2019. However, it was entirely by accident that her life turned to visual effects. By chance, in an animation class, a professor showed her a previous student’s reels using SideFX’s Houdini. From there, Kate was hired directly out of college and worked at various animation and visual effects studios over the next few years. Some highlights of her career have been working on HBO’s Raised by Wolves Season 2, The Boys Season 2, 1923 Season 2 and Nightmare Alley. “The shots that I’m the most proud of were when I worked on Raised by Wolves, and my job was to do all of the main character’s landing effects. We were on a crazy-tight deadline, and I knew the builds were complex. Still, I didn’t realize how complex it was until a few of the shots were reassigned to other artists on the show then quickly reassigned with an apology from the production staff, as I had assumed it was an easy build to pick up or replicate.” “My advice for artists looking for their big break is that networking will matter more than anything. Find your favorite social space where you can build a following, go to events, look at what’s being created in the visual effects community and what is not being created. Then brainstorm something original you can bring to the table regarding skill, talent and creations.” Kate’s favorite pastime is cosplaying at festivals and creating graphics for techno artists. She is also working on her book, CGI: Canadian Generated Imagery, on the history of VFX in Canada.
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[ THE VES HANDBOOK ]
Using the LED Wall as a Direct Reflection Lighting Tool By JEREMY HOCHMAN, Megapixel VR, and CHUCK EDWARDS, NBCUniversal Edited for this publication by Jeffrey A. Okun, VES Abstracted from The VES Handbook of Virtual Production Edited by Susan Zwerman, VES and Jeffrey A. Okun, VES
Figure 23.2 Car process using LED wall and flying LED panels Source: (Image courtesy of NBC/Universal)
One of the first and most dramatic set designs to explore reflections with virtual production was Oblivion (2013). A futuristic apartment was surrounded by walls of glass revealing a panoramic apocalyptic world. Most impressive was the deliberate reflective nature of furnishings, flooring, and construction materials. Accomplished using projection screens, this groundbreaking film showed how reflections carefully leveraged in VP can amplify the dramatic impact and immersion of the audience into the environment on screen. The source location of the reflected image is key. The existing LED wall image in the frustum may provide the proper source location. More challenging situations are sets that feature glossy curved shapes like vehicles or other vertical and/or complex curved reflective surfaces. In most cases, the reflections on these will need to come from LED panels that are outside of the frustum. Careful shot planning is needed to provide sources for these reflections and avoid unintentionally capturing the camera and crew on these surfaces. A common VP scene is a car process shot. After the camera location is selected and the vehicle and LED wall are positioned to accommodate the frustum, an additional flying LED panel is frequently rigged to be hung over the car and positioned at the
correct location and angle to create the additional reflections needed. Unlike a simple LED ceiling, these will generally NOT be in a horizontal orientation. These flying LED panels may need to be quite large (10 to 15 feet or more) to provide coverage of the vehicle’s full length to create a complete reflection. Another benefit of flying LED panels is the content and position of the reflections on the vehicle can be adjusted for the camera by repositioning of the panels. Convex or concave reflective surfaces can act as unintentional optics, in some cases magnifying the reflected image and making the pixels of the LED panels visible in camera, creating a moiré effect in the captured image. Car windshields are a common convex reflection that can create this problem. A proven technique to solve this is the placement of a thin diffuser a few inches in front of the flying LED Panel. This diffuses the LED panel image, eliminating the detail of individual pixels and giving the impression the image is slightly out of focus due to the depth of field. Adding diffusion in front of the panels also enables the use of lower-resolution LED panels with larger pixel spacing without the concern of moiré effects For low-detail reflections, consider if stage light(s) may be a better alternative. A simple example is a cop car effect on wet pavement. LED panels do not have the same intensity and beam structure as practical light. A stage light off-camera may do a better job of creating this effect. Creating the reflections of an off-camera overhead sodium vapor streetlight is another example. Several LED light fixtures feature zonal color as well, allowing them to make low-resolution chases and other color patterns. For low-detail situations in VP, these may be better choices than using additional LED panels that may not be able to reproduce the light intensities or beam structure needed for the effect. In many cases, a stage light, or series of stage lights, can provide a better approximation. Another example was a production using LED walls for a car process shot and stage lights directed to light the talent inside the vehicle. The background plate on the LED wall also created direct reflections on the car hood, while the stage lights were used to vary the lighting of the passengers inside the vehicle to reproduce the illusion of changing lighting conditions caused by passing trees, buildings, overpasses and other shadows the vehicle passed through.
Order yours today! https://bit.ly/VES_VPHandbook
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[ VES SECTION SPOTLIGHT: TEXAS ]
Galvanizing the VFX Community – Deep in the Heart of Texas By NAOMI GOLDMAN
TOP TO BOTTOM: VES Texas members take an exclusive tour of Trilogy Studios. VES Texas members and guests host a festive happy hour in Dallas/Ft. Worth. VES Texas members assemble for a spring member recruitment night in Austin.
The Visual Effects Society’s global presence gets stronger every year – and so much of that is because of our regional VFX communities and their work to advance the Society and bring people together. Established in January 2024 as our 16th Section, the VES Texas Section is thriving with 75 members, and cites the diversity of its membership as a strength and underpinning of its unique culture. “Texas is not really a hub of VFX for entertainment, but we’re trying to change that,” said Colin Campbell, Digital Compositor and Founding Chair of the VES Texas Section. “Visual effects companies in Texas are few and far between with only a few entrepreneurial start-ups scattered around the state. We have a chance to change that with our business-friendly incentives and tax structure, lower cost of living and now with the creation of our Texas Section of the VES – all of which make Texas a prime location for VFX production.” “I was born and raised in Fort Worth and remember what it was like in 1980s/90s with shows like Dallas and Walker, Texas Ranger at the heart of massive production here,” said Will Nicholson, VES Texas Section Board of Managers member and Visual Effects Supervisor on The Chosen. “While I’ve done a lot of work outside of Texas over the last 30 years of my visual effects career, I’d love to see more production come home to Texas.” “Given that we are not yet that entertainment-centric region for visual effects, our members encompass college educators from the University of Texas at Dallas and Texas A&M, professionals using VFX in architectural visualization and aerospace, as well as those working in games, film and TV,” Campbell said. “Assembling our foundational members from a spectrum of industries makes it all the more validating that we achieved Section-hood and have built our VES regional community.” It was a dream of numerous VFX professionals in the region to establish a VES Texas Section. With the support of Tim McGovern, VES, longtime Chair of the VES Committee for Outreach to Developing Regions, Campbell and other members galvanized an enthusiastic new member recruiting push in Fall 2023 when they learned they were close to the needed 50-member threshold to petition and be granted a charter. It’s a point of pride for Texas Section leaders that the petition had 62 members sign on as it was formally established. “I was a founding member of a nonprofit called A Bunch of Short Guys – which was a group originally organized to make a short film – and it was very successful bringing together VFX artists, animators, game developers and students,” Nicholson said. “Establishing our VES Section was a smart next step to bring the well-established global Society to Texas and grow a network on a more professional level.” The VES Texas Section spans a broad geographic reach across the state. The majority of its members work and live in Dallas; its second hub covers South Texas, with a bulk of members in Austin, as well as professionals in Houston, San Antonio and College Station.
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In its first 18 months, VES Texas held a number of happy hours and pub nights to spur member recruitment and foster a sense of community. They participated in the VES Awards nominations events – in January 2024, as they were newly established, and in 2025, as part of the Central Time Zone panels along with members from Chicago and Tennessee. They also held a 23rd Annual VES Awards watch party at Corgan headquarters, thanks to Section member Ludovick Michaud. The Section held a dynamic virtual demo on AI workflow featuring VES Texas member Alan Chan, CG veteran and expert on game cinematics at Blizzard Entertainment. Moving forward, the Section would like to hold more unique workshops featuring the expertise of Section members, such as the use of VR technology to explore the impacts on Alzheimer’s disease – a project being spearheaded by a founding member. And VES Texas held their first-ever screening (Gladiator II) at the end of 2024, thanks to the generosity of the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), which provided their screening room with state-ofthe-art sound and laser projection, free of charge. “The University has been a great collaborator and is interested in growing their animation and filmmaking programs, so an association with the VES is a win-win for us both,” Campbell said. “I believe we are the first Section to get screenings up and running in the first year. This is largely due to the efforts of our member, Nelson Lim, a professor at the University who championed this effort. We are now working to identify venues and sponsors in our Austin/South Texas hub, and are committed to creating a robust VES experience for all of our Section members.” VES Texas has also had a presence at area events to increase its visibility and reach, including the Texas Production Expo, sponsored by the Dallas Producers Association, and other Universityhosted panels offering career advice to graduating students. The Section is exploring future opportunities to be a part of panel conversations about VFX in “Texas: Present and Future” and forums that would help shine a light on the industry and the potential to create jobs and contribute to economic growth. “Moving forward, I would love to see us host some events that focus on bringing Gen AI into our industry,” Nicholson added. “I know it’s a complex subject, but it also feels inevitable; so let’s delve further to see how our industry can best embrace and benefit from AI, learning from people who already are using it and developing the tools.” “My viewpoint on working in this industry is to leave it better than I found it,” Campbell said. “If I can use my position to advocate for our industry and help spur more options for students and the next generation to work in VFX here at home – I will have accomplished that. I’m excited about our ability to educate civic leaders on the rich workforce potential of VFX and animation and help to foster a cohesive and viable regional industry.” Reflecting on his 20+ years as a VES member, Campbell shared: “Because of the VES, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with VFX professionals from around the world, and that exposure is a great joy. Here in Texas, many people have migrated to the region because of the quality of life and cost of living, but the trade-off
often meant leaving their artist circles behind. The VES has given some of that community back, and we have a bright shared future.” “The key to understanding our Section is embracing why people move to Texas – we embody the spirit of Texas, a maverick mentality that means we will always find ways to do what needs to be done,” Nicholson said. “VES Texas can be that place that assembles the best ideas of how to build our industry up across the state, and we will end up being some of the big innovators shaping the future of our industry.”
TOP TO BOTTOM: VES Texas members gather for a celebratory 23rd Annual VES Awards Watch Party at Corgan HQ in Dallas. VES Texas hosts its spring member recruitment night in Dallas/Ft. Worth. VES Texas hosts an exclusive screening of Wicked at the University of Texas at Dallas.
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[ VES NEWS ]
VES Takes the Stage at FMX By NAOMI GOLDMAN In May, the VES continued its partnership with FMX by participating in the 29th edition of FMX/Film & Media Exchange in Stuttgart, Germany, one of the premier international conferences dedicated to animation, effects, interactive and immersive media. Congratulations to VES Fellow Paul Debevec, VES, Chief Research Officer at Netflix’s Eyeline Studios, for serving as Program Chair for this year’s Rhythm of Change conference. VES Board Chair and SideFX President Kim Davidson moderated a dynamic panel on “The Secrets of Award-Winning Teams.” From evolving technology to shifting budgets and team dynamics, this group shared insider tips for achieving VFX excellence amidst change. Expert panelists included VES Award winners: Johnny Han, Emmy-nominated VFX Supervisor & 2nd Unit Director, HBO; Danielle Immerman, VFX Producer, Wētā FX; and Javier Menéndez Platas, VFX Supervisor, PFX. VES also hosted the panel, “Embracing Evolution in VFX – Skill Development and Collaborative Innovation,” which explored the necessity of upskilling and thinking outside the box to remain nimble in changing markets. Joining the exclusive conversation were: Christina Caspers-Roemer, Managing Director, TRIXTER GmbH; Heike Kluger, VFX Supervisor; and Esther Trilsch, Sr. Character TD, SideFX. The panel was moderated by VES Executive Director Nancy Ward. Ward also served as a panelist for the “Creative Resilience: Women Redefining Success in Animation and VFX” session, which brought together women from diverse fields to share their insights in navigating the industry. Joining the panel were Kader Bagli, Lead Compositing Artist, RISE Visual Effects Studios; Debra Coleman, Leadership Coach, Career Coach, VFX Coach/Subject Specialist, Open Frame Coaching; Carolyn Giardina, Senior Entertainment Technology & Crafts Editor, Variety; and Saraswathi Vani Balgam, CEO & Creative Director, Dancing Atoms.
BOTTOM LEFT: Industry experts led engaging panels on animation, VFX and digital media. BOTTOM RIGHT: FMX attendees check out the latest in immersive technologies.
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Society Celebrates New Section Leaders Our VES Section Board of Managers is the backbone of our global community, providing the regional leadership that keeps our industry connected and thriving. Congratulations to the newly elected leaders of 15 of our Sections around the world – with one more election ahead for VES India. We appreciate your passion, commitment and volunteer excellence! VES Australia Aditya Talwar, Chair Lukas Sarralde, Vice Chair Dylen Velasquez Salazar, Treasurer Aalisha Kumar, Secretary VES Bay Area Jeffrey Johnson, Chair Michael Conte, Treasurer Daniel Cavey, Vice Treasurer Katharine Baird, Secretary VES France Quentin Martin, Chair Alexandra Batina, Vice Chair Clément Germain, Treasurer Romain Joly, Vice Treasurer Bastien Chauvet, Secretary Sebastien Fauchere, Vice Secretary VES Georgia David “DJ” Johnson, Chair Tasha Carlson, Vice Chair Hari Prasath Sundaresan, Treasurer VES Germany Agon Ushaku, Chair Jonas Kluger, Vice Chair Christine Resch Vice Chair Matthias Buehler, Treasurer Rico Dober, Secretary VES India Election pending at time of publication VES London Gianluca Dentici, Chair Charles Chorein, Vice Chair Jimmy Zhu, Treasurer Alternate Charles Chorien, Vice Treasurer Devrishi Chatterjee, Secretary
VES Los Angeles Therese Patten-Koeckert, Chair Brian Gaffney, Vice Chair Sarah McGrail, Treasurer Chris Schnitzer, Vice Treasurer Ihimu Ukpo, Secretary
VES Washington Eric Greenlief, Chair Ted (Edward) Helmers, Vice Chair Justin Woodard, Treasurer Matt Brunner, Secretary
VES Montreal Eric Bourque, Chair Anthony Tan, Treasurer Gavin Graham, Secretary VES New York Aryeh Reisner, Chair George Jimenez, Vice Chair Sam O’Hare, Treasurer Bjorn Ahlstedt, Vice Treasurer Natalie Palumbo, Secretary VES New Zealand Rachel Copp, Chair Brian Starr, Treasurer Neil Dodgson, Secretary VES Oregon Holly Webster, Chair Anthony Barcelo, Vice Chair Rob Blau, Treasurer Michael Cordova, Secretary VES Texas Colin Campbell, Chair Joseph Hall, Vice Chair Nelson Lim, Treasurer Mark Nazal, Secretary Michael Cosner, Vice Secretary VES Toronto Laurence Cymet, Chair Amanda Heppner, Vice Chair Ray McMillan, Treasurer Jo Hughes, Secretary VES Vancouver Kelsy Wittmann, Chair Fred Chapman, Vice Chair Anna Snizkova, Treasurer Jo Ann Belen, Secretary
TOP TO BOTTOM: VES members around the world connect at local events organized by Section Board of Managers.
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[ FINAL FRAME ]
The Visual Effects of the Limitless Imagination
For decades, traditional movie sets were the chaotic, beating heart of filmmaking – crowded, unpredictable and often plagued by logistical nightmares. Today, as virtual production takes center stage, those sprawling, congested sets are becoming relics of the past. The shift from physical to digital environments isn’t just a technological upgrade – it’s a fundamental reinvention of the filmmaking process, offering VFX producers, directors and artists a level of creative control that was once unimaginable. Younger industry professionals may not fully appreciate the sheer scale of old-school film sets – massive physical builds, labyrinthine lighting setups, and a small army of grips, camera operators, set designers and actors all maneuvering in tight quarters. Location shoots compounded the chaos with unpredictable weather, costly travel and the logistical headache of large-scale set construction. Now, virtual production is rewriting the rules. Towering LED volume walls have replaced cumbersome backdrops, allowing real-time digital
environments to create photorealistic worlds without ever leaving the stage. Greenscreens? They’re fading into history. Directors, cinematographers and other crew members can fine-tune lighting, camera angles and scene composition with pinpoint precision, while VFX artists have greater flexibility to innovate and integrate effects seamlessly in collaboration with directors. (See “From Set to Pixels” article on page 30.) Beyond its creative advantages, virtual production is also revolutionizing budgets. The need for extensive location shoots is shrinking, reducing travel expenses and minimizing costly set builds. While practical sets still have their place for certain effects and intimate performances, there’s no denying the industry is charging into a new era – one where technology empowers storytelling, streamlines workflows and leaves behind the logistical clutter of the past. The future of filmmaking isn’t just digital – it’s dynamic, efficient and built for the limitless imagination of modern VFX.
The filming of MGM’s The Next Voice You Hear in 1950 courtesy of Hulton Archive – Getty Images. The Mandalorian image courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney+.
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