Swiss Army Man

VFX BREAKDOWN

Method Studios

Part of the project’s scope involved compositing shots with animals – a bear, a raccoon and birds – some of which meet an untimely demise, with action facilitated through CG gore. In addition to a significant compositing load, the team of nearly 20 artists – which were led by Cruz, Compositing Supervisors Nick Dauphinais and Sandro Blattner, and CG Supervisor Sewang Kim – completed simulations including full ocean replacements, fire and smoke, as well as matte paintings, a 3D bridge and stunt double facial replacements. One of the biggest tasks was making Radcliffe pass for a corpse. The Method team completed clean-up work to smooth out any chest or facial movements caused by breathing, as well as removing any inadvertent blinks.

Method Creative Director and VFX Supervisor Alvin Cruz noted, “The film’s premise is crazy avant garde but rooted in reality. Rather than technical challenges, our biggest hurdle was making these outlandish actions somehow believable. Also, it’s shot anamorphic so the footage is beautiful and cinematic but also somewhat distorted, and we had to match that aesthetic.”

This is a VFX breakdown of one of the scenes.