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.”
Composting Supervisor: Robert ‘Nick’ Dauphinais
CG Supervisor: Sewang Kim
VFX Artists: Tom Leckie
VFX Artists: Tom McCullough
VFX Artists: David Vincent Piombino
VFX Artists: Brian Benson
VFX Artists: Ben Conner
VFX Artists: Melissa Graff
VFX Artists: Brian Magarian
VFX Artists: Mackenzie Parker
VFX Artists: Ari Reisner
VFX Artists: Anton Tsolov
VFX Artists: Toma Bowen
VFX Artists: Sorie Conteh
VFX Artists: Chad Herrada
VFX Artists: Ryan Leonard
VFX Artists: David Marte
VFX Artists: Grady Campbell
VFX Artists: Eric Gelgand
VFX Artists: Sam Jorgensen
VFX Artists: Russell Mack
VFX Artists: Kevin Quinlan
VFX Artists: Melissa Whitcomb
Matte Painter: Ivan Girard
VFX Editor: Pinar Comezoglu