VFX Legion Breakdown Reel/'Black Christmas'
- 4 years ago
'Black Christmas,' Blumhouse Productions' holiday horror film, tapped the talents of VFX Legion's global team of artist for a wide range of CG effects.
Shot in New Zealand, The University of Otago was transformed into the fictitious Hawthorn College in small-town America. Snow, an essential element of the film’s seasonal setting, was fabricated during the production but fell short of the authentic look director Sophia Takal envisioned. VFX Legion met the challenge, digitally transforming the exterior footage into a realistic winter-white environment.
“We created snowflakes with variations in size and animated them to fall in a very art directed way to match the practical snow,” says Hattin. “Our artists fabricated high-resolution, 3D snowflakes using Nuke’s advanced particle system. The color of the flakes was adjusted to compensate for lighter and darker backgrounds.”
“Our biggest challenge was finding a look for the snow that blended with the practical snow to create seamless final shots with a real-world feel,” adds Hattin.
VFX Legion’s matte painters added 3D snow on trees, front yards, streets, the mountainous background, and other elements. Some of the details dealt with digitally included adding the textures left by footprints and creating natural-looking accumulations of snow.
A subtle reddish glow was added to the pupils of the protagonist's eyes. Developed by the director and editor, the effect created a distinctly evil look, clearly differentiating him from the general population.
A computer-generated arrow was created using Maya, which was also used to light and animate the look and velocity of the projectile. Tracking artist Ruy Delgado matched the stunt arrow’s trajectory with the camera moves.
CREDITS
Feature Film: Black Christmas
Client: Blumhouse Productions
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Slasher Film
PRODUCTION COMPANIES::
Blumhouse Productions
Producer: Jason Blum
Divide/Conquer
Producers: Ben Cosgrove, Adam Hendricks
Executive Producers: Greg Gilreath, Zac Locke, Adam Hendricks
Director: Sophia Takal
Screenplay: Sophia Takal, April Wolfe
Editor: Jeff Betancourt
First Assistant Editor: Jason Sacharoff
Cinematographer: Mark Schwartzbard
Line Producer: Chloe Smith
VISUAL EFFECTS by: VFX Legion LA/B.C.
Visual Effects Supervisor: James David Hattin
CG Supervisor: Rommel S. Calderon
VFX Producer: Nate Smalley
VFX Executive Producer: Reid Burns
VFX Project Manager: Dylan Yastremski
VFXs Coordinator: Matthew Noren
Tracking Artists: Ruy Delgado
Tracking Artist: Gerald Feather
Digital Matte Painter: Dave Tipper
3D Artist: Blake Anderson
Compositors: Suzette Barnett, Cyntia Buell, Ben Case, Patrick Conaty, Nick Guth,H Haden Hammond, Austin Hise, Allan Torp Jensen, Adam Kelway,Christopher Klassen, Gabriel Köerner, Matthias Lowry, Matthew T. Lynn, Kaell Matias, Brad Moylan, John R. McConnell, Eugen Olsen, Charlie Proctor, Andrés Ramírez
Pipeline Development: Brandon Rachal
Bookkeeping: Michaela O’Brien
Shot in New Zealand, The University of Otago was transformed into the fictitious Hawthorn College in small-town America. Snow, an essential element of the film’s seasonal setting, was fabricated during the production but fell short of the authentic look director Sophia Takal envisioned. VFX Legion met the challenge, digitally transforming the exterior footage into a realistic winter-white environment.
“We created snowflakes with variations in size and animated them to fall in a very art directed way to match the practical snow,” says Hattin. “Our artists fabricated high-resolution, 3D snowflakes using Nuke’s advanced particle system. The color of the flakes was adjusted to compensate for lighter and darker backgrounds.”
“Our biggest challenge was finding a look for the snow that blended with the practical snow to create seamless final shots with a real-world feel,” adds Hattin.
VFX Legion’s matte painters added 3D snow on trees, front yards, streets, the mountainous background, and other elements. Some of the details dealt with digitally included adding the textures left by footprints and creating natural-looking accumulations of snow.
A subtle reddish glow was added to the pupils of the protagonist's eyes. Developed by the director and editor, the effect created a distinctly evil look, clearly differentiating him from the general population.
A computer-generated arrow was created using Maya, which was also used to light and animate the look and velocity of the projectile. Tracking artist Ruy Delgado matched the stunt arrow’s trajectory with the camera moves.
CREDITS
Feature Film: Black Christmas
Client: Blumhouse Productions
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Slasher Film
PRODUCTION COMPANIES::
Blumhouse Productions
Producer: Jason Blum
Divide/Conquer
Producers: Ben Cosgrove, Adam Hendricks
Executive Producers: Greg Gilreath, Zac Locke, Adam Hendricks
Director: Sophia Takal
Screenplay: Sophia Takal, April Wolfe
Editor: Jeff Betancourt
First Assistant Editor: Jason Sacharoff
Cinematographer: Mark Schwartzbard
Line Producer: Chloe Smith
VISUAL EFFECTS by: VFX Legion LA/B.C.
Visual Effects Supervisor: James David Hattin
CG Supervisor: Rommel S. Calderon
VFX Producer: Nate Smalley
VFX Executive Producer: Reid Burns
VFX Project Manager: Dylan Yastremski
VFXs Coordinator: Matthew Noren
Tracking Artists: Ruy Delgado
Tracking Artist: Gerald Feather
Digital Matte Painter: Dave Tipper
3D Artist: Blake Anderson
Compositors: Suzette Barnett, Cyntia Buell, Ben Case, Patrick Conaty, Nick Guth,H Haden Hammond, Austin Hise, Allan Torp Jensen, Adam Kelway,Christopher Klassen, Gabriel Köerner, Matthias Lowry, Matthew T. Lynn, Kaell Matias, Brad Moylan, John R. McConnell, Eugen Olsen, Charlie Proctor, Andrés Ramírez
Pipeline Development: Brandon Rachal
Bookkeeping: Michaela O’Brien