Movie Scenes Before and After Special Effects: 10 Breakdowns
- Film & Television, Visual Effects & VFX Breakdowns
- cleanup, Compositing, Episodic TV, filmmaking, green screen, match moving, movies, Post production, Rotoscopy, Technology, Video Production, visual effects
- January 21, 2021
Most people know a film uses visual effects. Few know how much of what’s on screen was actually there on the day. We looked at ten films and wrote down two things for each: what was filmed on set, and what was added later.
The answers are not always what you’d guess. Some of the most “digital” films were mostly real. Some of the most “real” looking films were mostly digital.
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
On set: About 90 percent of the effects were done practically. The production built 150 vehicles in Namibia. 88 of them survived to the end of filming. The Doof Wagon and its guitar worked for real.
Added in post: About 2,000 effects shots. Iloura made over 1,500 of them. The work covered lighting and time of day, weather, terrain replacement and plate composition. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
2. The Great Gatsby (2013)
On set: Everything was shot in Sydney. The Gatsby and Buchanan mansion exteriors were built on soundstages. The crew shot on Red Epic cameras.
Added in post: Palm trees were removed digitally so the locations looked like Long Island. Mansions along the shore were added later. The film’s visual effects team was nominated for a Visual Effects Society award.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
On set: Bill Nighy wore a motion-capture tracksuit. Stellan Skarsgård played Bootstrap Bill with practical prosthetics. The team planned to add CG to his face but dropped that idea.
Added in post: ILM built the entire crew of the Flying Dutchman in CG. Davy Jones was modelled from a full-body scan of Nighy. The film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. It was ILM’s first win since Forrest Gump.
4. Alice in Wonderland (2010)
On set: About 90 percent of the film was shot on green screen, in 40 days. It was Tim Burton’s first time working that way. Matt Lucas played Tweedledum and Tweedledee in a motion-capture suit, on stilts.
Added in post: Sony Pictures Imageworks enlarged Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen head to three times its size. Lucas’s face was placed on an animated body. The film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. It won for Art Direction and Costume Design.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
On set: Sean Gunn stood in as Rocket and gave actors someone to act against. Vin Diesel gave Groot’s voice and motion capture.
Added in post: About 2,750 effects shots. Framestore built Rocket and Moving Picture Company built Groot. Framestore split Rocket’s fur into two layers, a short fine layer and a longer thick one. MPC put extra work into Groot’s eyes because his face has little movement.
6. Deadpool (2016)
On set: A performer, Andre Tricoteux, wore platform shoes to stand in for Colossus. Stefan Kapičić recorded the voice later.
Added in post: Digital Domain built Colossus completely in CG. The film ended up with 1,500 effects shots, 700 more than planned. 800 of them were finished in the last four weeks. The budget was $58 million, so director Tim Miller held back the Colossus work until the edit was locked. That saved money on footage that might not make the cut.
7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
On set: Actors performed outdoors in motion-capture suits. It was the first time performance capture was used in exterior locations. Up to six actors could be captured at once. Andy Serkis played Caesar.
Added in post: Weta Digital built the apes with a new facial muscle system and a new eye model. The eye work covered movement, tears and pupil dilation. The film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
8. Gravity (2013)
On set: Sandra Bullock’s face was real. It was lit by a box of LED panels that simulated the light of space.
Added in post: About 80 percent of the film is CG. Framestore built the spacecraft, the space station and the Earth, plus most of what surrounds the actors. The opening shot runs about 13 minutes. The film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
9. Interstellar (2014)
On set: The production built large miniatures of the spacecraft. The Endurance model was about 25 ft long. About 150 shots were captured in camera, using projected backgrounds instead of green screen.
Added in post: About 700 effects shots were done in post-production, led by DNEG. The black hole frames took up to 100 hours each to render. The film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
10. X-Men: Days of Future Past, the Quicksilver scene (2014)
On set: Actor Evan Peters was filmed on a harness and treadmill in front of a green screen.
Added in post: Rising Sun Pictures made 29 shots for this one scene. It took about seven months and 70 artists. The film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
Where to see the real thing
Many of these studios release official breakdown videos on their own channels. Search for the studio name plus the film title. Watching the raw plate next to the final frame is the best way to understand what was real.
If you’re planning a project with real and digital elements and want a second opinion, see our work or get in touch. Happy to talk it through.
Which scene surprised you the most? Let us know.
Sources and references
- Wikipedia: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Great Gatsby (2013 film), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Alice in Wonderland (2010 film), Guardians of the Galaxy (film), Deadpool (film), Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Gravity (2013 film), Interstellar (film), X-Men: Days of Future Past.
