Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Be Still My Bursting Chest: “Alien: Romulus’s” Oscar-Nominated VFX Team on Finding Fresh Horror for the Franchise

Alien: Romulus Visual Effects Supervisor Eric Barba and FX Designer Alec Gillis bring the past and future together. Set between the events of Ridley Scott’s ferocious opener Alien and James Cameron’s muscular sequel Aliens, Barba, Gillis, and their team fused the tangible, practical horror and decay of the original films with a more modern, rock-and-roll sensibility. The ...

By Jack Giroux  |  February 20, 2025

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“The Substance” of Nightmares: Oscar-Nominated Makeup Effects Master Pierre Olivier Persin on His Terrifying Transformations

Since its release last fall, writer/director Coralie Fargeat’s body horror thriller The Substance has artfully shocked Academy Award voters to the tune of five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Outstanding Actress nominee Demi Moore portrays aging actress Elisabeth, who gets way more than she bargained for after injecting herself with ...

By Hugh Hart  |  February 19, 2025

Interview

Director Special/Visual Effects

Director Wes Ball & Oscar-Nominated VFX Supervisor Erik Winquist on the Groundbreaking Visuals of “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes took the franchise to new heights of photorealism and immersive filmmaking. The groundbreaking series has pushed the envelope in motion capture and beyond, starting with 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes and carrying on through three subsequent films. The latest film, Wes Ball‘s 2024 epic Kingdom ...

By Jack Giroux  |  February 12, 2025

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Oscar-Nominated VFX Supervisor Paul Lambert on Infrared Insanity in “Dune: Part Two”

In the first part of our conversation with Oscar nominee Paul Lambert, the visual effects supervisor of Dune: Part Two emphasized the benefits of utilizing as many of the practical shots as possible to maximize believability. A veteran of more than 25 years, he is aware that his best work may well go unnoticed: “My goal ...

By Su Fang Tham  |  February 12, 2025

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Oscar Nominated VFX Supervisor Paul Lambert on Turning the Worm in “Dune: Part Two”

Just nominated for his fourth Oscar for Dune: Part Two, VFX Supervisor Paul Lambert is a three-time Oscar winner—for Damien Chazelle’s First Man and two of director Denis Villeneuve’s films, Blade Runner 2049 and Dune: Part One. Having now worked on three of Villeneuve’s films thanks to Part Two, he has developed a shorthand with ...

By Su Fang Tham  |  February 11, 2025

Interview

Editor Special/Visual Effects

How “Gladiator II” Editors and the VFX Supervisor Shaped Three Ferocious Scenes

Gladiator II picks up fifteen years following the events of Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator (2000), an epically visceral film from Ridley Scott that not only won five Oscars, including Best Picture at the 73rd Academy Awards but is considered one of the greatest action films in movie history – a ...

By Daron James  |  December 9, 2024

Interview

Composer Director Special/Visual Effects

A Symphony of Success: Emmy Nominees Talk VFX, Composing, and Editing

We had the pleasure of hosting two panels this year—check out our first panel here— ahead of the 2024 Emmy Awards, which will be held live on ABC on Sunday, September 15, from 8-11 ET. For our second panel, our Emmy nominees came from a wide-ranging group of shows—Lessons in Chemistry‘s ace director Millicent Shelton, nominated for ...

By Bryan Abrams  |  August 26, 2024

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

How “Those About to Die” VFX Supervisor Peter Travers Built Rome in 100 Days

Roland Emmerich knows how to destroy worlds. The multi-hyphenate is behind some of the biggest disaster movies in film history, including Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, and Moonfall. But instead of depicting a cataclysm for his latest effort, he’s building an empire for the Peacock series Those About to Die (streaming on July ...

By Daron James  |  July 17, 2024

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“A Quiet Place: Day One” VFX Supervisor Malcolm Humphreys on Conjuring More Detailed “Death Angels”

A Quiet Place: Day One (now in theaters) personalizes its sci-fi mythology by centering the action around a cancer-stricken poet who’s hell-bent on getting a slice of her favorite pizza, alien invasion be damned. Written and directed by Michael Samoski, maker of indie shocker Pig, the prequel casts Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (Us, 12 Years ...

By The Credits  |  July 8, 2024

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

How the Latest VFX Techniques Immersed the “Masters of the Air” Actors in Battle

Masters of the Air, starring Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan, is the latest celebrated WWII epic from Band of Brothers and The Pacific executive producers Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman. The intense drama inspired by the 100th Bomb Group is the most detailed on-screen depiction of B-17 planes ever. The visual effects teams ...

By Kelle Long  |  June 18, 2024

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“Monkey Man” Mask Designer Eddie Yang Gives Dev Patel a Primal Facelift

Dev Patel’s directorial debut, Monkey Man, is a kinetic, deeply felt revenge story set in Mumbai, a world that is rarely depicted with such punishing, propulsive energy and passion. Patel stars as the Kid, an anonymous young man nursing a wound so deep it becomes a source of inexhaustible rage and, ultimately, power. The Kid’s ...

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 25, 2024

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“Iwájú” Visual Effects Supervisor Marlon West on Bringing Afrofuturism to Animation

Disney+ just released an exciting new 6-part animated series called Iwájú, representing the first collaboration with an outside studio in its partnership with Pan-African storytelling company Kugali Media. Kugali’s co-founders created a uniquely African story, which takes place in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria. In fact, every single character that appears in Iwájú is Nigerian.  The series is ...

By Leslie Combemale  |  March 11, 2024

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“Nyad” VFX Supervisor Jake Braver on Digitally Dropping Annette Bening Into the Open Ocean

Diana Nyad would not be denied. Nyad attempted the treacherous endurance challenge of swimming from Cuba to the Florida Keys more times than a white-tip shark. The effort could have killed her—the ocean certainly tried—but ultimately, after multiple attempts, Nyad succeeded, cemented her legend, and now is the focus of Nyad, the new film from ...

By Bryan Abrams  |  December 7, 2023

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“Haunted Mansion” VFX Supervisor Edwin Rivera Gives These New Ghosts a Spectral Charge

The spirits have materialized for Disney’s latest comedy adventure Haunted Mansion. Everyone’s favorite spectral residents, from the hatchet-wielding Bride to the Hatbox Ghost, are coming out of their coffins for a swinging good time. The film fleshes out the skeletal stories of the spooky spirits who haunt Disney theme parks around the world. VFX Supervisor ...

By Kelle Long  |  August 7, 2023

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“Star Trek: Picard” VFX Supervisor Jason Zimmerman on Charting The Series’ Final Course

The legacy of Star Trek lives on through an entertaining trio of shows. Star Trek: Discovery (2017), Star Trek: Picard (2020), and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2023) have brought new cosmic adventures for fans of the beloved franchise while tying back to the mega-narrative of the Star Trek universe, which has been taking viewers ...

By Daron James  |  July 11, 2023

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” VFX Artists on De-Aging Indy

Brad Pitt did it. Robert DeNiro did it. Samuel Jackson, Jeff Bridges, and Will Smith did it, too. Now, 80-year-old Harrison Ford has embraced digital de-aging in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (in theaters now) so he can fight Nazis looking like a 37-year-old version of his iconic action hero. Ford’s cinematic rejuvenation ...

By Hugh Hart  |  July 10, 2023

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

How the “Wednesday” VFX Supervisor Created Thing, Nevermore, and More

The “mysterious and spooky” Addams Family gets revitalized in Tim Burton’s hit series Wednesday, which stars Jenna Ortega as the emotionally reserved child, complete with pigtails, black attire, and a deadpan affect that suggests this youngster is the oldest of souls. The story, from creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, is directed by Tim Burton ...

By Daron James  |  June 29, 2023

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“Dungeon & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” VFX Team on the Owlbear, Talking Corpses & More

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a fantasy nerd’s dream. Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein packed the film with human characters as colorful as the variety of creatures, both animated and practical, that populate its fantastical world. It’s a modern adventure and throwback fantasy film. Crucially, it looks terrific. The world is tangible, ...

By Jack Giroux  |  April 11, 2023

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“Cocaine Bear” VFX Supervisor Robin Hollander on Creating an Ursine Junkie

Cocaine Bear began snorting up viral eyeballs last fall, boosted by a madcap trailer that racked up 18 million views. Now boasting a $28 million opening weekend, second only to M3GAN as 2023’s biggest non-franchise hit, it’s based on the true story of a black bear who discovered a duffel bag of cocaine in the ...

By Hugh Hart  |  February 28, 2023

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

“She-Hulk” VFX Supervisor Josh Galbincea on Creating That Epic Incredible Hulk Callback

Ever since the final episode of season one, fans of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law have been reeling from the last show’s rollercoaster ride and celebrating their love for the season as a whole. Much of the praise has been for the edgy script that consistently centered on female empowerment without sacrificing the expected flamboyant action ...

By Leslie Combemale  |  November 3, 2022