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 documentarians Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, the directing duo’s first narrative featureChin and Vasarhelyi won an Oscar for their work on Free Solo, 

By Bryan Abrams  |  December 7, 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 Georgia woods. Directed by Elizabeth Banks, Cocaine Bear features human stars Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich and Isiah Whitlock Jr.,

By Hugh Hart  |  February 28, 2023

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Avengers: Infinity War‘s Oscar-Nominated VFX Supervisor Talks Thanos

*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees. 

Avengers: Infinity War, one of the biggest movies in history, found its CGI footing through the collective efforts of 11 different VFX outfits. Visual effects supervisor Kelly Port succinctly sums up the focus for his team at the Los Angeles-based Digital Domain company. Port says, “Basically, all the super depressing scenes were us.”

By Hugh Hart  |  February 20, 2019

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

First Man‘s Oscar-Nominated VFX Supervisor on Building the Biggest LED Screen Ever

*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees. 

Watching Damien Chazelle’s First Man offers the earthbound viewer the chance to realize they don’t have the right stuff finally. For folks of a certain age, becoming an astronaut used to be one of the coolest possible professions, the kind of thing you said you wanted to be when you were little and didn’t know what engineering was.

By Bryan Abrams  |  February 19, 2019

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

First Man‘s VFX Supervisor on Archival Footage, In-Camera Effects & the Biggest LED Screen Ever

Watching Damien Chazelle’s First Man offers the earthbound viewer the chance to finally realize they don’t have the right stuff. For folks of a certain age, becoming an astronaut used to be one of the coolest possible professions, the kind of thing you said you wanted to be when you were little and didn’t know what engineering was. Or math. Or physics. And, most crucially, you didn’t realize how insanely dangerous it is.

By Bryan Abrams  |  October 18, 2018

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

How Avengers: Infinity War‘s VFX Supervisor Created Thanos, Marvel’s Biggest, Baddest Villain Ever

Avengers: Infinity War, the biggest movie in history, found its CGI footing through the collective efforts of 11 different VFX outfits. Visual effects supervisor Kelly Port succinctly sums up the focus for his team at the Los Angeles-based Digital Domain company. Port says, “Basically, all the super depressing scenes were us.” He jokes, “It’s like ‘For the next one, give us something funny to do please,’ because these were really heavy scenes.”

By Hugh Hart  |  May 7, 2018

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Pacific Rim: Uprising‘s VFX Supervisor on Creating 300-Foot Monsters in Photo-Realistic backdrops

When he was a British schoolboy, Peter Chiang used to stand in the local bookstore staring at the covers of science fiction paperbacks and dreaming about fantastical scenarios. “I just loved the imagery,” says Chiang. “I started illustrating space ships and monsters and creatures, growing up on Thunderbirds sci-fi cartoon series here in the UK, and watching Blade Runner, which had a huge impact on my life. I remember thinking ‘I want to do that.'”

By Hugh Hart  |  March 23, 2018

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Why The Walk’s VFX Team Used Largest Amount of Cloud Computing in Film History

Director Robert Zemeckis’s long gestating project The Walk, on Philippe Petit’s once in a lifetime high-wire walk across the Twin Towers of The World Trade Center on August 7th, 1974 finally reached the screen this month, in glorious 3-D utilizing breathtaking visual effects. We spoke to VFX Supervisor Kevin Baillie & VFX Producer Camille Celluci by phone on how the production team was able to re- create in such immense detail both the Twin Towers and the 1974 New York skyline on a tight budget and production schedule,

By  |  October 28, 2015

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

The Martian’s VFX Supervisor on Creating Zero Gravity Without a ‘Vomit Comet’

As The Martian continues its impressive box office run and enjoys some early Oscar buzz, The Credits talks to Richard Stammers, the film's visual effects supervisor and a frequent collaborator with Ridley Scott, about the dual challenge of recreating the Mars landscape and simulating a convincing zero gravity environment without anyone having to get in a “vomit comet”.

You've worked with Ridley Scott before on films like Prometheus?

By  |  October 28, 2015

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Ant-Man VFX Supervisor on the Power of Shrinkage

Jake Morrison, Ant-Man’s VFX Supervisor, talks to The Credits about the challenges of bringing a tiny superhero to life and convincing the audience to come along for the ride, especially when he's riding a flying ant.

You must be happy for people to be able to finally see Ant-Man? I imagine it’s a long process for you?

Yes, I'm looking forward to Friday being the big day.

By  |  July 16, 2015

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

VFX Supervisor Dan Glass on the Vast World Of Jupiter Ascending

When Andy and Lana Wachowski release a picture, moviegoers can rely on it to be a visual experience. In large part, that is because of the talent of their visual effects team, which has been supervised since The Matrix Reloaded by Dan Glass. Glass, who has worked with the Wachowskis on two Matrix films, Speed Racer, and Cloud Atlas, is also credited as the visual effects supervisor for Jupiter Ascending,

By  |  February 10, 2015