So, here is the recipe

When thinking about VFX, the average cinemagoer probably thinks “Computers make everything and the actors are standing in front of a green cloth nowadays”.
We have discussed in a past post about how studios know this perception and are marketing accordingly.

Before we explore further, I’d like to start with the analogy that VFX, and more specifically compositing, is like cooking.
You could be a top chef, but if your ingredients are not top quality then the recipe won’t taste great.

Let’s follow the White Rabbit and see.

So Alice is accompanied by two, clearly, CG characters.
We can see the set on top where actually she is not alone, but the actors use suits to resemble the final characters. Later they are going to be fully replaced, but the actress has them on set so she can actually act.

Here is a little secret: Having them dressed in green doesn’t help anything. We can safely spill the beans in one of our classrooms.

Moving on to Pinocchio, the Italian one :

Before :

And after VFX work:

Someone watching the movie could expect that Pinocchio’s wooden skin is digital work, but in reality, the digital work is only the extended nose. Make-up, on set, works hand-in-hand with VFX for this result.

For the fans of the show The Boys, there is an impressive and gruesome scene involving a whale.

Watch it here first.
Back? Good, here is the actual set :