Our main challenge on RIPLEY was taking green screen photography from a small water tank, and transform it into the open waters off the coast of Italy. In this drama driven project, the invisibility of the VFX was paramount.
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TV Series
RIPLEY
Wētā FX
Our main challenge on RIPLEY was taking green screen photography from a small water tank, and transform it into the open waters off the coast of Italy. In this drama driven project, the invisibility of the VFX was paramount.
While a practical boat and props were used on set, our team created digital assets of everything to help keep the VFX undetectable. We digitally recreated the entire environment, simulating gentle ocean ripples, bow wave bubbles and foam in the boat wake; and generated the atmospheric sky and engine smoke.
To create the dynamic motion of open water we utilised a real time GPU based ocean spectra implemented by our RND team. Loki’s airborne spray system, State Machine, automatically simulates and transitions water between different states at varying resolution and scale in a single pass without the need to run them as a secondary pass.
Wind shadow and water current patterns were added using multiple deep-noises to mimic roughness changes on the water surface. To add finer details, Loki's millimetre scale Thin Film Solution helped generate simulations for water running down the boat and off skin. To ensure a realistic water integration we blended the plate boat with our digital model. Additional lighting and reflection passes on the hybrid boat created a connection to the surrounding water.
To tell the visual story and create the realism of Dickie’s wounds, bleeding and bloody clothing as it developed throughout the attack, we took a photographic approach and acted out the sequence on our own practical stage, using identical materials for clothing and props.
Smart vectors were used to track the motion of Dickie’s moving clothing and head, giving us the visceral blood and injuries seen in the final shots.
We shot real fire elements on a replica of the boat’s bow section that were dressed in by our compositors to intercut seamlessly with the original practical onset fire. We also filmed the initial petrol ignition, the moment of the burning rope finally breaking, and were able to use our practical scorched wood to create the charred textures seen after the fire.
As the actor was performing in a fairly shallow pool, in some shots we needed to remove his arms from the water surface and reconstruct his shoulders to maintain the sense that he was in much deeper water. The underwater shots are entirely digital, including a fully CG double of Tom and, a rather dead Dickie.
CREW
Wētā FX