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Author: Lauren Brady

REALTIMERS: Sue Land, VFX Supervisor

If there’s one thing we love more than VFX, it’s our team. In our new series, REALTIMERS, we are showcasing the people behind the pixels to see what makes them tick.

This month it’s Sue, who loves a good script and has a photographic memory (which must come in very handy!) 

Name & job title:
Sue Land, VFX Supervisor.

Where do you fit in? 
As a VFX Supe, I am the creative glue between our client and our inhouse crew.

How did you get your start in the industry?
I was offered a 6 week freelance contract on leaving Art School as an Assistant Graphic Designer at Thames TV. I nearly turned it down as I wanted a staff position, but fortunately decided to take it. At the end of the contract I was made staff and stayed nearly 7 years, learning an important life lesson – take every opportunity that comes your way, you never know where it will lead you.

Your superpower? 
I can eat my body weight in chocolate. I wasn’t a natural, it took years of practice.

What inspires you on the day-to-day?
Good scripts and my crew.

My desert island film is:
Apollo 13. I must have seen it 100 times. The VFX have stood the test of time, and if I was stuck on a desert island it would remind me to never give up.

Your soundtrack whilst working:
Apart from the slow tick tock of an ever approaching deadline, that depends on what I am doing. When I am getting into the mindset of a project – silence. Once in the swing of things anything related to the project I am on, sad I know but it keeps me on topic.

If you could work with anyone who? 
Fred Moore and Ub Iwerks. Why? Google them and you will know why.

If not this, then what? 
This was it. No plan B.

Why REALTIME? 
The opportunity to work again with some old friends who love what they do and that shines through in everything they do.

People would be surprised that… 
I have a photographic memory, mainly with numbers. Now everyone is going to be testing me!!

Advice you’d give yourself if you were just starting out?
Don’t think about what you can’t do, do what you can do and do it very well.

Post-production uncovered: Realtime on A Discovery Of Witches

“Diana’s powers are growing and therefore the magical content increases with each season. That said, the magic must always feel real and grounded to the nature of the show. This season we’re back in the modern era, so the VFX had to feel appropriate to the time and that of a confident, powerful witch.” (Sue Land, VFX Supervisor)

Have a read of this Broadcast article about the work that went into our VFX sequences for the third series of Sky fantasy drama, A Discovery Of Witches.

 

 

Disney’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ sails into ‘Sea of Thieves’

Unveiled during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase at E3 last year, the trailer for RARE games’ ‘Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life’, brings characters from Disney’s much-loved ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise into the fold in the ultimate pirate cross-over! CG Society took a plunge into the making of the trailer with the help of our incredible games team. Read the piece here!

The games and events we’re most looking forward to in 2022

There’s no doubt the last two years have proven to be extremely difficult for the games industry, but we hope that 2022 will prove to be the light at the end of the tunnel. Now January is out of the way, we’re looking forward to the events and new releases we’re most excited about. 

Events 

Gamescom 

Returning in August, Gamescom in Germany will be the acid test as to how much progress we’ve made in the fight against COVID. Anyone who’s attended this before and witnessed to tens of thousands crammed cheek-by-jowl in Koelnmesse’s enormous halls will know that this would never be given the green light if there was any danger. Gamescom usually gives us a first look at some of the most hotly tipped games in the industry, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store. 

E3 

E3 has already announced that it won’t be an ‘in person’ event this year. Switching from a closed-shop industry only affair to an all-embracing consumer focussed event has further confused E3’s relevance. Now that we’re used to virtual events, E3 will have something of a renaissance – one that will see it transform from being a fixed event into a ‘seasonal window’ where the biggest upcoming games get their big reveals online. We are already excited at the prospect of seeing some of the trailers already in production here at REALTIME having their debut there. 

Games 

Dave Cullinane, Executive Producer 

I’m really excited about Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Who knows, perhaps we might even get a sequel to the movie soon? There is also a new God of War game (Ragnarök) and new DLC content for Cuphead from the North American Studio MDHR. It is always exciting to see new developers with quirky game ideas succeed, so it is great to now see Cuphead expand into TV with a new Netflix series in the pipeline for 2022. 

Callum Sibley, Executive Producer 

The Nintendo Switch is the new addition to my console selection, and it only seems fitting that I use it to catch ‘em all in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I’m also hyped that I’ll finally be able to spread the festering influence of Nurgle across the lands in Total War: Warhammer III. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Soulsborne series (& George R. R. Martin!) so I’m excited for the superb combat, sprawling landscapes and immersive lore that will inevitably be part of Elden Ring. Finally, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands – a D&D and Borderlands mashup? Say no more. 

The last two years have cemented games as being the biggest and most lucrative type of media in the world today, and it’s interesting to see how games, movies, and TV are increasingly working together to create new immersive experiences. If you’d like to get in touch to talk about your upcoming games projects, we’re here to help. Contact us: [email protected] & [email protected]