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Category: Visual Effects

REALTIME joins RED Production Company for new BBC Drama, Ridley Road

We’re so excited to announce that we are VFX partner on the upcoming Ridley Road, a new four-part drama series produced by RED Production Company (a STUDIOCANAL company), with Producer Betsan Morris-Evans and BAFTA-award-winning executive producer Nicola Shindler (Years and Years, Happy Valley). The series was written and adapted for television by award-winning writer Sarah Solemani (Barry, Aphrodite Fry) from the critically acclaimed novel by Jo Bloom, and was directed by Lisa Mulcahy.

Ridley Road is a thriller set against the backdrop of a swinging sixties London we haven’t seen: an East End world where far right fascism is on the rise. Inspired by the struggle of the 62 Group, a coalition of Jewish men who stood up against rising neo-Nazism in post-war Britain, Ridley Road sees a young Jewish woman, Vivien Epstein, leaving her comfortable life in Manchester and starting to work with them.

When she realises that Jack, her missing boyfriend has been badly injured, Vivien infiltrates the NSM, a neo-Nazi movement which is becoming increasingly prominent in London.  And, as Vivien descends further into the fascist organisation, both her courage and loyalties are challenged.

Alongside invisible VFX work, REALTIME provided on-set supervision with our North West-based veteran VFX Supervisor Sue Land, who was supported in production by Senior Producer Fiona York and Head of Production Jane Forsyth.

Says Executive Producer, Jonathan Rawlinson, “We are thrilled to be working with a local production company in Manchester and feel very lucky to play a part in telling this story, which despite being set over 50 years ago has an important and timely message about the threat of anti-Semitism.”

The series will premiere on BBC One and PBS Masterpiece later this year.

4 ways VFX recruitment is changing

As we all know, the last year introduced a new world of lockdowns, social distancing, and remote working. And everyone can see how it has changed our lives. 

But now we’re faced with even more change. A “new normal,” as more people are vaccinated and consider returning to how life used to be. Now, the question is, how much will our world resemble what it did before this all happened? Is remote working here to stay? And, significantly for the VFX industry, is relocating new hires going to be a thing of the past? Suddenly remote working gives studios the opportunity to recruit from halfway across the world. 

What will VFX recruitment look like in the coming months? 

Office vs home 

Perhaps the biggest challenge is going to be how to get people back into the office. We’ve not had a long, expensive commute for over a year now, will people want to go back to that full-time? It’s also allowed for flexibility, which has long been lacking in the industry. 

That’s not to say the office is obsolete. The VFX industry is a collaborative one. We want to be able to welcome clients into a studio space and get our teams together to brainstorm in a nurturing environment. Zoom calls are great – but they aren’t the same as having people come together in one room. 

So, one massive change we’re likely to see is a more fluid way of working. Companies will have to consider how they cater to both crowds, and this might mean shaking up our idea of what an office is. We think that we’ll see a blended working week, with hotdesking picking up, more communal areas for people to mingle and share ideas. A more open approach might be just what’s needed to get people excited about coming in again. In short, we need something at the office that we can’t get at home. 

Pulling from the same talent pool 

In a similar vein, remote working will benefit studios when recruiting, as people don’t have to be geographically close to the office. They could be on the other side of the country, if not in a completely different one altogether.  

So how will companies differentiate themselves from the crowd? They have to offer something more. And if we see a boom of freelance work, that’ll be even more important. We might see companies more open to listening to potential employee’s demands and offer more flexible options. Smaller studios might fare better as they can offer a more intimate environment that values all voices, one where everyone knows everyone else.

Changing priorities 

Something we’ve seen improve over the last year is the prioritisation of employee care. Since lockdown was tough on all of us, conversations about mental health and wellness are more common. That’s something we love to see. 

Now workplaces have to continue putting people first, where everyone feels appreciated and a valued member of the team. It also means offering a more fluid way of working. The traditional 9 to 5 doesn’t work for everyone, so a smart company will offer flexible hours. It means people can fit their personal life around their work. Take an extra hour at lunch and make it back later. Go and pick your kids up from school. And if you need a mental health break, take it. We wouldn’t be surprised if that kind of corporate attitude becomes more common.

Technical challenges 

Working from home presented its own unique technical challenges. Not only did we have to up our game with video conferencing software, the industry had to make sure that staff could remote into their computers in the office via a VPN and remote desktop application. 

To support remote working at REALTIME, we made several changes. We installed a 10 Gigabit internet connection in our two studios, invested in our GPU rendering capabilities, and worked hard to increase our security – as a result, we are well on our way to becoming TPN (trusted partner network) accredited.   

So, what do VFX recruiters want? 

If you’re looking to get into the VFX industry, or simply just want to move somewhere new, hopefully this gives you an idea of the shifting priorities. And while you have some say in how you work, they’ll still be looking for your best work. So, what do you need to show? 

For us, it isn’t just about what looks good. That’s great – we love to see amazing work. But we’re focused on you. Don’t forget that you’re one person applying for the role, not the whole team. What did you, the individual, do? What can you point to, even a rock or a tree, that you can say is your work? 

And what was your process? Some companies don’t want to see the entire working out, but there still needs to be a sense of where your ideas came from. How have you made your projects work? Why did you make the decisions you did? VFX is art, and every piece of art is made up of thousands of micro-decisions, so let that thought process speak for itself. It’s not just about high-quality work, but also high-quality thinking. 

So here we are, about to enter the second half of 2021, and we’re not sure what the future holds. But something we do know is the VFX industry is changing. And we can’t wait to see where it goes. 

REALTIME is always looking for bright minds to join our team. If you think you’re a good fit for our team, reach out to our recruitment team at [email protected]

The Watch: Pre-vis & Post-vis explained

Welcome back to part 2 of our series on the VFX work behind BBC America’s latest Terry Pratchett adaptation – ‘The Watch’. In part 1, we covered the initial design process behind the two dragons at the heart of the story. There’s Goodboy, the hand-held dragon with the power of a flamethrower. Then there’s the Noble Dragon, the terrifying, smoky city-razer causing chaos.

In part 2, we’re going to talk about the pre- and post-visualisation work that went into creating the two unique dragons. So, without further ado, let’s jump in!

Pre-vis 

Previously, we talked about creating a unique look for the Noble Dragon; something audiences had never seen before in a dragon. We decided on a smoky, ethereal design that created an air of mystery and unknown terror about the creature.

Once we had a model, we went on to create tests to show how the FX would look and behave on a basic flying version of the model. The brief we received from director Craig Viveiros was that it should look like plane trailing contrails. He wanted the dragon to have a sinister visual impact and pose a serious threat to the characters. 

We used a basic model of a dragon for our test, with a very simple rig. We draped it in smoke to give an idea of what it would look like in the final series, and the test scene was a simple animation block-out with the dragon breathing fire. This previs ensured that the director and execs could all agree how the dragon would behave and look when it flew, ahead of starting work on shots.

Once we had a test everyone was happy with, we created a fully rigged model of the Noble Dragon model sculpt we had created, which we then put through various flight cycles to show how it moved in the sky. This was part of our team’s internal process for developing the animation for the Noble Dragon. 

Post-vis

Principle photography took place in South Africa, creating the live action plates we needed to incorporate our dragons. The art department created a full-size replica of Goodboy for actress Lara Rossi (Lady Sybil) to hold in shot. He was then replaced in post-production by the CG Goodboy. This was partially to help with her performance, but we also hoped that in wide shots we could use that rather than the CGI model, to reduce costs.

Post-vis was done of all the key CG sequences using a mixture of filmed plates and full CG environments. This allowed for a continuing creative dialogue with the showrunner, director, and producer, as well as Lola VFX who were in charge of creating the cityscapes. 

Alongside this, the look dev of the Noble Dragon was started. There were a number of issues with a huge creature who is made of smoke, fire, and lightning that had to be solved. Legibility being the most important. As she had to work in both day- and night-time situations, a flexible tool set of passes was created to suit all conditions. It allowed for independent control over her eyes, smoky body, internal lightning, fiery throat and belly, as well as a skeletal pass to add definition to her skull and chest for the closer shots.

By doing this, we accomplished what we needed to; we made this dragon distinctly different from anything that’s come before. It takes what people think when they hear the word dragon and turns it on its head.

The same can be said for Goodboy, who presented his own, if somewhat smaller, challenges. While the Noble dragon was all about the big picture, Goodboy is all about detail. From the scarring on his face to the texture of his wings, fine, nuanced animation allowed this character to transition from cute to deadly, beginner to proficient flyer.

In the end, both dragons came away looking different to anything we’ve seen before. And we think both dragons are a great addition to the series . This was a great project for us to flex our creative muscles and deliver something the client could be proud of.

REALTIME’s team of highly creative individuals can take your project to the next level with fantastic ideas and visuals. If you want to find out more, get in touch with me at [email protected].

From concept to completion: Dragons in The Watch

In early 2021, BBC America aired the fantastical new Terry Pratchett adaptation – ‘The Watch’. A fantastical world as rich as Terry Pratchett’s Discworld required some innovative VFX work to bring this adaptation to life, especially the dangerous Noble Dragon that threatens its world and the cute, but fiery, pocket-size dragon Goodboy. 

REALTIME was a key creative partner on the series, creating a range of 2D and 3D VFX, including for the two very different dragons. Uniquely anarchic and thrillingly entertaining, the character-driven drama follows several of Terry Pratchett’s best-loved creations on a riotous and emotional odyssey.

But how did we approach such a task? In part one, we’re going to run through the initial stages as we worked to meet this unique brief. Let’s run through our VFX journey…

A tale of two dragons

This project presented two specific challenges: creating the smaller Goodboy, a dragon who fits in the palm of your hand, and at the other extreme, the colossal Noble Dragon, a creature the size of a jumbo jet, with enough firepower to destroy a city.

From the brief, we had to create something never seen before. With two distinctly different creatures to create, we started with the concept art. It’s at this stage we began to sketch out the look of the dragons, building an idea of how to bring them to life in 3D. In an age of Game of Thrones and other high fantasy, dragons have become part of the zeitgeist. Our goal was to make something brand new that gave the series two unique dragons of its own.

The production team had originally wanted to use a real gecko to ‘act’ the part of Goodboy. The wings and fire breath would just be added in post-production. In practice, this was a very challenging task to accomplish on set, as we saw when we suggested production do a camera test early on. It proved too difficult to work with a real lizard. This meant Goodboy needed to be a full CGI creature, but also work with the budget limitations of the series.

We still wanted to have the feel of a real-life lizard, so drew inspiration from the armadillo lizard. As we would be getting much more up close and personal with this creature, we had to focus on bringing life to it, capturing his personality and character. We visualised a rescue puppy to help us understand the kind of emotional response we wanted Goodboy to elicit from viewers, adding details like his broken wings and scars.

Goodboy might well be the cutest character in the series – just watch him sing – but he also has a dangerous side as a hand-held flamethrower. There’s a lot of personality to Goodboy that had to be brought out through the VFX work. He needed a cheeky personality with an expressive face, but we had to be mindful of budgetary considerations when designing his body and rigging his face. 

In the grand finale of the series, Goodboy takes centre stage to stop the rampage of the Noble Dragon. Without spoiling it for you, it proved a great opportunity to bring some of Goodboy’s personality to the forefront and finish the series with a bit of Pratchett-esque tongue-in-cheek wit. He is quite a young and inexperienced dragon, and we played this up in his attempt to fly. He launches off with a running jump, but his flight is very bumpy as he has to learn as he goes. 

For the Noble Dragon, with its awe-inspiring size, we needed a different approach. To make it feel different to the dragons featured in other popular fantasy series and films, we wanted to give it an ethereal, smoky quality. This meant it would need to go through multiple stages and be highly FX-driven.

When we designed the Noble Dragon, even though its scales wouldn’t be seen by the audience, we still rendered a version with them because we need to know how it looks and operates. 

But we’ll talk about the Noble Dragon in more detail in part 2 when we dive into the pre- and post-vis processes. This is where the two dragons really came to life. Stay tuned for part 2!

REALTIME has a team of highly creative individuals who can elevate your project with fantastic ideas and visuals. If you would like to find out more, get in touch with me at [email protected].