Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/663382
DIRECTOR'S CHAIR www.postmagazine.com 20 POST APRIL 2016 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Was it strange working with a VFX supervisor on this, or was it a nice change? "It was a bit strange but good. For me, when I'm on set or in post, I'm trying to really focus on my job as director, and you can't really do two jobs at the same time. But on this, I was very involved ob- viously with all the visual effects, and I still designed the creatures, because I'm also very opinionated about it. There are things I like and don't like, things I want to do and not do, and I'm very precise and specific, especially when it comes to creature design, such as the goblins and goblin king, and the hybrid between a polar bear and a snow leopard. So I worked very closely with Paul Lambert, the VFX supervisor." How many visual effects shots are there, and what was involved? "Over 1,000 shots. We did most of the VFX at Double Negative in Vancouver and we talked every day, and they'd show me stuff via CineSync, and I could draw on the frame, and it was just like we were in the same room." What was the most difficult effect to pull off? "It was something we never expect- ed to be a problem. In Freya's castle there's this high, spire-like church steeple made of ice, and the throne is right underneath, and she stays there. And there are all these ice particles constantly falling down around it. So first we tried doing the ice particles in camera, and did many tests, but nothing worked, so we thought, we'll just do it in post — that'll be easy! But it wasn't easy at all. In fact, it was a nightmare. In the end, it took both Dneg and Pixomondo working together for months and months to finally figure it out, it was so hard. We all thought the hybrid polar bear creature and the goblins were going to be hard — all the big creatures — but it was these tiny little ice particles falling into the frame that caused all the headaches. And I never saw it coming, as you do atmo- spheric stuff all the time in VFX. You do snow, rain, fog — no big deal. But creating these ice crystals was one of the hardest things I've ever done." The DI must have been crucial to the film's look? "Absolutely. Michael Hatzer is the colorist, and for me, the DI is as important as the mix. You can go to the next level with the DI, and this is a fantasy, a fairy tale, and not as dark as the first one. It's a lot more pop, so when you embrace that, the DI becomes the visual keystone in the whole movie. It's the tone thing again. If you make it too modern and realistic, it'll be too dull, and if you make it too poppy, it'll look too garish. So you have to come in and out of the looks and walk that fine line, just as you do with the acting." What's next? I assume you want to keep directing now? "Yes. This was a great experience and I definitely want to keep directing. I have several projects I'm developing, but they're not necessarily films full of VFX. One of them has hardly any. For me, I never did VFX just for their own sake, to show off. I always tried to use them as a support for the story and characters, and I always think the best VFX are done that way." Dneg and Pixomondo worked on the film's 1,000-plus VFX shots.