Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/964731
www.postmagazine.com 15 POST APRIL 2018 PRIMETIME "Some of the work Pixomodo has done on the show with our mermaids is just incredible and it just keeps getting better and better. Plus, a big shout out has to go to our actors…Eline and Sibo. I believe they could actually now hold their breath for three and a half to four minutes under water, while acting, doing all the motions. When we have them ac- tually swimming to track and the CG is rotomated onto their bodies — there are some shots in Episode 4 where it just looks beautiful — it's all just stunning and it's such a nice marriage having live action with CG." The series is shot mainly on-location in Vancouver with Arri Alexa cameras, with the visual effects teams working in standard ProRes 4:4:4:4. According to Savela, the main tools are Nuke for compositing and Maya for 3D. "Toolwise it isn't anything groundbreaking," he ex- plains. "It's really more of the technique, approach and commitment we all had to do it this way." Other work includes full CG environ- ments with boats in the water and, later on in Episode 7, a fishing trawler that was actually tied to a dock that needed to be placed in the middle of the ocean for the scene. "There's also a scene where Ben (co- star Alex Roe) jumps into the water and discovers a tracking device that's stuck in the rudder of the ship," explains Savela. "That was shot in a tank on our stage with a lot of extension work and a CG propeller that was going around to make it feel like that character was in danger. It really feels like the underside of the ship in the ocean. It does not look like a tank, which I think was really nice work. That was done by Atmosphere Visual Effects here in Vancouver." Savela says that of all the effects required for the show, the mermaid transformations are the most challenging. "Those scenes are always difficult because it's a very organic thing," he says. "Nobody wanted it to be like, 'Oh, they just trans- form.' Everyone wanted to show it as a painful process. They really had to convey that to the actors. And getting those shots right is very tricky because they are very subjective — what parts are going to be growing, how does a foot grow into a tail. Some people have an idea in their head, which might differ from what other people are thinking. It's not like there's a mermaid swimming around for us to com- pare it to or to see if what we're doing is right or wrong. It becomes the challenge just to please everybody and make some- thing that looks very cool." Savela says that when he first heard about the show, he was working on a different project. "But when I actually got a glimpse of the pilot, I was sold right away. I just thought, it was really an amazing story that Eric and Emily were telling and it looks so nice. It's not your typical mermaid story. I was intrigued where we were going with it and I knew the effects would be a chal- lenge and I really love challenges." When asked about the quality of visual effects on television and how they have evolved over the years, Savela quickly re- sponds, "It's getting better and better…so much better with tracking software and the integration. On a show like Siren, the directors can shoot the show how they want and don't have to worry about as many restrictions. They don't feel hand- cuffed and that's been the biggest thing in the advancement of the technology. "What we've tried to do with Siren is make everything as believable and invisible as we can. People have never seen a transformation from a human to a mermaid in real life, but we want to make those as real as if they really do exist. And all the other effects, the set exten- sions and the water, there is a lot of work in there and I don't want people to ever notice. What we've all gotten from the show is, let's make it as real as possible, as if there are real mermaids out there and we hired a mermaid actress and we filmed her in the midst of a transformation. That's our biggest goal and I think the audience will appreciate that. "I know the show is going to carry itself, based on the stories and the characters, and I feel like the show itself is a full dinner and we're a little bit of that extra gravy on top." For more on visual effects for television, please see our related feature, beginning on page 20. "Donna" is entirely CG, except for her face and hair. Siren is filmed on-location in Vancouver.