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WANDAVISION www.postmagazine.com 19 POST MAR/APR 2021 Through The Years For maximum authenticity, the first two episodes of the fictional WandaVision show were presented in black-and-white using a 4:3 aspect ratio, with significant lens falloff on the edges of the frame, capturing the style of '50s and '60s sitcoms. The first episode was even filmed in front of a live studio audience, while Episode 3 has the flair — and color — of the 1970s. Filming for WandaVision initially started at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, but finished in Los Angeles (after a several-month hiatus due to COVID), using period-appropriate camera lenses, lighting and live special effects. Cinematographer Jess Hall, ASC, BSC, used 47 different camera lenses for the seven time periods covered in WandaVision — many of which were modern lenses modified to achieve the desired period lens characteristics. As DeMarco explains, the black-and-white episodes were made using period-specific sets and then graded (not filmed) in black-and-white. Likewise, for the 1970s, with the team leaning heav- ily toward a particular palette during finishing. For the 1980s, the crew introduced a purposefully flaked red color bleed, which occurred with film-to-video transfer during this time and was a popular look for '80s sitcoms. The first three episodes featured film cuts and rewind effects, along with practical effects. For Episodes 1 and 3, the VFX crew did a lot of wire work, as special effects and props teams worked together with puppeteers to fly items in and out of the kitchen as Wanda prepared for unexpected din- ner guests. Contemporary VFX were used to paint/ remove the wires, smooth the cuts, and, occasional- ly, create wire gags not filmed practically. Effects were kept at a minimum up until Episode 6, which jumps to the 2000s, when television ef- fects were more prevalent. "Once we hit this period, we figured, OK, it's fair game," DeMarco notes. Cut To Present Day With each subsequent episode, the number of effects increases, as do their complexity. These were handled by 20-plus VFX vendors, with the major contributors including Digital Domain, Industrial Light & Magic, Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ), Rodeo FX and Screen Scene. In Episode 6 we see the disintegration of Vision as he breaks through the Hex, the boundary enveloping and containing the town of Westview, using its real residents as cast members in Wanda's make-believe family sitcom. While viewers have ex- perienced the disintegration of characters in Infinity War and Endgame, in WandaVision, the VFX team took a new approach. Rodeo took the reins and worked with DeMarco's group on the Hex aesthetic as it pulled pieces from his body. Rodeo first matchmoved Vision's movement so the CG asset would move accordingly to Bettany's performance. They then built a skeleton that was used as an anchor and revealed by the destruction. Vision's whole body was layered cables and wires that had been procedurally generated in SideFX's Houdini by Rodeo. To achieve the visual complexity of the shot, Rodeo started to cut Vision's skin into pieces. One of the big- gest challenges was the layer of pixel sorting that's emitted from the pieces. Rodeo translated a well- known 2D technique into the 3D world to get proper perspective and interaction with Vision. They also added a layer of fine dust to link everything together. Finally, on top of that, they created a smear- ing effect to integrate Vision to the Hex. This was enhanced by a particle simulation engulfing Vision. Those particles were later converted into a distor- tion map that was used in compositing to smear and displace the resulting pixels toward the Hex. In addition to Houdini, the artists used Autodesk's Maya for modeling, Foundry's Mari for texturing, and Katana (Foundry) and Arnold (Autodesk) for shading and rendering. As for the Hex, it becomes increasingly visible as the season progresses, turning more ominous and turbulent. "We leaned into the language of television. So, it's made up of cathodic lines and chromatic aberration, and those glitchy textures that we borrowed from reference of old and broken TVs," says DeMarco. Creating Vision In WandaVision, Vision is the same character from the film world, and the same process was used to bring him to life for the series. "We put some prosthetics on him and painted his skin using a specific tracking pattern so we can track all the CG onto him," DeMarco explains. "A lot of vendor work on Vision was about reworking the CG rig so the stoic Vision could have the necessary range of expression that he would have as a fully emoting sitcom character." The vendors who handled those effects in var- ious episodes include MARZ, Lola, Rodeo, Digital Domain and Screen Scene. At the very end of Episode 8 and throughout the Episode 9 finale, audiences meet the so-called White Vision — SWORD's sinister, colorless replica — a CG asset crafted by Digital Domain. Bettany acted both parts during a battle scene against a stunt double dressed as the opposite Vision. The animation in the Vision vs. Vision sequence is meant to reflect that White Vision is a true robot, a creature sent on a killing mission, while the Red Vision has a soul and doesn't want to fight. Similarly, digital doubles of Wanda and the witch Agatha were also created by Digital Domain for the sequence. Building A Home Prior to that Vision showdown in the series fina- le, audiences discover that Wanda is not the only witch in town, as her neighbor, Agnes, is actually the powerful witch Agatha Harkness, who wants to know how Wanda is controlling the entire town. To this end, she takes Wanda back in time, as we learn this Avenger's backstory, her power source, her rela- tionship with Vision, and how she became obsessed with American sitcoms. In the episode, we see a CG Vision in a state of dismantlement at SWORD. Then, a distraught Wanda drives to Westview and uses her powers to construct a home piece-by-piece, as well as Vision, and transforms Westview from 2023 to the 1950s. Everything in the sequence, except for Wanda and the initial footprint of the house, was created digi- tally by ILM. Grading techniques created the B&W look. The series spans seven time periods. VFX evolve as the series progresses.