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ew York City's Break+Enter was a key visual effects provid- er for Outer Range, Prime Video's new genre-bending series about a rancher named Royal Abbott (Josh Brolin), who is fighting o save his family and land in a remote part of Wyoming. The studio delivered more than 200 visual effects shots for the series' eight-episode fir t season, many involving a mysterious, 15-foot-wide black hole that appears in Abbott's pasture. The team also delivered scores of seamless environmental effects to enhance the series' setting in Wyoming's iconic Teton Range. Visual effects supervisor Ari Rubenstein led the Break+Enter team, whose principal task was to create 'nothing' out of 'something.' The studio's group of artists were tasked with developing a convincing look for the black hole and execute it in a variety of contexts across dozens of shots. "By definition, a black hol doesn't look like anything," observes Rubenstein. "You can't show it by what it is, only by what it is not." The studio experimented with nu- merous approaches, some based on swirl- ing sand, crystals and mist. They also tried filling the hole with aves of energy and highlighting its perimeter with unusual lighting effects. Ultimately, they settled on a look where the hole is defined y a wall of rock that fades downwards to infinit . "The rock wall is in a constant state of deterioration," Rubenstein explains. "Bits and pieces fla e off, flo t away and disappear, while seeming to defy gravity. It has the feel of an endless cavity with an air of mystery." Keeping the look of the black hole consistent was complicated by the fact that it appears in long shots and close ups, and at different times of day. Rubenstein says the key was to use a light touch. "In refining the e ect, we kept pulling away, stripping it down, making it almost imperceptible," he explains. "When you refine it o the point that it becomes real- istic, it doesn't overwhelm the narrative, it serves it." The studio faced a similar challenge in coming up with a look for fragments of dark matter that escape from the black hole, become enmeshed in rock, pieces of amber, and jewelry, and appear to have supernatural properties. Artists used a custom tracking tool, developed in-house, to attach the CG dark matter to objects and characters, and cause it to behave in strange ways. At one point, dark matter is absorbed through a char- acter's skin. Additionally, Break+Enter performed invisible effects work to alter background environments. Artists added digital matte paintings of the Tetons to some scenes and altered foliage in others. "We replaced skies, added or removed clouds, applied mist to mountains," notes Rubenstein. "In some instances, we add- ed grass to prairies that seems to stretch for miles." Break+Enter has developed a novel workfl w that enables it to generate high-quality results quickly from a tight- knit team. It employs industry standard tools, including Autodesk's Maya for layout, modeling and animation; SideFX's Houdini for FX; Mantra for lighting and rendering; Adobe Substance Designer & Painter for texturing; and Foundry's Nuke for compositing. "We also employ a few proprietary tools developed in-house for advanced tracking of animated characters and objects," Rubenstein adds. "On the hardware side, we use custom-confi - ured workstations, via Amazon Web Services (AWS), that can be re-confi - ured on the fly per arti t as the specs of our job or individual shots change during production." Rubenstein says that the Break+Enter team was excited to be part of the series' debut season and contribute to its novel mix of western realism and otherworldly mystery. "We were inspired to come up with visuals that matched the uniqueness of the story and define its look " he says. "We put a lot of effort into developing and refining the e ects, especially the black hole, and ended up with something that is tasteful, complements the beautiful cinematography and serves the story. They really got what they were after." PRIME VIDEO'S GENRE-BENDING OUTER RANGE BREAK+ENTER DELIVERS 200+ SHOTS FOR SEASON 1 N VISUAL EFFECTS www.postmagazine.com 26 POST MAY/JUNE 2022