Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1489831
22 cgw o c t o b e r • n o v e m b e r • d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 2 Whether we're working on huge superhero movies or high-concept TV shows, we can always count on its power and stability." A real helicopter was filmed for the sequence, however, the action demanded that Scanline add the helicopter into approximately half of the shots. In lieu of crashing an actual helicopter into the set, the impact and subsequent explosion would be done in CG. An on-set fireball gave the crash an explosive presence and pro- vided a practical element for Scanline to build the rest of this big- screen sequence around. Artists created a digital double of the real helicopter, as well as the military Humvees and trucks that it would crash into on the ground. Digital fireballs and debris were then added to further augment the explosion alongside sparks, dust, and rotor wash from the crumpling helicopter — small details that when com- bined, led to one of Stranger Things' biggest moments yet. RIFTS APART Stranger Things Season 4 sees various ris open across Hawkins, shattering the barrier between our world and the nightmarish realm of the Upside Down. It's a defining moment for the show, as the level of threat expands beyond anything we've seen before and Scanline's VFX work had to ensure that the audience felt the danger. "There are so many ris this season, appearing at different scales, in different materials and environments," says Mitchell. "We had to develop a common language between them." Scanline used almost every 3D trick in the book to pull off these shots, cooking up a cock- tail of rigid bodies, cloth, so bodies, fluids, hair, and particles to visu- alize doorways that could spell doom in Season 5. By far the most complex ri came in Chapter Nine, Scanline's big- gest episode of the season. As ris carve their way across Hawkins, destroying everything in their path, one opens at the bottom of Lov- er's Lake. Realizing that the real-world effect of such an event would be decidedly uncinematic, like a bath emptying, Scanline utilized their creative license. "We had to devise a visual representation that was more dynamic, which is why we've got these two facing water- falls that tear across the lake," Mitchell explains. It's exactly the kind of effects-heavy sequence that would de- vour rendering resources without a tool as robust as V-Ray. Scanline made extensive use of the denoiser to get shots through the pipe- Scanline's artists created a digital double of a helicopter for the CG crash sequence. V-Ray's denoiser feature helped maximize pipeline efficiency.