Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1517009
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 c g w 7 A brilliantly animated web of visuals is brought to life in dazzling detail in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, di- rected by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson. The sequel to 2018's Oscar-winning Spi- der-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, this visually stunning new adventure follows Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) as he embraces his role as Brooklyn's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Aer reuniting with Gwen Stacy (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld), Miles encounters a fearsome new foe: Spot (voiced by Jason Schwartz- man), a sinister scientist with a body punctured by portals to other dimensions. Miles is catapulted beyond his own universe and be- comes acquainted with the Spider Society, an elite league of Spi- der-People tasked with protecting the existence of the multiverse. When Miles begins to clash with the society, he sets out on a daring quest to protect his loved ones while navigating the complexities of being a hero. This award-winning new chapter of the Spider-Verse saga unfolds across a vast array of multi-faceted parallel universes, each animat- ed in a strikingly distinct visual style. At the 2023 View Conference, director Joaquim Dos Santos and visual effects supervisor Michael Lasker discussed the process of bringing these spectacular visuals from the page to the screen. DiRecToR JoAquIm DoS SanToS CGW: How did you approach the challenge of bringing the film's diverse range of visual layers to life on screen? Joaquim Dos Santos: I came in at the tail end of the first film, when it was still in the final phases of lighting in post production. Phil [Lord] and Chris [Miller] had screened it for me. We were in a small little screening room, and at that point, I think the trailer had already released. The animation industry was aware that this was coming down the line. They just didn't know how hard the film was going to push. I watched the film, and I was blown away by it. They turned to me, and they said, "Alright. So how do we go bigger? How do we take the governor off now and really go at it?" And I was like, "Guys, I think you did it. I don't know where it goes from here." Especially that Collider fight at the end. But I think with anything, you start with a really simple idea. So there were two things. The first film was about these char- acters invading Miles' world and imposing themselves on him. The second film was really about Miles and Gwen going out and doing the opposite and imposing themselves on these other worlds. So by nature, that was already a bigger idea. That's a big, fantastical su- pernatural idea. The other idea is that we've all felt a version of in- security, of feeling like you don't belong—feeling like you're trying to figure out your way into the world. I can remember being of a certain age and sort of making that separation from my parents. My kid's eight years old, and I was holding his hand just a few months ago. His friends came up and he pulled his hand away—he didn't want me to hold his hand anymore. Kemp [Powers]—one of my fellow direc- tors—both Kemp and Justin [Thompson] have kids that are Miles' age, and they were going through a lot of what Miles is dealing with with his parents. So that relatability and those ideas sort of trans- Director Joaquim Dos Santos began his career as a storyboard artist.