Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1522701
How many VFX shot are there across the nine episodes? Stephen Rosenbaum: It ended up growing, basically double in size. We ended up completing around 3,400 visual effects shots. Origi- nally it was about half that. There are some great shots, but one that stands out appears at the beginning of Episode 9. Stephen Rosenbaum: The Berlin mission at the top of Episode 9! I would agree with that. That's going to go down as one of the great openings of TV streaming history—if there is a history in TV streaming [laughs]. There was so much sophistication in terms of the choreog- raphy, the action, and the performances in that scene. We go from 20,000 feet in the midst of one of the largest air armadas…When [we] were reading this from the original script, it was, "OK, how do we play this out in the five-minute sequence?" It's so complex and so sophisticated. It was with the help of just plugging through it—first with some storyboards and then with some previs to choreograph the action and then try to uphold the intensity. You have the cinematic qualities of the action. I think we succeeded. I'm very proud of that sequence. We probably had about 800 planes—computer generated planes— in the sky, plus all the clouds, plus all the flak. And that included B-17s and P-51s, so it was quite a feat. What was the timeframe for this to all come together? Stephen Rosenbaum: I started in January of 2021—right at the height of COVID, I might add—and moved to England for a year, where there was no vaccine. We managed to shoot, which was amazing. It was quite a journey—quite intensive COVID protocols. But that was January 2021, and then I wrapped in October of 2023. It was about 33 months. Where did they have the LED volumes set up? Stephen Rosenbaum: We converted a warehouse space, north of London. They took a lease on big, multiple warehouses and essen- tially converted them to stage space. What are your thoughts on the state of virtual production? Stephen Rosenbaum: [We] introduced virtual production on Av- atar, and I started on Avatar in 2007, and it came out in 2009, so it has been ten-plus years, so this really is maturing in terms of its use. People are figuring out how to leverage it effectively and efficiently in production. I think, up until a few years ago, it was kind of a nice to have or a novelty experience. A lot of directors were uncertain about it. They were curious and uncertain about how to best use it. Now, I think there's a better understanding, particularly on a show like this, where the directors didn't have to necessarily commit to the content that was being played back on the walls. "I would go through and block out the action with Third Floor via the directors' storyboards. Then I would take it to the director and they would give me notes, and then we would address those notes VFX sup. Stephen Rosenbaum worked on the series for 33 months. a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 4 c g w 1 7