Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1536119
4 cgw a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 5 S tar Wars: Skeleton Crew streams on Disney+ and follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their home planet. The children then get lost in a strange, dangerous galaxy and are forced to find their way home while com- ing across unlikely allies and enemies. Chris McLaughlin, a visual effects supervisor at DNEG, recent- ly shared some insight into the studio's contributions to the series, which debuted in December 2024 and spans eight episodes. Chris, what was the creative brief for the show's VFX needs? Chris McLaughlin (VFX Supervisor): From the outset, the cre- ative brief for Skeleton Crew was about capturing the distinct look and feel of Star Wars while ensuring that each sequence remained visually cohesive with the rest of the show. The production provided us with detailed concept art and previs models, which gave us a solid foundation for our environments and key assets. Our role at DNEG was primarily focused on environment work, particularly in Episodes 4, 7, and 8. Whether it was the war-torn outskirts of At Achrann or the mas- sive industrial expanse of The Mint, our goal was to bring these loca- tions to life while maintaining the cinematic scale and atmosphere that defines Star Wars. Overall VFX supervisor John Knoll and his team provided invalu- able guidance throughout, helping us ensure our work aligned with the overall visual language of the series. How many shots did DNEG deliver, and which sequences was the studio responsible for? Chris McLaughlin: DNEG delivered approximately 150 shots for the series. Our primary work was split across several sequences in two key environments: At Achrann in Episode 4, and The Mint in Episodes 7 and 8. For At Achrann, we created the CG environment for the war-rav- aged suburban outskirts, including ruined buildings, rubble, and a decaying forest. Our environment build for The Mint included the vast industrial complex hidden beneath At Attin, featuring the landing platform, the 'Credit Maker,' and the vault filled with endless stacks of credits. What were some of the challenges the team faced on some of the more complicated sequences? Chris McLaughlin: One of the biggest challenges we faced was ensuring the environments felt expansive and grounded while also serving the storytelling needs of each sequence. For At Achrann, we needed to create an environment that felt truly devastated. While some key set pieces were built practically, most of the environment was CG. The challenge was populating the expan- sive backgrounds with enough variety in destruction while keeping everything cohesive. We built a library of ruined structures, debris, and dead vegetation using real-world references from war-torn ar- eas to inform the level of destruction. To enhance the atmosphere, we layered in rolling smoke and fog simulations, which helped to sell the scale and depth of the environment. For The Mint, the challenge was sheer scale. The concept art called for vast industrial machinery and cavernous vaults filled with credits. The 'Credit Maker,' in particular, had to feel immense, so we designed slow, deliberate animations for its moving parts to suggest a sense of weight and mass, and populated its surroundings with se- curity droids to help establish scale in relation to human-sized char- acters. In both cases, lighting and atmosphere played a key role in tying the environments together. Our FX, lighting, and compositing teams worked closely to ensure the integration between practical elements and CG felt seamless. What tools did DNEG rely on to complete the work? Chris McLaughlin: Our work on Skeleton Crew relied on a combi- nation of industry-standard tools and proprietary DNEG technology. For modeling and texturing, we used Maya, ZBrush, and Substance Painter for asset creation. For lookdev and rendering, Clarisse and Arnold were used for rendering large-scale environments and ensur- ing realistic lighting integration. Our compositing team used Nuke for final integration, where we fine-tuned atmospheric effects, lighting, and color grading. In FX and simulation, Houdini was critical for gen- erating the dust, smoke, and other atmospheric effects that helped bring scale and depth to our shots. Additionally, our internal pipeline tools helped manage large datasets and streamline collaboration across our VFX teams in Vancouver, Montreal and India. STAR WARS: SKELETON CREW DNEG CRAFTS A GALAXY OF VFX FOR A NEW DISNEY+ SERIES. BY MARC LOFTUS