Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1536119
and Sev [Ohanian]?" I got the basic pitch, but they still kept it some- what vague, besides that there was going to be twinning of Michael B Jordan. What mattered more was that it was going to be a film work- ing with Ryan—he is such an amazing director and human being. To me, it's always about the people you work with, instead of necessari- ly what the project is. I remember explaining to James, "Ryan doesn't make films with a bunch of guys—he shoots films with his friends. So it's a real honor and privilege to be invited into that circle. I want to extend that to you. Let's do this!" James Alexander (VFX Producer): Michael and I go back 10 years or so. We worked together as a producer and supervisor on more projects than I can count—from spaceports in the Mojave to working in areas in Mexico City with high security, to working with Olympic gymnasts and stunt drivers, and all sorts of fun stuff that we did in our previous lives working at Framestore in Los Angeles. Then both of us, through different paths, moved to Marvel. I was doing different projects while Michael was doing Wakanda. We would meet at lunch time under a tree on the Disney lot. It was very idyl- lic, and we watched the fat Disney squirrels run around on the grass. Michael and I would talk about what was happening on our shows. It was so interesting to be working on Marvel projects side by side, but to be having slightly different experiences and a lot of the same experiences. We're fortunate that we've always had a great working relation- ship, and we've remained friends aer working together at Frame- store and throughout our time as we moved to work studio-side. As those projects at Marvel wrapped up, we were always looking for an opportunity to work together. I've been a huge fan of Ryan's ever since Fruitvale Station came out, and that movie made such an impact on me. His career is so interesting—what he's gone on to do since then, of course with the Black Panther films and with Creed. It was so interesting to be invited onto this project and to start getting an understanding of the story that he was telling, and the characters that were involved with it. How did you set up your VFX workflow for such a large-scale project? Michael Ralla: This film didn't start as a massive visual effects film. Initially the pitch was that it was going to be slightly above 200 shots. It's mostly the twinning work, which is a key element to the storytell- ing, and then a little bit of stuff on top of that. Then we started get- ting into it, and I already had a feeling—Ryan's coming from the Mar- vel world—there's going be a little bit more. A lot more, eventually. James Alexander: We didn't want to try to constrain the work into a pre-existing pipeline. What structure and what foundation do we need to build so we can complete the show as effectively and effi- ciently as possible? First of all, looking at the work and understand- ing what Ryan needed from us. Then thinking, who's going to be best suited to it? There are always challenges in terms of pre-established workflows that the studio might have set up, and preferences that they have for how they run things. But really it's, what's the work that we've got to do? Who are the best people in the world to do this work? Then 8 cgw a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 5 VFX Producer James Alexander VFX Supervisor Michael Ralla A custom HaloRig made Michael B. Jordan's twin scenes possible.