Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1540269
fully CG. The causeway itself had to look like it was 1.5 miles long and included a stunning, fully CG aurora nebula sky housing a murmura- tion of over 10,000 CG birds. Gascoyne explains, "There's quite a significant amount of work in that particular sequence. We had to create an environment for that to happen in, and then extend all that water out and put it in the sky. We had some amazing photographic references from photographer Dan Monk at the Kielder Forest Observatory." "There are certain times of the year when the Milky Way is perfect- ly clear because there's no light pollution around. That inspired us to put this amazing sky above the causeway, because we felt that, aer 28 years of no light pollution, you would see these amazing, beautiful vistas at night." "We had about a 100-meter stretch of water on set, and then we recreated the environment complete with FX water, mist, and sea- weed and extended it out. When the characters' feet touch the wa- ter, there's almost a glow akin to bioluminescence created by plank- ton." Later on in the film Spike sneaks off the island, seeking medical assistance for his mother Isla (portrayed by Jodie Comer). As they search for Dr. Ian Kelson (played by Ralph Fiennes), they are forced to seek safety in an abandoned Happy Eater restaurant. They break in to find a toxic miasma of gas looming overhead, which explodes dramatically when ignited by gunfire. CG supervisor Noel O'Malley says, "A great deal of look develop- ment work was required to create the miasma gas, as reference was minimal. The gas had to be quite thin with little density, so it was complex to create. But thankfully Danny liked our ideas early on, which allowed us to really spend time on the nuances in the FX sim- ulations to create something original, but believable." "This was a very FX-heavy setup with the layering of the miasma and ignition towards the end of the sequence. Particular attention was paid to the cut so any movement we added to the miasma worked well with the next shot." "The lighting was a challenge, as we needed to give the impression of an oily top layer on the gas, as it hadn't been disturbed in years. The shot also required extensive rotoanimation to drive the collisions of the choking characters with the miasma gas." Union's work also covered multiple CG firing arrows, blood splats, a herd of galloping deer, and a pack of rats scurrying away from a CG train.