Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1544083
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 T he latest chapter in the Predator franchise began stream- ing on Hulu on February 12th. Predator: Badlands is set in the future on a deadly, remote planet. There, Dek, a young and undersized Predator, is outcast from his Yautja clan. In an effort to prove himself, he embarks on a journey to a dangerous planet with the goal of killing and returning home with the head of the Kalisk—a creature feared by even the most accomplished Yaut- ja. Along the way, he finds an unlikely ally in Thia—and synthetic hu- man—and the two continue on the hunt, with Dek later finding out Thia has her own reason for wanting the Kalisk. VISUAL EFFECTS & ANIMATION Sheldon Stopsack is a visual effects supervisor at Wētā FX, the film's lead visual effects house, and says the diverse body of work the stu- dio delivered for Predator: Badlands makes it difficult to pick out a single favorite sequence. "Multiple sequences pushed us into very different creative and technical territories, each with its own challenges, but if I had to single out one particular sequence, it would be the final sequence, when Dek returns home to confront his father and bring his journey to its conclusion." "The scene was originally designed to be much shorter, with a sharp and compact ending. However, as production progressed and aer a few test screenings, it became clear that audiences were looking for something more extensive. An ending that felt bigger, more emotionally charged and worthy of the story's arc. With the delivery deadline fast approaching, we worked closely with our cli- ents to explore how the sequence could be expanded in a mean- ingful way." "Through a combination of client-provided stuntvis and previs work from our motion team, we developed a more expansive ver- sion of the scene. This was quickly followed by a shoot on our mocap stage here in Wellington, where we captured the additional perfor- mance required." "As the scope grew, so did the complexity. Because the decision to add these additional shots came well aer principal photography had wrapped, we needed to create an environment that could func- tion as a fully-digital setting while still honoring the original photog- raphy." "We began by building the environment directly from the plates we had, ensuring the level of detail and finish matched what had been captured on-set. This helped ground the CG work in realism. As the mood and lighting evolved, the environment continued to devel- op, and ultimately most of the plate photography was replaced with an all-digital setting." One of the biggest creative challenges, according to Stopsack, was the sandstorm that defines the sequence. The shot plays with the idea that Dek has matured and now relies on his skills and expe- rience to outplay his father, rather than trying to match his physical strength. "Knowing it would be under intense creative scrutiny, our initial plan was to take a backend-heavy approach using pre-generated VDBs [volume databases] and particles placed in compositing—a method I'd relied on before for its flexibility late in the pipeline," says Stopsack. "But as work began, our FX team started prototyping cus-