Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545821
3D-printed a tiny little bulb that could hold fluid, and put it on the end of a plunger so that the liquid draw is real. Then we replaced the bulb with the needle. My favorite practical element is that we flung the car off the cliff with a dummy [of Hank Williams, head of security at The Boroughs], and then that dummy definitely looked like a dummy, so we had to replace it with a plate of the actor. We did a 2D trick of 3D tracking the motion of both the cameras and the car to negate that motion, so we could use a motion control camera rig to film an element of the actor in a static car on the back lot. So we filmed the practical car launch, edited that scene, had our favorite, let's say "take" because it was one take with seven cameras. But of the seven, I think we had five in the cut and then figured out which ones would require a Hank replacement. And then we brought the wonderful actor Eric [Edelstein] back and he did a blue screen motion control day with us where we placed the car, set the cam- eras, and made sure that we could get elements to composite back in later. Were there any other scenes or sequences that you really en- joyed working on? Tara DeMarco: I love the sequence with the crows, and I love the cast shadows of the crows on Art's truck [Sam's neighbor, played by Clarke Peters]. I think it's such a beautiful interactive piece. I also love that final shot of Wally [Sam's neighbor, played by Denis O'Hare] and Sam in the end of Episode 102, where you can see the little bit of magic in Wally's eye. That's a beautiful moment. Going back to the creatures, were there any other unexpected challenges that came up in terms of figuring out the movements? Tara DeMarco: The creatures have to start scary and end sympa- thetic. So we were mindful of that the whole time. It was really about approaching each scene and figuring out how scary it is and what emotions we want to evoke. They become more emotional and almost like puppies by the end. They have those big eyes, and we wanted you to feel sympathy for them. Knowing that the creature work starts with them moving quite quickly and having these violent actions, and then ends with this very elegant lowering to cradle their mother. That's its own version of a challenge because you're changing the style of animation and then the nature of what you're trying to convey. It's such an unexpected change. There's that shot when you see the injured one in the tunnel and realize, "Oh wait, this is an actual living creature!" Tara DeMarco: I think that the creature dying on the floor of the train tracks might be the Duffer Brothers' favorite shots. You can ask them. How did you collaborate with the Duffer Brothers? Tara DeMarco: Well, Matt and Ross Duffer were a little busy finish- ing a small show you may have heard of called Stranger Things…They were working down the hall from us. But once we were happy with an effect with something magical or scary or spooky or weird, they would come down the hall and sit with us, give us a bit of their time, and give us their thoughts—and their thoughts always made it better. How did you communicate with the showrunners? Tara DeMarco: We talk all the time. I love Will Matthews and Jeffrey Addiss. They are genius showrunners. They are passionate about character and passionate about visual effects, and they understand that intentional visual effects mean that we really get time to cra our images. So they would let me occasionally say, "I'm sorry, this is too much. Can we please do XYZ and try it together?" They were al- ways down to try something new, and to test an approach or to pivot if it wasn't working and find something that the audience would re- ally believe. Because you want to fall in love with the characters and not be bumped in any other way. Do you have any advice you would like to share with up-and- coming visual effects artists or students? Tara DeMarco: My advice to all visual effects humans is to keep learning and to not be afraid to fail. I think that the thing that you can always say is, "Give me a minute, let me try," rather than a definite "yes" or a definite "no," and then go back to your network of people and ask, "Has anyone done this weird thing that they wanna do?" Sometimes your network will say "no," and sometimes you'll have to come up with an idea on your own. But I would say there are so many tools and techniques that constantly evolve, and we all specialize in different areas. We're all strong in different ways. So you lean into your network and your other artists, be they junior or senior, because people are learning new tips and new tools all the time.