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cover story Arresting effects for Alcatraz S By RANDI ALTMAN VFX supervisor Jay Worth walks us through the process. ANTA MONICA — The plot for Fox's Alcatraz, which was rounding out its rookie season at press time, focuses on how 302 violent inmates and guards disap- peared from the prison on March 21, 1963, the day it closed its cells for the last time. Interesting enough, but when the missing start showing up in modern-day San Francisco even more violent than before, it gets, well, darn compelling. how involved is he? JAY WORTH: "He sets the tone, but he has not been as involved in the day-to-day VFX process." POST: You average between 30-70 effects per episode. Are most of them invisible? WORTH: "Yes, almost all. On the 'Ames Brothers' episode, for example, we did pinky removal and stub enhancement via Branit FX. We also put Alcatraz out there for numerous WORTH: "Yes, we built a 1960s Alcatraz, and every now and then we'll get a stock shot of the island and need to add buildings back onto it to make it look like it's the '60s — places like the Parade Grounds and the War- den's House aren't there anymore. In the 'Webb Porter' episode there was a sequence where Hauser is on the dock talking to Lucy, and we had to add the island and those build- ings back because we don't have a photo of them from that exact perspective. It's real water and a real dock — they shot that on a pier in Vancouver — and we just added the island out there and replaced half the frame, which is much easier than having to recreate an entire environment." POST: Were other sets built in 3D as well? WORTH: "Yes, we built a 3D model of the Rec Yard because that set, while amazing, isn't quite complete. We added the top part of the prison in numerous shots. We've extended CoSA VFX enhanced practical gas for one and composited the actor into the scene for the other. While there aren't any aliens, vampires or zombies in the bunch, the show does feature its fair share of visual effects. A variety of houses work on the show, and it's up to Jay Worth to decide who those studios are and which one is best at a particular type of effect. Worth is the VFX supervisor for J.J. Abrams' television shows via Bad Robot Productions (www.badrobot.com), producers of Lost as well as the current Fringe and Person of Inter- est, all of which Worth works/worked on. Choosing these houses based on a partic- ular shot gives Worth a lot of creative free- dom. "It frees us up to tailor hire the vendor for a specific shot." Regular vendors called on Alcatraz include Jay Worth calls on a variety of effects studios depending on their expertise and the shot needed. Burbank's CoSA VFX for 3D; Bow, WA's Black- pool Studios for matte paintings and set exten- sions; LA's Seven Crows for 2D compositing; Kansas City's Branit FX for 3D; Burbank's FuseFX for explosions and fire enhancement; and Culver City's Hi-Ground Media for transi- tions. "We also have a collection of smaller independent guys working out of their home offices for overflow shots," he adds. POST: This is a J.J. Abrams-produced show, 16 Post • April 2012 shots and episodes. My favorite shot of the season is in 'Guy Hastings,' when he walks out of his barracks and up the hill to Alcatraz. That was shot on a greenscreen in Vancouver. Our artist, Blackpool's Eric Chauvin, went to Alcatraz and shot reference. He did some 3D modeling and texturing and built that whole environment...it was seamless. When we planned it, we knew we needed the guard com- ing out of the door, and a slight grade going up the hill, and a greenscreen. We also built a 3D water tower for that shot because it's actually blocked by trees." POST: Can you walk us through the cafete- ria scene in "Clarence Montgomery," where the prisoners are subdued by tear gas? WORTH: "The gas was turned on practi- cally in the wide shot, but it came on in the wrong speed, so it didn't match. CoSA had the very difficult task of overlaying CG smoke over the practical smoke that was acting incorrectly. CoSA has really stepped up in so many ways this year; it's been amazing to see how much they've been able to expand and take on." POST: You had to build 3D models of Alca- traz itself, I imagine? www.postmagazine.com the yard and added the wall and the horizon in numerous shots." POST: The show is set in San Francisco but shot in Vancouver. Environments must create opportunity for VFX. WORTH: "Yes, 'Ernest Cobb' — the one with the sniper — was one of our most chal- lenging for visual effects. We had to put Cobb, who was shot in Vancouver, on rooftops and as well as all over San Francisco." POST: What about the indoor prison shots? WORTH: "The new Alcatraz is a combi- nation between the art department and us. They put white panels on the wall, but we end up re-skinning the entire prison to make it look like a different set. Many times they don't have both sides of the prison dressed for the new Alcatraz, so they throw up a greenscreen and shoot through the bars over someone's shoulder. We add the 3D model of new Alcatraz in the background. Also, for the continued on page 51