Making Movie-Magic on a Reality TV Budget

Challenge

The crew had worked tirelessly to set up this new reality series and find a practical location. With the shoot was only weeks away and lots of work yet to be done, there was a HUGE problem – the location was considered not wild and mountainous enough to get the greenlight from the commissioner. Switching locations would be a mountain of a task in itself, so production company Workerbee approached me to save the day with the magic of visual effects.

Outcome

40+ visual effects shots including environment extensions, object removals and particle simulations.

The Bridge is a reality show that aired on Channel 4 & HBO, narrated by Hollywood actor James McAvoy.

Concerned whether or not these shots would work seamlessly with the rest of the show, the production team initially asked for a couple of test shots to see what was possible. Satisfied with the results and the invisible integration of CGI mountains into the existing landscape, I was hired for an intense 7 week block to produce over forty shots throughout the series.

It also became apparent during production that shooting flare guns necessary to the format was going to be extremely problematic, due to concerns surrounding local wildlife. Not one to shy away from a challenge, I also created a number of photoreal CGI flare shots using particle simulations, which were so effective that most of the production team didn’t know they were created with visual effects!