Client: Cosmos Filmed Entertainment
Director: Mel Gibson
VFX Supervisor: Chris Godfrey
VFX Art Direction: Daniel James Cox

In conversation: Adrienne Hurst (DMW)

How did you get involved with Hacksaw Ridge?

I’d worked with Chris Godfrey (VFX Supervisor) on previous shows, including AUSTRALIA and THE GREAT GATSBY, in the same role. He initially contacted me about providing several “key illustrations” for his pitch meeting with Mel Gibson, who was directing. There was no money and it was a really tight turnaround, so I asked another concept artist and good mate, Gerhard Mozsi to help me out. Mr Mozsi is a gun, so we were able to get through the workload and illustrate the ideas in the allotted timeframe. We are all about pictures in this business, and apparently, Mel liked what we did. Few weeks went by and Chris confirmed he had the job. So once the shoot was completed, I came on for a 10-week contract as VFX Art Director, working directly with Chris and also Juri Fripp, who would be handling the post-viz @ Fox Studios. Gerhard went onto ALIEN: COVENANT.

What was your role, and how do you work with the VFX Supervisor?

My role was to creatively conceptualise the look and feel of the key vfx shots. Generally, Chris would brief me on the shot. Then Miranda Culley (VFX Producer) would deliver the plates, and we would work out the creative visual solution and approach. Then I’d present visuals back to him that afternoon or the next day. I’d get notes, revise and represent. When he was happy, the stills were sent over to Mel and Bill Mechanic (EP) in the US for approval. Some shots I would break up into components first for Juri to use in the post-viz and then Chris would present a moving shot. It really depended on the visual problem of a particular sequence. Then the still or post-viz goes to the vendor as part of the overall package, and it gives everyone a very clear idea of what is required for the shot or scene. That’s how you get the most bang for your buck on a large-scale picture with a smallish budget ($40 million). On any film, really!

What skillsets did you require for this role?

Firstly, you need to understand story. In my view, everything is about servicing the story. Can I provide a visual solution that enhances the drama? Is the story point clear? I worked on Spartacus: Gods of the Arena with EP Rob Tapert, and he would sometimes review the look development I was presenting and go “Fellas, there’s a story we aren’t telling here”. It’s never about making a pretty picture. It’s always about the drama.

Then, how do you design a frame to service that story? That means being creative, and using composition, tone, lighting, atmos etc. all to lead the viewers eye, so the story points are told. Some shots were all about the environment – the layout, the amount of smoke, debris etc. Others were directly about the characters. Some were about both. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life and you get a lot of it in this job.

And you need to do all that, while you leave your ego at the door. Because you are going to have disagreements with your Supervisor and you can provide options or alternate concepts --but at the end of the day, it’s “chain of command”. So even when you don’t agree with the direction being taken, you’ve got to bite the bullet – no pun intended.

In terms of toolsets, it’s the usual suspects: I bring in my own Wacom Cintiq and Mac Pro setup, with Photoshop, Painter, Sketchup Pro for rudimentary 3D. 

Any specific examples of shots that were particularly challenging?

A good example is the sequence dubbed “Spifflication”. This was the first death in the film and the start of the first battle on top of the ridge. Mel wanted it to be the “…bloodiest, goriest scene to ever open a battle”. No small task, right? Especially considering what was shot, which was a couple guys just pantomiming being riddled with a few bullets, then falling down dead. Akin to Captain Kirk and crew throwing themselves around on the Enterprise set. Fine in the late 60’s. Not so much now.

Chris, Juri and I all looked at the plates and worked out a few approaches. One was keeping most of the existing plate and the other was replacing it totally with CG. But first things first… it was my job to design what that actually means and how it will look. I looked at battle wound ref (not so fun) and worked up the frame. Then I presented to Chris, he would give his notes, and the stills went down to Mel, who loved them and asked for even more bloodshed! That told us immediately that we would be replacing a lot of the actor with digital doubles, which meant skin, cloth, bone all reacting to the bullet hits. Once the final stills were approved, I saved off the elements for Juri, who composited them into Nuke and we pixel bashed the thing til the post-viz was approved. Mel loved it and the shot was bid as a stand-alone.

The Okinawa landing shot was another big visual problem. Unfortunately, the plate was shot very flat, so I devised a dramatic lighting scheme using heavier bombing smoke that would help lead the viewers eye down the “funnel” towards the landing boats. I showed Chris, but he felt that the plate needed raking light across the frame instead, so I revised. Again, at the end of the day, my role is supportive, and that’s his call to make, whether I agree or not. Once Chris was happy, he presented the shot to Mel, who seemed to like it. I tightened that painting up as much as I could, but it still needed a lot of work. They brought in mattepainters to final the shot after I’d left the project. 

Who else did you work with during the project?

It was a really great team of people --  Juri Fripp, as already mentioned, Ben Seager in 3d, Jason Li, who did the modelling, Nicole Padilha, texture artist, Anu Vijayan in tracking, Ferry Taswan in FX, and I knew Andy Sutton from a previous gig, who came on and did the bulk of the mattepainting after I’d left  – just to name a few. I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting, sorry. All freelancers, but the ones expected to do the heavy lifting. For such a condensed schedule, they did magnificently. An amazing group of artists. I’ve been lucky to have worked with so many talented people throughout my career, many of whom are still close mates.

How much say do you have over taking your concepts to final shots?

On this project, my role was a creative, visual problem-solving one, earlier in the post-production process, setting the look and feel of the vfx. The final execution would be up to Chris and the vendors. And I’d already left the project before any finals started to come in as I had relocated Vancouver to work as VFX Art Director with Sony Pictures Imageworks. I wasn’t able to attend the crew screening either, which was disappointing.