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In 2013, Erik Nordby discussed MPCs work on Elysium. Since then, he has contributed to numerous films, including The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Passengers, Pokmon: Detective Pikachu, and The School for Good and Evil.How did you get involved in this show?While I was in the final month of production on The School for Good and Evil with Paul Feig, my agent informed me that Skydance was seeking a supervisor for a movie. Later that week, we scheduled a call with Scott Derrickson. I read the script and was immediately captivated by its uniqueness in fundamental ways. It perfectly aligned with my preferred approach to visual effects, incorporating numerous environments, invisible effects, and an exciting array of animation. This combination felt like an ideal fit. Additionally, the scope of world-building presented a significant challenge, and fortunately, Scott shared a similar perspective on it. We had an engaging discussion exploring various methodologies, and by the end of our call, there was a palpable sense of excitement. A few days later, we commenced early prep meetings.How did you collaborate with the director and other departments, such as cinematography and production design, to organically integrate VFX into the story?On every movie, I build a rapport with the following team members as soon as possible: Director, First AD, DOP, and Prod designer, in that order. Building trust among the heads of departments is crucial, especially for a grounded yet multi-faceted movie like The Gorge. There were a number of significant decisions that needed to be made upfront to establish a balance between each department. We started working well before we arrived at Leavesden.The most important initial decision that required extensive discussion was how we would approach the two vastly different worlds of UPPER Gorge and LOWER Gorge. Each required a unique approach that didnt share much in common. Upper Gorge needed a significant amount of photo-realism, while Lower Gorge was much more stylized. Upper Gorge needed to blend well with location shooting, while Lower Gorge was ideally suited for stages with small build-outs. Upper Gorge needed to showcase seasonal changes, while Lower Gorge showcased changes primarily tied to color and interactive mist.We also spent two months actively investigating the possibility of shooting the Upper Gorge as a Bigature on stage. We even commissioned a test shoot and attempted to secure the necessary resources. However, considering that we could only shoot roughly 4 setups per day, to achieve the roughly 300 shots that were required, the time commitment proved too extensive. It would have locked us into too many lighting scenarios ahead of Dans schedule as well.Once we decided that the Upper Gorge would consist of a hybrid between real-world locations and extensive CG extensions, a solid approach was established. We identified a series of excellent forest locations that existed on a small hillock outside London, playing as the edge of the Gorge. We would then flip the photography so that these locations could serve as both the east and west perimeters. With this approach solidified, production designer Rick Heinrichs, DOP Dan Lausten, and I could reasonably collaborate on dividing the heavy lifting among our respective disciplines.The tops of the 2 towers werent appropriate for outdoor filming. We briefly considered building them on the backlot, but Dan was concerned about lighting and environment control for good reason. So, we built the corresponding East and West tower tops on stage. Each set consisted of the front exterior (essentially the balcony) and the full single-floor interior. Since so many shots required long lenses (through military tech binoculars and scopes), we tested opening the large doors of the stages and shooting lenses up to 1000mm (500mm doubled) from outside. Scott and Dan didnt think the compression was worth the loss of 2 stops and exposure to the elements, so all photography was confined to the dimensions of a single stage.The tower bases were built outdoors, however. We constructed Levis Tower on the Leavesden backlot and Drasas East Tower in the woods near the rest of the forest work. We used these locations resourcefully, but they were restricted to the confines of appropriate blue screens and negative fill. Shooting in the rainy spring was challenging, but it greatly enhanced the exterior look.The lower gorge took longer to establish an approach. Initially, it wasnt clear how stylized Scott wanted the look to be. So, we conducted numerous rounds of tests during prep to help establish a look. These tests primarily involved manipulating levels of lights, fog, mist, and color. The positive outcome was that we locked in an in-camera set look that Scott and Dan could reference as the desired end goal throughout the rest of the shoot. We also used this as a bible to establish the correct levels in post, which was highly valuable.However, there were still challenges. In many instances, it became evident that VFX needed to own the fog. This created a dilemma. Adding practical mist and fog to the stage would obviously affect the shape of the light, primarily making it softer. There was no effective way to add significant extensions within the fog using VFX unless it could be controlled. This was especially true on our largest stage full of trees with a lot of branch complexity. Additionally, we were limiting our photographic visibility by locking into practical mist, which made Scott slightly anxious. Consequently, for most scenes shot in the lower gorge, we added a subtle level of base mist, set the overall color, and with Dans eventual approval, we pushed the addition of the art-directed Fog to VFX.How did you choose the various vendors and split the work amongst them?The primary vendors we selected upfront for The Gorge were Framestore, DNEG, and Image Engine.One always strives to find an effective way to divide the workload, and fortunately, the overall structure of this movie presented a remarkably straightforward breakdown upfront. DNEG was assigned the Upper Gorge, Framestore was given the Lower Gorge and the creatures therein, and Image Engine was tasked with capturing specific, confined scenes that didnt necessitate significant overlap with other lower gorge work (such as the Skull Spiders and the Body Web). The sole scene that required the majority of shared resources was the Attack on the Wall scene near the beginning of the second act. This is where we first encountered the Hollowmen from the lower gorge as they attempted to scale the gorge walls. It was simpler to share DNEGs gorge environment with Framestore, rather than trying to bundle up the two dozen creatures and share them with DNEG. So in the end, DNEG packaged that asset, and Framestore executed the entire sequence.How did the collaboration between you evolve throughout the production process to ensure a cohesive visual effects vision?Pete Dionne, the overall supervisor at Framestore (based out of Vancouver), was also my second unit supervisor on the shoot. Weve been working together for several years and have collaborated on many films. He was instrumental in developing the approach for physically acquiring the Gorge environment. He led a team that traveled to Norway and scanned massive rock faces and other unique geographic locations. He also helped isolate a good, straightforward approach to the Hollowmen, which I speak more about below. Joao Sita at Framestore Australia came on in post to help with some heavy lifting, specifically the replacement of the practical Alpha character in his confrontation with Drasa. He led a great team, and we loved working with him.Anelia (Nellie) Asparuhova, Supervisor at DNEG, visited the set frequently and helped solidify the visual style and feel of the upper gorge extensions. Her team also dedicated a significant amount of time to conducting scope and binocular research. Nellie and I had also worked together on a previous film and have a great shorthand as a result.Christian Irles at Image Engine flew in to supervise our elements shoot and the animation work that his studio expertly crafted for the body web, skull spiders, and Hollowmen in the church. Christian and I also have a lot of previous experience working together.We also leaned on Outpost VFX, Host VFX.All in all, I was spoiled with the teams we put together for this movie. They were such a massive part of its success. Super collaborative, and I look forward to continuing my experience with them on further shows.Can you explain the process of designing the Gorge environment? What were the biggest creative and technical challenges in capturing its vastness and danger?Early on in the production, it became evident that the most significant challenge in creating a photorealistic upper gorge was achieving repeatability through many sequences without killing the render times. The environment needed to feel like a consistent and believable space that the audience could rely on. Additionally, we required sufficient shape and landmarking to prevent the gorge from feeling disjointed or too indistinct. We didnt want to confuse the space for the audience.To this end, we established an obvious north end that was large and impassable, a south end that encircled a distant waterfall with mist and atmosphere. Then the east and west sides featured rock faces that were distinct and differing distance skylines and elevations. Part of the learning curve involved doing this too heavily handed at first, where it ended up feeling like it was a pastiche of environments that were too dissimilar. So, luckily, we continued to experiment with the DNEG team once they came on board.In addition to these challenges, we also wanted a gorgeous environment that felt untouched and undiscovered. This required a lot of time and energy to nail down and keep the landmarking in place. DNEG hired a geologist named Tom Brodie that helped guide the science behind the overall makeup of the natural world we were trying to recreate. Forests that have been forested or destroyed by a fire tend to appear like millions of identical trees once they regrow. When photographed, this can look realistic, but in CG, it can feel very repetitive and artificial. We needed variability in order to feel real. We needed micro and macro breakups in the types and amounts of trees, rock faces, boulders, cliff faces, types of rock, etc. We needed a forest floor that felt built up and reflective of centuries of being untouched, even the hints of animal pathways through the woods were important. There were so many challenges to balance, and through continued experimentation, the DNEG team solved each problem one at a time.Were there any real-world locations or specific references that inspired the creation of the Gorge?Initially, we believed we could find a perfect location and even send a team to acquire it. Unfortunately, it didnt exist. However, while flying around Google Earth in a pair of goggles, we managed to isolate several locations in Norway that could individually serve as a library of scans and photographs for different sections of the gorge. This formed a good balance of feeding the needs of the world whilst still rooting it in reality.How did you film the dizzying scenes above the Gorge?Over several days, all the zip-line work was conducted on the backlot of Leavesden. Two large cranes were strategically positioned and offset to assist with height adjustments. We also brought in approximately a dozen tele-handlers equipped with 2030 blue screens. These screens were used to postage-stamp individual shots and cover as much of the action as possible. While primarily focusing on Miles, we aimed to isolate him when we could without affecting the lighting.To secure the zip-line to the east and west sides of the gorge, we connected it to the tower base locations. The west tower base was also physically built on the backlot, allowing us to directly link the wire work to the moments Miles ran and leaped from his side. On the other hand, the east tower base was constructed in a forest location near the edge of the gorge wall scenes. This made it more challenging to integrate the wire work into Drasas tower. Fortunately, there were fewer shots in this area, and we prioritized capturing Drasas reactions rather than the actual wire work. For instances where Levi fell, we had exceptional elements of actual falls shot by our stunt team, led by Brycen Counts and Shane Habberstad.How was the design of the creatures developed? What key elements were chosen to reflect their menacing nature while keeping them believable within the gorge environment?Designing the Hollowmen was a labor of love. It began early in the process, even before we awarded the project. Before I signed on, Scott had selected a core group of references that resonated with him. These references quickly became a foundation for tone, that we built upon throughout many rounds of creature design.L to R: VFX Supervisor Erik Nordby and VFX Producer Rich YeomansThe first significant design push involved Ravi Bansal and his talented team of designers within the art department at DNEG. We began by exploring the base morphology of the creatures. How distorted were they? How did we convey the hybridization between organic, insect, and human elements? How could we connect the human elements to the WW2 legions mentioned in the script? How horrific should we make them? Ravis team guided us through numerous rounds of these investigations. Scott was excellent at making decisions about what worked and what didnt. He wanted to connect to the humanity of the characters at all costs. This helped us narrow down a set of base designs that felt authentic.Once we awarded it to Framestore, Martin Macraes team got involved and helped flesh out some smart manifestations and interesting mutations that we pitched to Scott. His team created some great art that could push us through the next evolution in finding the hollowmen.After several rounds of this, our challenge was organizing the creatures into groups that fully supported the story. To achieve this, we dedicated a room at Leavesden near the VFX offices, which we named Hollowman Hall. This provided a large space where we could display artwork, rearrange it, allocate per scene, and establish a foothold for a team of designs that adhered to the story and scripted characters. Many afternoons were spent here with Scott and the other HODs attempting to nail down this work.The most significant challenge then arose: how could we assetize these creatures in a cost-effective manner to make a few feel like many? Since each high level of detail requires an intensive process of design, build time, and rigging for animation, we needed to be strategic. Pete Dionne had the brilliant idea of naming each individual Hollowman. The main close-up Hollowmen featured in the wall attack were THURSTON and REGINALD. There were RADCLIFF and WINSTON, two heroes in the horse attack. Then there was REMINGTON, HEATHCLIFF, and CHADWICK, who led the charge when Levi and Drasa towed their jeep up the wall in the third act. They were followed up with a whole cadre of characters that fleshed out each scene each named.This approach allowed us to rally around and embrace a subtle backstory for each character. It also fostered a lot more engagement with Scott and the editing team, reinforcing the idea that each one of these Hollowmen used to be human. It expedited better communication and then launched an effective method of repurposing certain characters through simple swap-outs, transforming the 12-hero Hollowmen into a small army.How did you handle the interactions between the actors and these terrifying creatures? Were there physical elements on set, or was everything animated digitally?During prep, it was evident that there was a significant amount of interaction between the Hollowmen and our leads. Additionally, intricate stunt work was necessary to ensure that the script beats were met. Consequently, we collaborated with the stunt team to enhance these moments. We gained valuable information from their stunt vis, which was filmed, edited, and presented to Scott early on, and used as a framework for our own shooting. For the majority of interactive scenes between Levi, Drasa, and a creature, a real-life person or a puppeteered proxy was involved.What tools or animation approaches were essential to bring the creatures to life and make them feel threatening?The majority of our animation was based on physically real rotoscoped motion. We had real stunt performers on set that were seamlessly integrated into shots. Or, in the case of the skull spiders, we had puppeteered proxies that Drasa and Levi could interact with.The horses play a key role in the film. How were they designed and animated to maintain their terrifying appearance while capturing realistic, natural movements?The horses played a significant role in the first encounter between the Hollowmen in the lower gorge. We spent considerable time digitally choreographing the actual scene in Previs with an exceptional team from The Third Floor, led by Hamilton Lewis. This was then handed over to the stunt team to further develop and refine, guided by their expertise in equestrian physicality. Concurrently, we iterated through various horse designs that began to resonate with Scott. To avoid deviating too far from the overall mass and silhouette of the horses we intended to use on set, we started hollowing them out to reveal internal degradation, muscles, and sinew.Our production manager, Rebecca Field, took the reins in constructing a completely custom motion capture volume, large enough to capture full horse sprints and stunts on a stage at Leavesden. This proved invaluable, providing our animation team with an extensive and high-quality library of motion capture data that was bespoke for each scene.Were there any memorable moments or scenes from the film that you found particularly rewarding or challenging to work on from a visual effects standpoint?Levi and Drasas encounter with the hybrid body mass soup at the base of the shelter after killing the Alpha Hollowman and escaping his lair was arguably one of the most significant and gratifying challenges. We referred to it as the body web, and it demanded exceptional design patience to establish the appropriate tone for this work. The challenge lay in the immense computational burden required by Image Engine to render the complex scene. Fortunately, their solid skills and strategic positioning allowed them to successfully execute the task. Im really proud of the work they accomplished.Looking back on the project, what aspects of the visual effects are you most proud of?I believe Im most proud of how effectively the visual effects support the narrative. They dont hinder the story and, hopefully, only enhance its progression. Additionally, Im incredibly proud of the Upper Gorge set. It was an enormous undertaking to seamlessly blend various disparate shooting locations into a cohesive and expansive world that felt like a single environment.But in the end Im always struck with how proud I am of the collaboration this art form requires. So proud of the entire team of leads, supervisors, production support, and artists that came together to make this film come to life. Also cant say enough good things about working with Skydance throughout. Kathy Chasen-Hay and Aliyah Lopez offered support and understanding throughout the making of this film. It was great to know they had our backs. They made it a joy.How long have you worked on this show?I worked on The Gorge from September 2022 to May 2023.Whats the VFX shots count?1932.What is your next project?Nothing locked in yet.A big thanks for your time.WANT TO KNOW MORE?DNEG: Dedicated page about The Gorge on DNEG website.Anelia Asparuhova & Sebastian von Overheidt: Heres my interview of VFX Supervisors Anelia Asparuhova & Sebastian von Overheidt at DNEG.Framestore: Dedicated page about The Gorge on Framestore website.Joao Sita, Martin Macrae and Nicholas Tripodi: Joao Sita (VFX Supervisor), Martin Macrae (Head of Art Department) and Nicholas Tripodi (Head of Animation) at Framestore.Image Engine: Dedicated page about The Gorge on Image Engine website.Christian Irles: Heres my interview of VFX Supervisor Christian Irles at Image Engine.Outpost VFX: Dedicated page about The Gorge on Outpost VFX website. Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025
