By OLIVER WEBBImages courtesy of Sony Pictures.Fly Me to the Moon explores the relationship between marketing executive Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) and NASA official Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) as he makes preparations for NASAs historic Apollo 11 moon landing during the tumultuous 1960s Space Race between the United States and Soviet Union. As the public loses interest in the race, Jones must reignite public excitement around NASA and the space program.Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) and Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) in Fly Me to the Moon. The film is not a space movie, but a love story focusing on the people on the ground. (Photo: Dan McFadden)Framestore led the asset team on [the Saturn V rocket], and the detail that they put into that model is something Ill geek out on forever. I also just want to give credit to our in-house team because they were paramount in determining the creative look of a lot of stuff and finding the right research and stock footage to make sure it worked. Then cutting in the stock footage and using that as previs to then basically do a CG version of it later.Sean Devereaux, Visual Effects SupervisorSean Devereaux served as Visual Effects Supervisor on the Apple Studios/Sony film, joining the project as post-production commenced in March 2023, with production wrapping a year later. Harry Jierjian, the Editor, was editing throughout production and had a really good assembly, so we were ready to work immediately, Devereaux states. Director Greg Berlanti likes to see stuff pretty far along before some of the cuts, so we brought on three in-house compositors who absolutely saved our butts and were a huge creative part of the show, not just to get temps out, but to really help us develop the look of things.Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) and Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson). Creative references included 1960s Space Race documentaries and recent films such as First Man. (Photo: Dan McFadden)When it came to creative references, the team looked at the available Space Race documentaries as well as recent films such as First Man. We watched all the films, Devereaux notes. We didnt avoid watching them, but we certainly didnt want to mimic them. It would be impossible for us to not look at films that were so well researched. We looked at the Apollo 11 documentary and licensed some of the footage that came from that documentary. We had a full-time archivist, and we looked through every frame of film that was available to us, which was a lot. A self-proclaimed Space Race geek himself, Devereaux enjoyed watching everything he could get his hands on, which included hundreds of hours of material. Some things I had never seen before, he admits. We did change some shot designs if they were too similar to, say, First Man and make it our own, even if it wasnt intentionally duplicated.The 1960s Space Race between the U.S. and Soviet Union serves as the backdrop of the film. While the Space Race isnt the central premise, effects were essential to project realism and heighten the drama. Invisible VFX were required for period corrections. (Photo: Dan McFadden)Director Greg Berlanti likes to see stuff pretty far along before some of the cuts, so we brought on three in-house compositors who absolutely saved our butts and were a huge creative part of the show, not just to get temps out, but to really help us develop the look of things.Sean Devereaux, Visual Effects SupervisorDevereaux and his team worked closely with NASA, who were constantly involved with the project. We used a lot of stock footage from NASA, but we also had CG shots that had to feel like they were stock footage. At that point in time, it was the most photographed event in history, so we have dozens of hours of footage. Greg really wanted it to feel authentic. Its not really about space, its about the love story. So, he wanted the story to be about the people on the ground, not about whats happening in space. In order to do that we really had to nail the realism, so at no point are you taken away from the story. Even if you have a really stunning visual effect shot, it was visual effects no matter how real it looks. So, we really tried hard to place our cameras where they could only be placed. For example, the Apollo 11 moon landing only had a single camera position, but with Apollo missions 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17, they had a lot more camera placements, so we did use stock footage and match-mimicked stock footage with CG just to give the audience more of a sense of the story. Technically, a lot of the cameras werent there until the later missions, but we took some creative liberty there.Apollo 11 astronauts rehearse for a moonwalk on a moon set, which served as a backup just in case the mission failed, because failure was not an option for NASA in Fly Me to the Moon. There were about 1,000 visual effects shots required for the film, with work split up between Framestore, RISE, Zero VFX, Nexodus and Ingenuity Studios. (Photo: Dan McFadden)Berlanti was adamant that he didnt want the effects to be showy in any shape or form as he felt concerned this would take away from the central premise of the film. I storyboarded a launch sequence that followed the rules and only put cameras where NASA put cameras, but once Greg saw it, he said it looked too prepared for what we were doing, Devereaux explains. Greg felt that was too much and was taking away from the people on the ground by showing how majestic this launch could be. We still want to obviously show the scale of what happened, which is massive. The Saturn V rocket is still the most powerful machine ever built by man, so we wanted to show that power. We got to do it in some longer shots that we let sit, rather than doing cutaways to rockets going off. That was the biggest visual language, and Greg needed to make sure that our stuff was not at all discernible from the stock footage. This includes crowd shots, rocket launches, moon landings and all the period corrections.[T]he Apollo 11 moon landing only had a single camera position, but with Apollo missions 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17, they had a lot more camera placements, so we did use stock footage and match-mimicked stock footage with CG just to give the audience more of a sense of the story. Technically, a lot of the cameras werent there until the later missions, but we took some creative liberty there.Sean Devereaux, Visual Effects SupervisorThe moon set. The VFX team studied the Apollo 11 documentary and licensed some of the footage that came from that documentary. They also had a full-time archivist and combed through every frame of available footage.Although Devereaux knew hed be facing a daunting challenge, he was excited to get started on the project and already had a few ideas in mind in terms of what he wanted to achieve. Greg knew the movie, and he won that battle quickly, but initially, my scope was to go bigger with this. Very few people on this planet will be able to tell what is stock footage and what are our CG shots. The approach to this project is different because its so real, so Im not going to change what is there, but thats my job to give the director options and understand their vision as quickly as I can. The creative in this wasnt like other movies where you have a completely blank slate to work with, we had very clear elements and pieces we had to work with. It was a more technical than creative approach because we really did go down and figure out and mimic all the things that NASA had previously done, so when you are watching the film you cant tell that it was visual effects.Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) and Ruby Martin (Anna Garcia).Visual Effects Supervisor Sean Devereaux and his team worked closely with NASA, who was constantly involved with the project to ensure authenticity.There were just over 1,000 visual effects shots required for the film. The work was split up between five vendors Framestore, RISE, Zero VFX, Nexodus and Ingenuity Studios who were all brought on to provide their unique skillsets required for the film. There was a variety of work that included the moon, rocket launches, stars in the sky and a lot of period fixes and crowd work. Theres also a lot of CG cars in this because there were only so many cars we could get from 1969 that looked brand new. There are thousands of CG cars in this movie that was a really fun challenge. Most of my work is invisible, and as I said before, its hard to see what we did. This movie fits squarely into that category, which I honestly love. I want the story to be highlighted and not show off effects.The astronauts in Fly Me to the Moon. Director Greg Berlanti needed all the imagery shot for the film seamlessly blended with the stock footage, including crowd shots, rocket launches, moon landings and all period corrections.Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) and Ruby Martin (Anna Garcia), The actual Apollo 11 moon landing only had a single camera position while other Apollo missions had more camera placements. Taking some creative liberty, stock footage and newly-minted stock footage with CG was used to give the audience more of a sense of the story.The entire control room set was built on a gimbal, allowing production to shake the set on lift-off of the giant rocket. VFX was tied into the shaking to make the moment feel as dramatic as possible.NASA headquarters in Fly Me to the Moon. There are many CG cars in the film due to the limited availability of brand-new-looking cars from 1969.Director Greg Berlanti wanted to show the massive scale and power of the Saturn V rocket, but he felt that by showing how majestic the moon launch could be would take away from story of the people on the ground. Longer shots rather than cutaways were used to show the power of the launch rocket going off.A lot of stock footage from NASA was used, so the CG shots had to feel like they were stock footage to ensure that few people would be able to tell the difference. Director Greg Berlanti didnt want the effects to be too attention-grabbing that they distracted from the focus of the film.There was a variety of work that included the moon, rocket launches, stars in the sky and a lot of period fixes and crowd work. Theres also a lot of CG cars in this because there were only so many cars we could get from 1969 that looked brand new. There are thousands of CG cars in this movie that was a really fun challenge. Most of my work is invisible, and as I said before, its hard to see what we did. This movie fits squarely into that category, which I honestly love. I want the story to be highlighted and not show off effects.Sean Devereaux, Visual Effects SupervisorOne of the most challenging aspects of the project for Devereaux and his team involved the Apollo 10 launch. Its actually a side scene and not really a focus of the story of the film, he explains. Its not a huge story point and its barely mentioned in the movie, but its the first time Scarlett Johanssons character really understands the weight and power of what she is involved with. Shes never seen a launch before, and its a nighttime launch. We had no stock footage of it, so we did do a lot of CG there. We had a balance between Dariusz Wolskis cinematography that was lit dark, but also being able to backlight Scarlett from rockets that shes looking at. The entire control room set was built on a gimbal, so they shook the set, and we had to just tie our visual effects into that and make it feel as real as that.VFX was deployed to put wings under the romance between Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) and Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) in Fly Me to the Moon.Concludes Devereaux: Getting to create a Saturn V rocket was probably the most enjoyable part of the project. It still blows my mind that we put people on a 33-story building and sent it into space. It does not cease to amaze me the more I learn about it. Framestore led the asset team on it, and the detail that they put into that model is something Ill geek out on forever. I also just want to give credit to our in-house team because they were paramount in determining the creative look of a lot of stuff and finding the right research and stock footage to make sure it worked. Then cutting in the stock footage and using that as previs to then basically do a CG version of it later. They were a huge asset, and they were there from before I was until the very end. They went from temp work through to final shots.