By TREVOR HOGGImages courtesy of ZQ Entertainment, The Avenue and PFX. Plates were captured by a six-camera array covering 180 and stitched together to achieve the appropriate background width or correct angle.Taking the concept of a single location on the road is Locked, where a carjacker is held captive inside a high-tech SUV that is remotely controlled by a mysterious sociopath. An English language remake of 4X4, the thriller is directed by David Yarovesky, stars Bill Skarsgrd and Anthony Hopkins, and was shot in Vancouver during November and December 2023. Post-production lasted four months with sole vendor PFX creating 750 visual effects shots with the expertise of 75 artists and guidance of VFX Supervisor Jindich ervenka. Every project is specific and unique, ervenka notes. Here, we had a significant challenge due to the sheer number of shots [750], which needed to be completed within four months, all produced in 4K resolution. Additionally, at that time, we didnt have background plates for every car-driving shot. We distributed the workload among our three branches in Prague, Bratislava and Warsaw to ensure timely completion. Director Yarkovesky had a clear vision. That allowed us to move forward quickly. Of course, the more creative and complex sequences involved collaborative exploration, but thats standard and part of the usual process.The greenscreen was set at two distances with one being closer and lower while the other was an entire wall a few meters away, approximately two meters apart.A shot taken from a witness camera on the greenscreen stage.The biggest challenge [of the three-and-a-half-minute take introducing the carjacker] was the length of the shot and the fact that nothing in the shot was static. Tracking such a shot required significant effort and improvisation. The entire background was a video projection onto simple geometry created from LiDAR scans of the parking lot. It greatly helped that we could use real-set footage, timed exactly as needed, and render it directly from Nuke.Jindich ervenka, Visual Effects SupervisorPrevis and storyboards were provided by the client for the more complex shots. We primarily created postvis for the intense sequence with a car crash, fire and other crazy action, ervenka states. We needed to solve this entire sequence in continuity. Continuity was major issue. Throughout the film, we had to maintain continuity in the water drops on all car windows, paying close attention to how they reacted to changes in lighting during the drive. Another area of research involved bokeh effects, which we experimented with extensively. Lastly, we conducted significant research into burning cars, finding many beautiful references that we aimed to replicate as closely as possible. The majority of the visual effects centered around keying, water drops on windows, and cleaning up the interior of the car. ervenka adds, A few shots included digital doubles. There were set extensions, especially towards the end of the film. Additionally, we worked on fire and rain effects, car replacements in crash sequences, bleeding effects, muzzle flashes, bullet hits, and a bullet-time shot featuring numerous CGI elements. PFX adhered to its traditional workflow and pipeline for shot production. We were the sole vendor, which allowed us complete control over the entire process.The studio-filmed interior of the SUV had no glass in the windows which meant that reflections, raindrops and everything visible on the windows had to be added digitally.A signature moment is the three-and-a-half-minute continuous take that introduces the young carjacker portrayed by Bill Skarsgrd. The biggest challenge was the length of the shot and the fact that nothing in the shot was static, ervenka remarks. Tracking such a shot required significant effort and improvisation. The entire background was a video projection onto simple geometry created from LiDAR scans of the parking lot. It greatly helped that we could use real-set footage, timed exactly as needed, and render it directly from Nuke. Window reflections were particularly challenging, and we ultimately used a combination of 3D renders and compositing cheats. When you have moving car parts, the window reflections give it away, so we had to tackle that carefully. Not surprisingly, this was the most complex shot to execute. The three-and-a-half-minute shot involved 12 artists, nine of whom were compositors. Working on extremely long shots is always challenging, so dividing the task into smaller segments was crucial to avoid fatigue. In total, we split it into 96 smaller tasks.[W]e conducted significant research into burning cars, finding many beautiful references that we aimed to replicate as closely as possible. A few shots included digital doubles. There were set extensions, especially towards the end of the film. Additionally, we worked on fire and rain effects, car replacements in crash sequences, bleeding effects, muzzle flashes, bullet hits, and a bullet-time shot featuring numerous CGI elements.Jindich ervenka, Visual Effects Supervisor Over a period of four months, PFX distributed 750 shots among facilities in Prague, Bratislava and Warsaw.Background plates were shot by Onset VFX Supervisor Robert Habros. His crew did excellent work capturing the background plates, ervenka notes. For most car rides, we had footage from six cameras covering 180, allowing us to stitch these together to achieve the appropriate background width or use the correct angle. Additionally, we had footage of an extended drive through the actual city location where the story takes place, so everything was edited by a visual effects editor. We simply synchronized this with the remaining camera recordings and integrated them into the shots. The greenscreen was set at two distances. ervenka explains, There was a closer, lower one and an entire wall a few meters away, approximately two meters apart. Although I wasnt personally on set, this setup helped create parallax since we couldnt rely on the cars interior. For the three-and-a-half-minute shot, we had separate tracking for the background and interior, where all interior walls were tracked as moving objects. Aligning these into a single reliable parallax track was impossible. A shot taken from the three-and-a-half-minute continuous take that introduces the young carjacker portrayed by Bill Skarsgrd.[W]e use an internal application allowing real-time viewing of shots and versions in the context of the films edit or defined workflows, enabling simultaneous comments on any production stage or context. Imagine having daily reviews where everything created up to that point is assessed, with artists continually adding new versions. In these daily sessions, everything was always thoroughly reviewed, and nothing was left for the next day.Jindich ervenka, Visual Effects Supervisor Locked takes place in single location, which is a high-tech SUV.There is an art to painting out unwanted reflections and incorporating desirable ones. The trick was that the studio-filmed interior had no glass in the windows at all, ervenka states. Reflections, raindrops and everything visible on the windows had to be added digitally. Shots from real exteriors and cars provided excellent references. Fire simulations were time-consuming. We simulated them in high resolution, and due to continuity requirements, we simulated from the initial ignition to full combustion, with the longest shot nearly 600 frames long. This was divided into six separate simulations, totaling about 30TB of data. Digital doubles were minimal. Throughout the film, there were only two digital doubles used in violent scenes. We didnt have to create any crowds or face replacements. A CG replica was made of the SUV. We had a LiDAR scan of the actual car, which served as the basis for the detailed CG version, including the interior. Only a few shots ultimately required this, primarily during a scene where another SUV car was initially filmed. We replaced it, and in two cases, we replaced only parts of the car and wheels to maintain real contact with the ground. There was a bit of masking involved, but otherwise, it went smoothly. The interior was mainly used for window reflections in wide shots from inside the car.There was not much need for digital doubles or crowds.We primarily created postvis for the intense sequence with a car crash, fire and other crazy action. We needed to solve this entire sequence in continuity. Throughout the film, we had to maintain continuity in the water drops on all car windows, paying close attention to how they reacted to changes in lighting during the drive.Jindich ervenka, Visual Effects SupervisorThe greatest creative and technical challenge was reviewing shots in continuity within a short production timeline and coordinating across our various offices, ervenka observes. Each shot depended on others, requiring numerous iterations to synchronize everything. For projects like this, we use an internal application allowing real-time viewing of shots and versions in the context of the films edit or defined workflows, enabling simultaneous comments on any production stage or context. Imagine having daily reviews where everything created up to that point is assessed, with artists continually adding new versions. In these daily sessions, everything was always thoroughly reviewed, and nothing was left for the next day. We avoided waiting for exports or caching. Everything needed to run smoothly and in real-time. Complicating matters was that ervenka joined the project only after editing had concluded. I had to quickly coordinate with teams distributed across Central Europe, grasp the intricacies of individual scenes and resolve continuity, which required extensive and precise communication. Thanks to our custom collaboration tools, we managed to streamline this demanding coordination successfully, and we delivered on time. But it definitely wasnt easy! Bill Skarsgrd pretends to try to break a glass window that does not exist.Watch PFXs brief VFX breakdown of the opening scene of Locked. The scene sets the tone for the film with a gripping three-and-a-half-minute single shot brought to life on a greenscreen stage where six crew members moved car parts in perfect sync. Click here: https://www.facebook.com/PFXcompany/videos/locked-vfx-breakdown/4887459704811837/