By OLIVER WEBBImages courtesy of Jellyfish Pictures and Sky UK Ltd, except where noted.Released in September for a limited theatrical window in the U.S. and U.K. where it was recently nominated for British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) for Best Effects and Cinematography, Lee stars Kate Winslet as World War II photojournalist Lee Miller and explores the story behind Millers rise to fame as a fashion model turned war correspondent for Vogue magazine. Adapted from the 1985 biography The Lives of Lee Miller, written by Millers son Antony Penrose, Lee is a harrowing portrayal of one of Americas most acclaimed photographers.Production VFX Supervisor Glen McGuigan and Jellyfish Pictures VFX Supervisor Ingo Putze led the team from pre-production to post. VFX Supervisor Glen McGuigan approached Jellyfish Pictures back in December 2022 to partner on the movie Lee, Putze says. Glen knew of Jellyfish through Jon Park, who is one of our stellar VFX supervisors. Jon was already busy with another project, so I was pleased that Lee ended up on my desk.Kate Winslet is WWII photographer Lee Miller in Lee. The VFX requirements on Lee encompassed a diverse range of tasks, including set extensions and digital matte paintings to help enhance Director of Photography Pawel Edelmans live-action photography.Since the film was focused on Lees photography, the VFX needed to capture both the tone and style of her photos. Lees war photography is black-and-white, grainy, high contrast, with a handheld camera somewhat impossible to marry with the smooth, perfectly-captured pictures by [Director of Photography] Pawel Edelman, but we found a golden middle to integrate them into the look of the VFX scenes.Ingo Putze, VFX Supervisor, Jellyfish PicturesWhen it came to initial conversations about the look of the film, Jellyfish had a very short window between locked edit, shot turnover and delivery. We decided to do concept art and paint over plates of almost all the key scenes to support the creative vision of the director, Ellen Kuras, Putze explains. It was very helpful to have that common visual language to execute the workload to make the delivery in the given timeframe. For the look, we found a language that kept the story focused on the foreground, balanced with bombed cities, smoke and VFX in the background without distracting the audience.Kate Winslet and Andy Samberg in Lee. Part of the visual effects work consisted of transforming modern landscapes into WWII-era London and Germany.Due to the fast turnaround and nature of the project, Jellyfish held remote reviews almost daily to finesse the work creatively while director Ellen Kuras was in New York. This meant we could work the shots up without impacting the schedule, Putze notes. Producer Kate Solomon and Post-Production Supervisor Portia Napier were instrumental in ensuring we had maximum access to Ellen and were included in the grading process to make the final detailing efficient. Once everything was in a good place creatively, we hosted 4K screening room reviews in our theater for sign-off. It was a true collaboration in every sense of the word and made for the smoothest possible execution.Lee Millers original photographs served as the main source of reference and inspiration for Jellyfish. Having access to Millers private archives proved to be invaluable in order to accurately depict her experiences. Translating Millers black-and-white analog still photographs into live-action moving imagery while preserving their original impact proved to be a challenging task for the VFX team. Since the film was focused on Lees photography, the VFX needed to capture both the tone and style of her photos, Putze remarks. Lees war photography is black-and-white, grainy, high contrast, with a handheld camera somewhat impossible to marry with the smooth, perfectly-captured pictures by [Director of Photography] Pawel Edelman, but we found a golden middle to integrate them into the look of the VFX scenes.Lee Millers original photographs served as the main source of reference and inspiration for Jellyfish. (Photo courtesy of Elevation Pictures)Usually, VFX projects are faster, bigger, stronger, creating VFX you often have never seen before. Lee, in contrast, is a true artistic film with a strong emotional message. It shows the importance of reporting the atrocities of war from the first female war photographer. We really enjoyed calming down the amplitude of VFX to not overtake the story.Ingo Putze, VFX Supervisor, Jellyfish PicturesJellyfish were tasked to match the bombed-out church shot where Miller took her most famous photo. We managed to find out how this building looked before the bombing through old postcards today it is a modern building on the same spot, Putze explains. Millers photo You Will Not Lunch In Charlotte Street, which is featured in one shot, was actually Goodge Street. A lot of photo material was taken from similar buildings and architecture to recreate London in the 1940s. Miller witnessed the worlds first use of napalm bombing. As a base, we colorized the original black-and-white photo then replaced it with real reference and added simulated smoke explosions, animated water, etc.Translating Millers black-and-white analog still photographs into live-action moving imagery while preserving their original impact proved to be a challenging task for the Jellyfish VFX team.The close-up of the bombed church in London was one of the most challenging shots. The blueprint for the shot was established when Lee takes a photo of the church. We needed to be true to her photo and also match the live photography, which was Kate Winslet on bluescreen with a pile of bricks. Extensive research went into it and getting the right texture elements for the DMP in execution it was a 2.5D projection to simulate the camera move. It was certainly a lot of work for 15 frames in focus.The VFX requirements on Lee encompassed a diverse range of tasks, including set extensions and digital matte paintings to help enhance Edelmans live-action photography. There is a scene where Lee is at an airfield where we needed to add CG planes in the background, then landing on a field airport in France and adding a sea of army tents with animated planes on the runway; adding injuries, wounds and burns to a soldier, adding fire to a burning building, simulating propaganda leaflets raining from the sky, hotels scenes and Millers home which was shot on bluescreen and needed BG replacement, [as well as] adding explosions, ground impacts and smoke to the combat scenes, Putze details.CG planes were added into the background for the airfield sequence, along with a sea of army tents in the foreground. The VFX needed to capture both the tone and style of Lee Millers photos.We managed to find out how this building looked before the bombing through old postcards today it is a modern building on the same spot. A lot of photo material was taken from similar buildings and architecture to recreate London in the 1940s. Miller witnessed the worlds first use of napalm bombing. As a base, we colorized the original black-and-white photo then replaced it with real reference and added simulated smoke explosions, animated water Ingo Putze, VFX Supervisor, Jellyfish PicturesThe Jellyfish team was extremely moved and emotionally challenged when researching original photos of the Dachau KZ camp where Miller witnessed atrocities by the Nazis. To be authentic, we needed to add dead bodies and compose them into the live action, Putze says. Understandably, some artists found it hard to work on this scene, which of course we respected, so we had to assign the tasks and handle the feedback incredibly sensitively. Feedback for this sequence was handled delicately while still achieving the level of realism that was required to honor Millers documentation of war and the brutality of its visuals.Jellyfish were also responsible for creating bombed cities and incorporating explosions.Jellyfish added explosions, ground impacts and smoke to the combat scenes.When it came to initial conversations about the look of the film, Jellyfish had a short window between locked edit, shot turnover and delivery.Authentically recreating Lees journalistic endeavors of WWII was a delicate balancing act for Jellyfish, which delivered 180 VFX shots for the film.The visual effects work also consisted of transforming modern landscapes into WWII-era London and Germany, creating CG war planes, enhancing wounds, adding injuries, extending crowds, adding CG fire and water hose elements to the burning Vogue building, replacing windows using bluescreen, creating bombed cities and incorporating explosions. Jellyfish delivered 180 visual effects shots for the film. At Jellyfish Pictures, we have a strong environment and DMP team, Putze notes. A lot of layers and cards came from that department and were projected in a 2.5D setup in compositing. This made the show much lighter in 3D tasks.Authentically recreating Lees journalistic endeavors of WWII was a delicate balancing act for Jellyfish. Comments Putze, Im incredibly proud of the team and what we achieved. Usually, VFX projects are faster, bigger, stronger, creating VFX you often have never seen before. Lee, in contrast, is a true artistic film with a strong emotional message. It shows the importance of reporting the atrocities of war from the first female war photographer. We really enjoyed calming down the amplitude of VFX to not overtake the story. I was proud to recommend this film I worked on to my family and friends. My personal background is art direction and matte paintings, which were used heavily in the execution of Lee, so it was close to my heart.