Vine VFX has just shared with AWN and VFXWorld details of their work delivering 115 shots for the climactic Season 2 finale on Prime Videos supernatural thriller, The Rig. The Cambridge-based visual effects studio created the breathtaking mycelium forest and eerie underwater environment, producing shots on a new USD pipeline they created for the show.In Season 1, when an ancient parasite was let loose on the ocean oor, the crew in The Rig found themselves in peril. Season 2 introduced even more suspense, betrayal, and terrifying consequences, culminating in a cliffhanger that required the Vine FX team to create growing mycelium trees as part of an underwater alien world.The Rig has been one of the most rewarding projects for us to work on, says Kaitlyn Beattie, VFX Producer at Vine FX. Season 1 was an instant hit, and Season 2 has pushed the boundaries for the show, which gave us ample opportunity to create something incredible.Among the standout shots from the nale was a sprawling, living mycelium forest, its canopy looming 400 meters above the seabed. These parasitic trees were more than decorative; they had to glow, evoke an emotional response from the characters, and add layers of depth to the underwater ecosystem.According to the studio, they began with concept art created by Scott McInnes, capturing the forests vibrant and organic forms. Moving from concept to full CG proved challenging; the scale and density of the mycelium structures required the use of simulation techniques to grow the structures in an organic way, all while establishing a new USD (Universal Scene Description) pipeline to handle asset volume and complexity.This was a long process, says Pedrom Dadgostar, Head of 3D at Vine FX. We created several tree designs which we could then instance and propagate the scene with. The great thing about procedural growth simulations like these is that they look different from any angle, so by carefully rotating and placing assets we were able to build a dense forest with no repetitions. We recruited the largest CG team weve ever had just to work on this project. The teams approach to procedural textures and lighting provided the trees with an ethereal, bioluminescent quality that further enhanced the underwater environment. Using Houdinis Solaris, the trunks were equipped with internal illumination through mesh lights, which added a ghostly, otherworldly presence.In addition to generating an entire forest of alien, parasitic trees, Vine FX needed to build an entire underwater world, augmenting live-action shots with CG and 2D assets to create a sense of being beneath the waves.That meant slow movements, particulates, and depth. Bringing together environment extensions and mycelium trees was important, but those smaller and at times hidden details were just as important.Light plays a critical role in dening space and scale, explains Dadgostar. We carefully placed oating particulates that helped establish that sense, leading into darkness throughout the environment and around the trees. The idea was to envelop the characters in an expansive, claustrophobic world.When the characters interact with the parasite, we had to make sure the light from it reected off their suits and any other elements, comments Ole Aleksander Norby, Compositing Supervisor at Vine FX. The visual representation of being underwater and interacting with a decaying organism was shown by the oating particulates seen throughout the episode. Compositing artists ensured that the trees and their bioluminescent glow meshed seamlessly with the live-action footage. While Vine FX was tasked with creating a mostly CG environment, the comp team worked closely with the client to establish a look that met evolving creative preferences, from light intensities to color grading.Work on The Rig was completed in USD, which required an entirely new pipeline as work progressed, rened to suit not only the project but the entire studio. The new USD pipeline streamlined the process, says Dadgostar. It allowed us to manage the integration of assets across shots and maintain consistency throughout the sequence as a whole.With USDs ecient handling of multi-shot workows, the new pipeline enabled a unied environment that could be rendered across shots without extensive re-rendering, ultimately saving time while delivering high-quality visuals.Source: Vine FX Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.