Fear the Walking Dead — Senior VFX Compositor
AMC · Tasks: gore effects, set cleanup, reflection removal, interactive lighting
Tools: After Effects, Mocha Pro, Photoshop
Scope: Contributed to a challenging sequence involving an actor inside a downed helicopter with her hand on the glass, while another actor's hand presses against the exterior. The shot presented significant challenges due to the plexiglass , which noticeably moved with the actors' hands, complicating stabilization and compositing efforts. Additional tasks included creating a bullet hole with interactive lighting, enhancing realism with highlights and glints, and performing extensive set cleanup and reflection removal. Also did some zombie head gore gags.
Solution: Stabilized the plexiglass to account for its movement, replaced both actors' hands with digitally composited elements, and reconstructed portions of the background to maintain continuity. Incorporated a bullet hole into the glass with dynamic lighting that responded to the exterior actor's arm movements, adding realism to the scene. Executed meticulous set cleanup and removed reflections to ensure seamless integration of the digital elements.
Outcome: Delivered a seamless and immersive composite that maintained the scene's tension and realism. The integration of digital elements was executed with precision, preserving the authenticity of the shot and contributing to the overall impact of the sequence.
The window took awhile to pull off. I started by removing all of the texture off the plexiglass, in some areas, fully rebuilding what was behind it: His hat, his face and most of his jacket. The hands had to be stabilized which meant truncating her arm in sections but at this angle its not noticeable. I created the bullet hole in photoshop and added some reaction to lights and shadows. Her hand reflection was created by inverting the footage and roto with a gradient mask.