Feature Film Sequence
Extraction 2
Fin Design + Effects
Fin Design + Effects, were excited to have the opportunity to work on two adrenaline-fueled action sequences for Sam Hargreaves' Extraction 2 on Netflix. The FIN team took the lead on creating the assets for a fully-digital glass awning and gym, which sit atop the 57th floor of Vienna's iconic DC Tower 1.In addition to the awning, FIN was also tasked with creating a 360-degree animated city panorama of Vienna from helicopter photography, which they projected onto geometry to add depth and realism to Vienna's sprawling cityscape.
This was shared with multiple vendors working on other sequences set in the building to establish continuity throughout the film which also included a fully simulated CG traffic system created by FIN.Working closely with client-side supervisor Bjorn Mayer and VFX Producer Magdalena Wolf, the FIN team - led by VFX Supervisor Will Towle, CG Supervisor Qazi Hamza Javed, and Compositing Supervisor Adam Paschke - delivered almost 150 shots over the course of six months. Of these, almost half were entirely digital except for the hero actors, who were extracted from plate photography.Will Towle, Quote:“The awning sequence was our main focus of the film. Shot on bluescreen with a placeholder set, we were challenged to design, model, texture, and light a photo-real glass awning and gym to replace the on-set photography which was contaminated by reflections of the bluescreen, crew, and camera-rigs. With the help of on-set photography and dozens of other references, we meticulously recreated the set and added additional elements like weathering, birefringence, and anisotropic reflections to give the building a physical presence.”Adding to the complexity of the sequence was the crucial role of continuity while the heroes fight it out with the villains, and the glass awning becomes increasingly damaged.
To accommodate this, the FIN CG team had to create eight variants of the building, each with an additional level of destruction that took into account any damage and simulations that had taken place in the preceding shots.For the simulations, the FIN team utilized fluid dynamics for blood hits and explosions, in addition to rigid-body dynamics for the shattering glass. To achieve a photorealistic result, the artists studied photography of tempered glass shattering and recreated the look in Houdini before passing the results to the lookdev department to ensure that the resulting renders matched the rest of the sequence.As FIN replaced the whole set with CG, they also undertook the task of creating digi-doubles for almost every shot on the awning for use in reflections and relighting the plate. Using photoscans from the shoot, the CG team, led by Qazi Hamza Javed, created four unique characters that needed to be match-moved into the shots with near-perfect accuracy.FIN’s final challenge was to get the fully modeled and lookdev'd awning into the shots. With almost ninety CG-heavy shots to render, they broke the sequence down into eight unique views and assigned each view a "hero shot." Once the hero shot had been lit and approved, they rendered all the shots from that view.
The resulting renders were then individually reviewed and approved or given notes for a more bespoke lighting setup. This process allowed FIN to prioritize creative lighting and still deliver such a large volume of shots.Will Towle, Quote:“Our compositing team, led by Adam Paschke, faced the challenge of combining the assets mentioned above with the 360-degree Vienna panorama and plate photography for approximately 150 shots in total. With so many shots and the fact that the two sequences cut interchangeably between each other, color workflow management and continuity were absolutely essential. Adam, myself, and our development team at Fin created a neutral-grade workflow for the project, which allowed all of our work to take place within a neutrally-graded environment.
This meant that plate photography could be combined with CG-generated elements with little to no per-shot grading.”For both sequences, the comp team relied on a templated workflow within Nuke to automatically import all the necessary elements and renders for each shot. From there, the artists had access to multiple light-groups and AOVs to assist in matching the lighting conditions of the plates.Fin Design + Effects was thrilled at the privilege and being entrusted with delivering visual effects for Extraction 2, working alongside all the immensely talented individuals involved in this project.
CREW
VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR: Will Towle
HEAD OF CG: Phil Sloggett
CG SUPERVISOR: Qazi Hamza Javed
COMPOSITION SUPERVISOR: Adam Paschke
DIGITAL ARTISTS:
Aaron Brien
Caleb Jones
Damir Filipovic
Dan Bryce
Dominic Francis
Eleanor Winch
Giuseppe Bufalo
James Bleakley
Jasper Goodrich
Jeff Driver
Jeremy Taylor
Joe Wu
Johnathon Slender
Jorden Martin
Joseph Sweeny
Michael Sarkis
Mike Thomson
Nathan Lane
Nicholas Refalo
Oscar Medina
Robbie Beresford
Rowan Karrer
Senthil Raja
Simon Monte Clarke
Sina Rahimpour
Sylvia Gluchowska
Yoga Ravi
COMPOSITORS:
Archie Dowell
Ajinkya Durgule
Aditya Durgule
Chris Elson
Chris Van Noy-March
Daniel Pacey
Eduardo Cardoso
Jess Hunt
Johan Van Huyssteen
Kevin Fu
Kim Tobin
Kory Martin Juul
Kim Nguyen
Kynan Stephenson
Lisa Gane
Martin Ward
Nicole Hekel
Sam Littlechild
Todd Caporn
Will Hackett
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Chris Spry
HEAD OF VISUAL EFFECTS: Alastair Stephen
VISUAL EFFECTS PRODUCER: Tom Phillips
VISUAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR: Sally Kim
VISUAL EFFECTS EDITOR: Nathan Lacey
RECRUITMENT MANAGER: Nova Zheng
PRODUCTION SUPPORT:
Andrew Proude
Calum Anderson
Chris "Chips" Lee
David Orman
Hannah Marshall
Kara Atnip
Mark White
Marzena Zareba
Max Robinson
Pawel Olas
Rosa Ling
Sapphire Sheedy
Stuart White
Steven Hosking