PARIS HAS FALLEN VFX
THE COLOUR GREEN In-studio screens can be both helpful and challenging, making rebuilds simpler but camera angles trickier
“The angle of the corridor shot didn’t match the exterior plate,” explains VFX supervisor Maxwell Alexander. “We opted to CG rebuild the embassy courtyard and composite the environment behind with matte paintings so we could realise the geography of the story. It’s one of those innocuous sequences with a lot more VFX work than an audience might realise.” “The show is full of complex camera movements,” adds Usaite. “The incredibly successful shots rely on integration with the live-action footage.” For outdoor sequences like leaps from buildings, there’s no simple green-screen removal. The team rebuilt buildings in CG, adding digital matte painting and background city details to authentically recreate Paris. ACTION ON THE STREETS “We developed a method of filming backplates across Paris with a 360° camera,” says Usaite. “It meant that we could take a new, innovative approach that proved very successful – especially when handling lots of driving scenes.” There are nearly 200 driving shots in Paris Has Fallen , all filmed against green
screens. This would normally require either stock assets or extensive camera rigging to film live-action plates. Vine FX recommended mounting a camera with a 360° field of view to a low-level car to give maximum flexibility during post- production. This enabled reframing to match green-screen shots as needed. “One of the added benefits was that, because of the 360° view, we immediately had reference material for reflections,” continues Alexander. “It made the integration of green-screen action and real-world backgrounds much more believable, which helped anchor everything in place. We then built a template inside Nuke to iterate across multiple sequences.” Paris Has Fallen demanded artistic mastery from every department to bring its gripping drama to life. While great VFX work is often invisible to the audience, it’s important to acknowledge the dedication and countless hours invested to create seamless sequences where the line between reality and VFX is indistinguishable. “That’s a true testament to the artistry and skill of the Vine FX team,” concludes Alexander.
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