PRODUCTION | BEH I ND HER EYES
IMAGES Each setting influenced lighting – David and Adele’s home resembled a catalogue, while London’s urban feel is embraced
Dreams and nightmares were another common thread through the show, and they offered a perfect opportunity to push the visuals into the extreme
grip, Elliott Polley, would wheel me around the room as I zoomed in on singles, pulled out to two shots, or took the frame wherever else we wanted.” Dreams and nightmares were another common thread through the show, and they offered a perfect opportunity to push the visuals into the extreme. Frightful moments were taken into horror territory, while the dreams offered moments of mild respite, albeit surreal. Wiedemann offers some insight: “Louise’s sequences in her mother’s home were a set build, which the team painted a monochrome, sand-grey colour. That immediately puts you in a strange space. Then, we flooded the whole set with a colour to heighten that. When the corridor and rooms began to burn, there was a mix of SFX and VFX alongside that lighting.” For the dreams outside Louise’s mother’s house by the pond, the crew used a real location, but again, some VFX extended the background into surreal rolling hills and too-pristine clouds. In fact, that was the only instance where Wiedemann and his team lit an outdoor daytime location, forming an idyllic summer look. “The closest collaboration between myself and the VFX team was in the creation of the shimmers,” continues Wiedemann, referencing the floating orbs of ‘soul’ light that make a late appearance in the show to spectacular and story-altering effect. “We had puppeteers with LED spheres on poles, flying through the house emitting light. To get the effect we needed, they were moving these orbs through space, creating shadows and casting hues on the walls.
Often, the puppeteers would have to be secured on the dolly, either side of camera. “Remotely controlled LED orbs were created by gaffer Chris Georgas, in different sizes and light outputs based on a given shot. Some were even attached to drones for the sequence where they fly across the fields surrounding the home. After that physical capture, the VFX team turned those orbs into the shimmers you see in the show.” Upon reflection, there was one key starting point for Wiedemann. “The series begins with a date between two young lovers that establishes a tone, but you are subtly taken elsewhere. Everything about the show truly evolves and it was important we let the viewer examine that. But all of that, for us, began with the idea of clarity.” BEHIND HER EYES IS NOW AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX
08 DEF I N I T ION | MAY 202 1
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