Rising Sun Pictures Goes Bigger, Bolder and Bloodier with VFX for The Boys Season 3
Brie Clayton September 21, 2022
0 Comments
In its second outing the wildly popular superhero drama The Boys, developed by Eric Kripke and based on the comic book by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, Rising Sun Pictures delivered more than 100 visual effects shots for the show's 8-episode third season. The studio's contributions included a jaw-dropping sequence that opens the first episode, depicting the spectacular, near total destruction of New York City.
Working under the direction of series VFX Supervisor Stephan Fleet and VFX Producer Shalena Oxley-Butler, RSP's team built on its standout work for season two, producing a wide range of extravagant 4K visuals. Our work for the new season included some of the most challenging sequences we've ever undertaken for a streaming series, says RSP VFX Supervisor Dennis Jones. It required a tremendous effort from all departments to produce high-quality, hyper-real 2D and 3D elements and detailed set extensions and matte paintings. As some shots involved dozens of high-resolution render layers, the project also posed a huge data management challenge.
During season two, we learned a lot about Eric's vision for the show, adds RSP Head of Production Meredith Meyer-Nichols. We've also developed a wonderful rapport with Stephan and Shalena, who do a superb job of managing the process and keeping the focus on the unique universe of The Boys. Our artists are big fans of the series and responded with some of their best work.
RSP's most impressive handiwork appears at the very outset of the new season in the extended opening sequence to the first episode as Vought Tower and its New York City environs are reduced to piles of burning rubble and billowy pillars of smoke. The sequence is ultimately revealed as not real, but rather a scene from a movie, Dawn of the Seven, that was first introduced in season two.
The studio's 2D and 3D departments collaborated in producing a photo-real, but stylised model of Manhattan, and then blowing it apart, bit by bit in a savage montage of accelerating fury. Eric Kripke and his production team were keen to show massive destruction, notes CG Supervisor Prema Paetsch. We went through numerous iterations, each one more destroyed, and they kept asking for more!' For us, it came down to finding the right recipe, figuring out how far we could push the 3D and then topping it off with digital matte paintings and tons of effects.
Despite its manic intensity, the scene is constructed with deliberate care. The level of destruction follows a defined arc and is tightly choreographed, observes VFX Producer Amy Tinker. The opening shot is 26 seconds long, so you see every painful detail. As your eye follows the camera, you watch a building crumble and debris fall until it is succeeded by another event-a terrific explosion with more wreckage raining from the sky.
RSP developed an innovative workflow to facilitate creative back and forth with the show's production team while maintaining high quality and hitting deadlines. We kept the entire pipeline light enough so that we could respond to direction and apply changes rapidly, while moving forward with our shaders and final composites, explains Comp Supervisor Antony Haberl. We spent a lot of time building our base models and textures knowing that, as the sequence evolved, we'd be adding more layers. Right down to the very end, we were applying smoke, haze, falling embers and other effects to make the scene more visceral and violently real.
RSP also played a role in visualising the powers of a new character, the Crimson Countess (Laurie Holden). She appears in a scene set inside the theme park VoughtLand where she unleashes her fury on a Homelander mascot. She employs her power of pyrokinesis to form a ball of fire in her hands, says Haberl. We supplied the explosion, the gore and the blood splattering everywhere.
Significantly, the scene in the theme park sets up a flashback sequence that occurs during the Nicaraguan Revolution as a pair of soldiers suffer a fate like the unfortunate mascot. The two soldiers are fleeing a battle when they are killed by a ball of fire, Haberl says. We built match-move rigs and body doubles to substitute for the live actors, and added an explosion that in size, scope and energy was physically accurate.
###
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, a first and last name, and let us know what you'd like to see more of in the message!
.grecaptcha-badge{visibility:hidden}.meow-contact-form .meow-contact-form__header{display:flex;margin-bottom:10px}.meow-contact-form .meow-contact-form__header .meow-contact-form__header__content{flex:1;display:flex;flex-direction:column;justify-content:center}.meow-contact-form .meow-contact-form__header .meow-contact-form__header--image--left{margin-right:10px}.meow-contact-form .meow-contact-form__header .meow-contact-form__header--image--right{margin-left:10px}.meow-contact-form--editor input{color:gray}.meow-contact-form--default{font-size:18px}.meow-contact-form--default input:not([type=submit]),.meow-contact-form--default textarea{width:100%}.meow-contact-form--default input[type=submit]{padding:10px 40px;font-size:18px;line-height:18px}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form__info{margin-top:-10px;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:14px}.meow-contact-form--default .meow-contact-form-message{font-style:
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Rising Sun Pictures Goes Bigger, Bolder and Bloodier with VFX for The Boys Season 3 
