The Black Phone Calls on VFX Legion

The Black Phone Calls on VFX Legion

Brie Clayton July 8, 2022

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The End-to-End Visual Effects Company Creates the Effects for Director Scott Derrickson's Newest Horror Film, Heightening the Thrills with VFX Firmly Grounding the Supernatural in the Real World

VFX Legion was recently called on by Blumhouse Productions to create the visual effects for director Scott Derrickson's supernatural thriller, The Black Phone.' Co-written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill ( Sinister,' Dr. Strange') and starring Ethan Hawk as the maniacal villain, the chilling tale is an adaptation of Joe Hill's short story of the same name. Legion, the company that provided the effects for Sinister 2,' (2015), re-teamed with Derrickson, Cargill, and Blumhouse, delivering over 200 shots for their new psychological thriller, which opened in theaters on June 24th.

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Set in suburban Denver, Colorado in 1978, The Black Phone' is the story of Finney Shaw (Mason Thames), the latest victim of a sadistic serial killer dubbed The Grabber' (Ethan Hawk). The boy is held captive in a basement where help comes in supernatural form through calls from his kidnappers' previous victims on a disconnected phone.

Black Phone' Mountain Before Black Phone' Mountain After

Led by co-founders senior VFX supervisor James David Hattin and VFX producer Nate Smalley, Legion's team designed and produced designed a wide range of shots that run the gamut - from complex sequences combining animated digital doubles with practical stunts, greenscreen, set extensions, CG environments, rebuilt camera transitions, crowd duplication, and a mix of dynamics to removing rigging, and digitally deleting elements out of place with the authentic look of the era.

The LA and B.C.-based visual effects company contributed to every phase of the creative process from pre-production and on-set supervision, through post-production. Brought on board early, Legion visualized digital options and worked closely with the director, helping develop the tone of the film before shooting began.

Black Phone' Bars Before Black Phone' Bars Wireframe Black Phone' Bars After

Pre-Production Working with Scott to find the right look for the visual effects was a very collaborative process, says Hattin. There was a lot of back and forth and quite a few iterations as the effects-driven otherworldly elements of The Black Phone' evolved from magical aberrations to a look firmly grounded in the everyday life of suburban Denver circa 1978.

Derrickson's decision to keep the horrifying events experienced by Finney and the other children rooted in a true-to-life environment came from a personal place. Fear was part of everyday life in the rough area of Denver where Derrickson grew up during the 70s, and the trauma that children experience in The Black Phone' is set in the reality of that era.

Legion was relied on to meet the challenge of designing dozens of nuanced visual effects that heighten the visceral impact of paranormal events without ever taking the audience out of the seemingly real world where the story unfolds.

Black Phone' Crowd Dupe Before lack Phone' Crowd Dupe Before lack Phone' Crowd Dupe After

On-Set VFX Supervision VFX supervisor Kent Johnson was on the location during practical photography in North Carolina capturing references and calling out issues revealed during production. Working closely with the director, cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz and editor Fr d ric Thoraval, Johnson identified problems and put solutions in place that maximized the impact and efficiency of effects-driven scenes.

Having our VFX supervisor on the set was invaluable to the production and postproduction process, says Hattin. Equally important, Kent ensured that the director could move forward with confidence knowing that the shoot would run smoothly, practical footage and CGI would come together seamlessly, and the final film aligned with his creative vision.

A mix of particularly challenging visual effects helps make inexplicable otherworldly occurrences based in reality all the more powerful.

Black Phone' Digit Double Before Black Phone' Digital Double CG Pass Black Phone' Digit Double After

Digital Doppelganger/Practical Stunt One of the most difficult sequences combining animation with a practical stunt sees Vance, one of The Grabber's previous victims, forcefully pulled back from the real world into the spirit world. On the day of the shoot, Johnson supervised the set-up and action as an actor outfitted in stunt rigging is jolted into a dark void, ensuring that the practical footage met Legion's specifications.

The CG phase of the shot began with Legion making a 3D body scan of the actor, retopologizing the geometry, and then putting the textures onto the digital' Vance. Animation enabled artists to manipulate the digital double of the ghost child' and achieve the rag-doll' physics needed to replicate natural movements. Clothing and hair were simulated to match the actor, and then practical footage and digital assets were seamlessly integrated into the final shot.

Black Phone' Digit Double Before Wires Black Phone' Digital Double Before Wires Black Phone' Digit Double CG Double Black Phone' Digital Dupe Practical After

While the director's brief, likening his vision of the shot to someone getting sucked out of an airplane, gave Legion the benefit of ver

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