axisVFX, a Bristol- and Glasgow-based visual effects studio established by animation company Axis and visual effects supervisors Grant Hewlett and Howard Jones, created compelling VFX for latest episode of the 2014 series of the BBC's Doctor Who.
The episode, directed by Douglas Mackinnon and titled Flatline, contains 66 VFX shots from axisVFX , including a new multi-dimensional menace called the Boneless. The axisVFX crew not only created the visual effects for the shots , but also conceived, designed and developed the look and performance of this new impossible creature.
The Boneless are a race that only exists in two dimensions, and they are first seen as they explore our planet, distorting three-dimensional surfaces as they go. As the creatures spend more time in our three-dimensional world , they begin to evolve and explore the third dimension themselves with a potentially devastating effect.
The script described how these creatures move, grow and evolve over time, but everyone who read the words on the page imagined it differently in their head , said Hewlett. So this was our biggest challenge, visualizing something that had never been seen before, something that initially had to be flat but at the same time become sinister, threatening and frightening.
Following the initial meetings with Executive Producers Steven Moffat, Brian Minchin and Mackinnon, the axisVFX design and concept team set about producing concept artwork that explored how the Boneless could look. VFX Art Director Ste Dalton worked with the concept artists taking influences from many different places, from Ferro fluids to Francis Bacon.
We presented over t30 different design explorations for the Boneless creatures, said Jones. We knew whatever we created in a piece of digital concept art had to be producible under the challenging constraints of a TV production schedule. With that in mind, we very quickly moved from 2D concepts into doing test sequences utilising 3D tools in Side Effects' Houdini and 2D tools in The Foundry's Nuke. These tests and explorations were led by our FX Lead Joe Thornley-Heard.
After testing a number of solutions for the Boneless, including using Kinetic cameras from the Xbox to re-create three-dimensional creatures live with real actors, we settled on a more flexible way of working, said Hewlett.
Hewlett and axisVFXCreative Director Stu Aitken worked together to deliver a plan leveraging high-end performance capture techniques from the animation team, including 3D body scanning and motion capture.
These are techniques we have honed on multiple projects, and we have it down to a fine art. The speed of shooting on Doctor Who meant we needed a robust and flexible approach, which would accommodate last minute changes easily. We arranged to 3D scan all of the actors in costume and then set up a motion-capture shoot , which was directed by Douglas , said Aitken
Hewlett worked closely on-set with Mackinnon providing on the spot technical and creative solutions including shooting plates.
Due to the complex nature of the script and the demanding shooting schedule, I really had to get hands-on, shooting plates that would later become shots, suggesting alternatives to save valuable shooting time and re-designing shots as we went. Douglas was great to work with as he is always asking questions and pushing what's possible. I really enjoyed the journey, said Hewlett.
Lighting the Boneless and placing them into the shots seamlessly was paramount for authenticity and believability for the audience. The lighting and rendering team led by CG Supervisor Sergio Caires used all of the reference materials shot on set to light the creatures accurately. These rendered passes were then finessed by the compositing team and added to the 2D effects that were being applied to the shots.
For the 2D version of the Boneless, Mackinnon brought in reference of some sea slugs that he felt had an appropriately unnerving sort of motion to them.
Hewlett explained: Myself and Lead FX artist Joe Thornley Heard worked on creating a CG version of the slug, giving it similar properties in the way it moved. These could then be combinedand driven by various fluid dynamic processes making them move together as one mass
Creating the 2D Boneless effect was a fun challenge for our compositing team led by Carl Chittneden, said Jones. At this point, the 2D boneless have no solidity, existing solely within the surface of the world. Taking the creatures Joe created in Houdini , we settled on a treatment where they would start out invisibly hidden in the textures of the surrounding environment, then gradually reveal themselves as they move, dragging and displacing those surfaces with them. We accomplished this by using the rendered passes from Joe's Houdini 3D setup to smear and distort the original plate in a variety of ways within Nuke. The result was a look that gave Douglas exactly what he wanted: a subtle yet impossible treatment of the boneless that felt unnerving and other-worldly.
As well as the Boneless creatures, the axisVFX crew also created other effects for Doctor Who: Flatline, including the flattening of various CG props and live-action actors by the Boneless, a shapeshifting Tardis and energy-based force fields and blasts.
It has been a fantastic experience to work on the UK's biggest and most famous sci-fi show. said axisVFX Managing Director Richard Scott. The show is loved by so many it is amazing to think that our work on Flatline will still be watched 30 years from now by diehard fans of Doctor Who .
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
27/04/2024
On April 26, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik joined CNBC's Mor...
27/04/2024
PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...
27/04/2024
TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...
27/04/2024
An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...
27/04/2024
GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....
27/04/2024
Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....
27/04/2024
ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....
27/04/2024
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this surve...
27/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...
27/04/2024
Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....
27/04/2024
Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...
27/04/2024
Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...
27/04/2024
CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....
27/04/2024
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...
27/04/2024
Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...
27/04/2024
Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...
27/04/2024
Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages
By Matthew Corrigan
Publi...
26/04/2024
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries
...
26/04/2024
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...
axisVFX, a Bristol- and Glasgow-based visual effects studio established by animation company Axis and visual effects supervisors Grant Hewlett and Howard Jones, created compelling VFX for latest episode of the 2014 series of the BBC's Doctor Who. 
