DOUBLE NEGATIVE SETS THE MOOD FOR THE WOLFMAN

The Wolfman

The Double Negative team worked on a variety of VFX for The Wolfman including the opening and the ending shots of the film, creating the iconic moon that is central to the story's themes. These were animated and interactively lit in 2D to create the backlit cloud feeling, while the moon was a CG still of a moon.

Much of the work involved creating the home of the Talbot's seat, Talbot Hall. Filmed at Chatsworth House, it required a great deal of 'dishevelling' to create the director's interpretation of Talbot Hall. A dome was added to the top of the house, this was built as a CG model and the artists shaded and textured the lead on the roof and the surrounding stonework to match in. The dome was added to a number of shots and in a variety of lighting conditions, from daylight to night and even shots of the dome on fire, so the team needed to ensure that everything built was able to cope with the different set-ups. In 2D, led by compositor, Jim Steel, ivies and vines were added to the front of the house to give it a 'run-down' effect. The vines were animated reacting to the wind and the team animated candle-light inside the house. The skies were replaced using digital matte paintings of moody overcast skies, which were animated in 2D.

The setting of the mood and atmosphere in The Wolfman was an integral part to the work. To this end, Double Negative created overcast, moonlit skies to complement many of the exterior shots of the landscape and Talbot Hall. This was done as a 2D effect using cloud time lapse and stills photography, shot by Steve Begg and Mark Michaels; these elements were layered in 2D using 2D interactive lighting from the moon on the clouds. Matte paintings were created by Lead Matte Painter, Neil Miller and Dimitri Delacovias. For the time-lapse shots of the moon and sky, time lapse sky elements where used. Led by compositor, Patrick Nagle, these where lit interactively with the sun and the moon in 2D, to show the different times of the day.

Other work included a CG train, an effigy coming to life, character 'youthification' and blood, gore and fire effects.

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