Behind the Scenes: The Black Phone calls on VFX Legion

Black Phone
(Courtesy Universal)

VFX Legion was recently called on by Blumhouse Productions to create the visual effects for director Scott Derrickson’s (Marvel’s Dr. Strange) 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. 

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.

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. Watch the highlight reel below:

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.

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.

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 Frédéric 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.

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.  

While the director’s brief, likening his vision of the shot to someone getting sucked out of an airplane, gave Legion the benefit of very specific direction, animation-wise, it was a tough ask.

“The challenge was making the digital doppelganger look like he’s physically out of control while still directing the animation of his movement,” explains Smalley.  “And, simultaneously, the high-velocity effect had to be slow enough to clearly see that the character was flying out of the basement, beyond the confines of the real world and into a dark void.”

“It was a tricky sequence,” adds Hattin. “Having that underlying practical effects with a human actor to combine with the animation enabled us to create an authentic-looking final shot.”

Rebuilding Camera Moves  


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“In another complex scene, the biggest challenge was rebuilding camera moves with CGI, and precisely adjusting timing to create a single shot with smooth transitions between the interior floors of a house,” says Hattin.

“Digitally taking over the camera moves enabled us to combine footage of the house with computer-generated interiors and maintain a slow, constant speed as the shot moves from floor to floor. Many a late night was spent working with the film’s editor, Frédéric Thoraval, just trying to add a frame here and take away a frame there – until the sequence finally worked for him editorially.”


CGI and Animation Replaces Practical Gags

Legion stepped in with a digital solution during postproduction when it was discovered that a shot designed as a practical stunt using monofilament to move a cord didn’t work. Artists digitally rebuilt the cord and rigged it to animate along a similar path as it makes its way through a rolled-up carpet and weaves in-between the bars on a window. Simulated dust was added as the cord pulls against the bars to help sell the authentic look of the derelict basement.

“The visual effects for The Black Phone keep the supernatural events on the fringe of reality, heightening the sense of anticipating and fear without crossing over into a magical visual effects language,” notes Hattin. “Working with Scott and our artists to establish that feel and the look of each of the visual effects was a very satisfying creative process.”

VFX Legion created all the visual effects for The Black Phone remotely, using a variety of tools, including Autodesk Maya, Foundry’s Nuke, SideFX Houdini, and Maxon Redshift.

CREDITS:

Title: The Black Phone

Genre: Horror-Thriller Film

Theatrical Release: June 24, 2022

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Blumhouse Productions, Crooked Highway, Universal Pictures

PRODUCED BY:

  • Jason Blum: producer
  • C. Robert Cargill: producer 
  • Scott Derrickson: producer 
  • Joe Hill: Executive producer 
  • Jennifer Scudder Trent: co-producer 
  • Ryan Turek: executive producer 
  • Christopher H. Warner: executive producer
  • Scott Derrickson: Director 
  • Scott Derrickson: screenplay
  • C. Robert Cargill: screenplay
  • Joe Hill: based on the short story by
  • Brett Jutkiewicz: cinematographer
  • Frédéric Thoraval: editor
  • Brett Jutkiewicz: Cinematographer

VISUAL EFFECTS: VFX Legion LA/BC       

  • James David Hattin: senior visual effects supervisor/creative director: VFX Legion
  • Nate Smalley: visual effects producer: VFX Legion
  • Dylan Yastremski: visual effects project manager: VFX Legion
  • Reid Burns: visual effects executive producer: VFX Legion
  • Rommel S. Calderon: cg supervisor: VFX Legion
  • Antonio Gallardo:  effects producer: VFX Legion
  • Kent Johnson: on-set visual effects supervisor: VFX Legion
  • Joseph Soloway: visual effects coordinator: VFX Legion
  • Mace Al-Hendi: visual effects coordinator: VFX Legion
  • Nick Guth: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Adam Kelway: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Kate T.C. Lin: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Matthias Lowry: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • John R. McConnell: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Sebastian Weber: senior animator: VFX Legion
  • Dave Tipper: matte painter: VFX Legion
  • Ruy Delgado: tracking artist: VFX Legion
  • Michael G. Jackson: tracking artist: VFX Legion
  • Eric Ebling: cg artist: VFX Legion
  • Jonathan D. Feldman: cg artist: VFX Legion
  • Patricio Harris: cg artist: VFX Legion  
  • Lauren Morimoto: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Brad Moylan: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Eugen Olsen: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Rafael Perez: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Daniel Keith Raffel: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Bryan Shepperd: cg artist: VFX Legion
  • Shantel Short: cg artist: VFX Legion
  • Erik Van Horn: visual effects artist: VFX Legion

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Black Phone
(Courtesy Universal)

VFX Legion was recently called on by Blumhouse Productions to create the visual effects for director Scott Derrickson’s (Marvel’s Dr. Strange) 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. 

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.

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. Watch the highlight reel below:

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.

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.

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 Frédéric 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.

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.  

While the director’s brief, likening his vision of the shot to someone getting sucked out of an airplane, gave Legion the benefit of very specific direction, animation-wise, it was a tough ask.

“The challenge was making the digital doppelganger look like he’s physically out of control while still directing the animation of his movement,” explains Smalley.  “And, simultaneously, the high-velocity effect had to be slow enough to clearly see that the character was flying out of the basement, beyond the confines of the real world and into a dark void.”

“It was a tricky sequence,” adds Hattin. “Having that underlying practical effects with a human actor to combine with the animation enabled us to create an authentic-looking final shot.”

Rebuilding Camera Moves  


REELated: VFX Legion creates dystopian NYC for DMZ


“In another complex scene, the biggest challenge was rebuilding camera moves with CGI, and precisely adjusting timing to create a single shot with smooth transitions between the interior floors of a house,” says Hattin.

“Digitally taking over the camera moves enabled us to combine footage of the house with computer-generated interiors and maintain a slow, constant speed as the shot moves from floor to floor. Many a late night was spent working with the film’s editor, Frédéric Thoraval, just trying to add a frame here and take away a frame there – until the sequence finally worked for him editorially.”


CGI and Animation Replaces Practical Gags

Legion stepped in with a digital solution during postproduction when it was discovered that a shot designed as a practical stunt using monofilament to move a cord didn’t work. Artists digitally rebuilt the cord and rigged it to animate along a similar path as it makes its way through a rolled-up carpet and weaves in-between the bars on a window. Simulated dust was added as the cord pulls against the bars to help sell the authentic look of the derelict basement.

“The visual effects for The Black Phone keep the supernatural events on the fringe of reality, heightening the sense of anticipating and fear without crossing over into a magical visual effects language,” notes Hattin. “Working with Scott and our artists to establish that feel and the look of each of the visual effects was a very satisfying creative process.”

VFX Legion created all the visual effects for The Black Phone remotely, using a variety of tools, including Autodesk Maya, Foundry’s Nuke, SideFX Houdini, and Maxon Redshift.

CREDITS:

Title: The Black Phone

Genre: Horror-Thriller Film

Theatrical Release: June 24, 2022

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Blumhouse Productions, Crooked Highway, Universal Pictures

PRODUCED BY:

  • Jason Blum: producer
  • C. Robert Cargill: producer 
  • Scott Derrickson: producer 
  • Joe Hill: Executive producer 
  • Jennifer Scudder Trent: co-producer 
  • Ryan Turek: executive producer 
  • Christopher H. Warner: executive producer
  • Scott Derrickson: Director 
  • Scott Derrickson: screenplay
  • C. Robert Cargill: screenplay
  • Joe Hill: based on the short story by
  • Brett Jutkiewicz: cinematographer
  • Frédéric Thoraval: editor
  • Brett Jutkiewicz: Cinematographer

VISUAL EFFECTS: VFX Legion LA/BC       

  • James David Hattin: senior visual effects supervisor/creative director: VFX Legion
  • Nate Smalley: visual effects producer: VFX Legion
  • Dylan Yastremski: visual effects project manager: VFX Legion
  • Reid Burns: visual effects executive producer: VFX Legion
  • Rommel S. Calderon: cg supervisor: VFX Legion
  • Antonio Gallardo:  effects producer: VFX Legion
  • Kent Johnson: on-set visual effects supervisor: VFX Legion
  • Joseph Soloway: visual effects coordinator: VFX Legion
  • Mace Al-Hendi: visual effects coordinator: VFX Legion
  • Nick Guth: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Adam Kelway: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Kate T.C. Lin: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Matthias Lowry: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • John R. McConnell: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Sebastian Weber: senior animator: VFX Legion
  • Dave Tipper: matte painter: VFX Legion
  • Ruy Delgado: tracking artist: VFX Legion
  • Michael G. Jackson: tracking artist: VFX Legion
  • Eric Ebling: cg artist: VFX Legion
  • Jonathan D. Feldman: cg artist: VFX Legion
  • Patricio Harris: cg artist: VFX Legion  
  • Lauren Morimoto: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Brad Moylan: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Eugen Olsen: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Rafael Perez: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Daniel Keith Raffel: digital compositor: VFX Legion
  • Bryan Shepperd: cg artist: VFX Legion
  • Shantel Short: cg artist: VFX Legion
  • Erik Van Horn: visual effects artist: VFX Legion

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