Each plan tells a story. In The Gorgea sequence had the power to end all stories. This edition of The Anatomy of A Shot (the anatomy of a plan) looks at the nuclear crescendo which ends the universe of the film in breathtaking and obliterating way and listens to Markus Drayss, Lead Fx TD, explain how everything was set up.
The Gorge follows two elite agents of opposite camps who find themselves fighting the same enemy and one against the other, until a common threat forces them to unite their forces. This is a story of survival with considerable issues and impact, and our work had to be up to this scale.
From dense forests to quadrocopter prosecution, including the double massive gorges towers, Dneg has created a fully digital photorealistic environment that evolves over the seasons and ends with an unforgettable theater. The final sequence sees a wave of blackout bombs accumulating to a colossal nuclear explosion that tears the environment through multiple wide and close -ups. It is the beginning of destruction.
Markus explains to us what to do to simulate such a level of destruction while remaining realistic, evolving and above all cinematographic.
Regarding the project, Makrus said, “we wanted the project to look massive, but that it could be artistically directed – each moment should be at the service of history and assembly. The explosions of the occultation helped to strengthen tension and the ladder, so that at the time when the atomic bomb knocks, you really feel the weight of what is being prepared.”>
Real images to digital detonation
Before reaching the highest point, let’s go back to the genesis of the project. Creating a nuclear explosion that gives an impression of accuracy is an exercise in balance between realism and the expectations of the public.
Our team was inspired by historical sequences of American nuclear tests, from atomic mushrooms to rapid expansion shock waves, passing through the folding trees under immense pressure and the spherical cloud formations. But we quickly learned that what seems real on a test coil is not always on the screen.
“The real nuclear sequences are often overexposed, filmed with high -speed cameras and filters to manage the brightness. A really realistic representation would lead to an extreme overexposure, but to meet the expectations of the public on what a nuclear explosion” should “look, we have deliberately balanced the exposure levels”
And there was another problem: physics. A real explosion inside a narrow throat would behave very differently due to pressure reflections. But here, the visual impact has taken precedence over strict physical accuracy.
“We have made deliberate choices. For example, we used speed ramps once the cloud has appeared, and the thick fog in the throat allowed us to hide certain parts of the simulation, which saved resources while improving the atmosphere.”
Harmonious integration
One of the most critical aspects of the sequence? Make sure that the explosion is part of the world we had built. For this, it was more necessary than a good simulation, it was necessary a dynamic interaction with the environment.
“The shock wave was essential: it was not content to extend, it raised the dust from the terrain, folded thousands of trees and gave life to the scene. Interactive lighting projected flickering shadows and light reflections in the gorges, integrating the explosion into the scene at all levels.”
To manage the extent of the effect, the team divided the simulation into manageable pieces, using high -resolution simulations for the close -ups and lower resolution simulations for the larger plans, and by merging them before the rendering. This modular approach made it possible to control performance while allowing to obtain meticulous details where it was the most important.
Construction of the pole
The process began with elements of preview and placement, which helped the model makers and the editors to block the sequence from the start. From there, the FX team explored the variations in the radius of the explosion, the timing of the shock wave and the behavior of the atomic fungus.
“We have adopted an iterative process involving many tests and improvements. From the start of development, we provided the customer with contact planks illustrating the variations in scale, speed and range of the explosion, which helped him determine the favorite approach. In addition, static markers were introduced from the first stages of the layout, which made it possible to optimize the configuration of the plans and the layout work before VFX elements proper. ”
The result is an obsessive and impressive apotheosis where energy, light and destruction are unleashed on a digital landscape of terrifying beauty. It is a reminder of what visual effects can do when art, physics and narration collide.
The throat is not quiet. She roars, she undulates, she destroys. And behind this destruction, an international team of artists, technicians and storytellers gave life to every detail … and ash.
At Dneg, we live for the challenge of building worlds … And sometimes, for the thrill to explode them. It was one of these opportunities. Stay listening for our full analysis of visual effects!
