Post-production uncovered: Vine FX on War Of The Worlds (Disney+)

Vine FX completed over 1,300 VFX shots for the third series of War Of The Worlds, adding to the over 500 shots it did on series two. 

Premiering on 19 October and starring Gabriel Byrne and Léa Drucker, the series picks up on the war between the survivors and aliens as it reaches a new turning point and a terrifying phenomenon grips countless people across the globe.

The 1,300+ shots included everything from creature animation and environment design to complex CG and FX work. Part of this included the creation of a photorealistic International Space Station and a black hole hovering over the Earth.

To film the external ISS scenes, the actors were rigged up and puppetered across the set build. This basis was then extended using intricately constructed CG to create mesmerising views of Earth and a full CG ISS, with both a day and night lighting setup. 3D Supervisor, Pedrom Dadgostar conducted extensive research in order to ensure that the ISS, space environment and earth all perpetuated the correct atmosphere, feel and realistic level of detail.

In order to tailor the asset for use across multiple sequences, precision and fine-detail was considered at every stage. This included the creation of technically correct aspects and components such as wiring, panels, a full cupola, astronaut visors and tethers for the astronaut’s suit. 

The development of the black hole was overseen for a long period of time and contained pyro simulations inspired by the first-ever released images from the astronomers on the Event Horizon Telescope team. It was also designed to appear as a wormhole for time travelling, which revealed a view of a decayed London on the other side. Created using a combination of full CG buildings and projected DMP textures; an entire section of the city was recreated in a beaten and abandoned state, complete with weathered facades and partially submerged vessels in the stagnated Thames.

The environments featured in the show required various set enhancements including CG builds such as the particle accelerator room, an underground train station, a tunnel and parts of ISS interior ceiling that were removed during the shot in order to recreate the ‘floating’ effect across the spaceship. Also, key office locations required green screen replacement with a panoramic day and night time look of London that included the sky ripple effect inherited from the first season.

The largest volume of work saw exponential growth within the FX department, which faced a variety of challenges ranging from large flocks of murmurating birds, electromagnetic laser beams, water and fire simulations. The work finished with the black hole exploding, which tears the ISS into pieces and triggers chaos and destruction across Earth.

Vine FX worked with Urban Myth Films executive producer Julian Murphy to ensure the visual and graphic effects aligned with the vision for the show. He said: “It’s another collaboration in a wide-ranging success story with Urban Myth Films. It’s a very close partnership with a lot of trust and commitment. Vine FX worked within tight parameters – time and money are finite – and, while there was creativity, things were kept as simple as possible.”

Vine FX founder and VFX supervisor Michael Illingworth added: “It’s the biggest production we’ve worked on so far. The ambition of the show was greater than in previous years and despite the challenges, it was great fun to work on.”