Read the entire digital magazine here, full of behind the scenes info and imagery.
befores & afters recently went super in-depth on the visual effects of Sinners. You can now access the digital edition of the 157-page magazine right here for free, thanks to Warner Bros.
Bringing the vampires to life, and then orchestrating Michael B. Jordan as twins, were, unsurprisingly, two of Sinners’ principal effects challenges. What’s more, Coogler and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw chose to shoot on 65mm film using a combination of IMAX 15-perf and Ultra Panavision 70 cameras, bringing additional challenges for the VFX teams in terms of the need to follow more traditional film workflows.
The film would ultimately feature 1013 visual effects shots overseen by visual effects supervisor Michael Ralla and visual effects producer James Alexander, and crafted by Storm Studios, Rising Sun Pictures, Industrial Light & Magic, Base FX, Light VFX, Outpost VFX, TFX and an in-house team. Baraboom Studios carried out previsualization services.
This special issue breaks down the key collaborations between departments that made twinning possible and the mix of practical make-up effects and digital effects for the vampires. There’s also significant coverage of other key moments, such as that powerful musical ancestors oner in the juke joint, the train station scene, the snake and more.
The story of how Sinners’ effects were created might normally be told here in befores & afters magazine principally via conversations with the visual effects and practical effects teams. Certainly, these crew members are heavily featured in this issue. But we were lucky enough to go further thanks to the efforts of Michael Ralla and dive even deeper into the production of the film. Evidencing the close collaboration between departments, we talk not only to the principal VFX partners, but also to many of the different department heads and crew members.
This issue features the following contributors to Sinners: executive producer/composer Ludwig Göransson, director of photography Autumn Durald Arkapaw, production designer Hannah Beachler, costume designer Ruth Carter, editor Michael Shawver, Technocrane operator Ron Tatham, video assist operator Dan Furst, production sound mixer Chris Welcker, co-producer/post-production supervisor Tina Anderson, visual effects supervisor Michael Ralla, visual effects producer James Alexander, special effects supervisor Donnie Dean, prosthetic make-up designer/special effects make-up designer Mike Fontaine, stunt coordinator Andy Gill, visual effects supervisor at Storm Studios, Espen Nordahl, visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic, Nick Marshall, visual effects supervisor at Rising Sun Pictures, Guido Wolter, visual effects supervisor at Outpost VFX, Ian Fellows, visual effects supervisor at Light VFX, Antoine Moulineau, 65mm project supervisor at FotoKem, Andrew Oran, principal color scientist at FotoKem, Joseph Slomka, digital intermediate supervising colorist at FotoKem, Kostas Theodosiou, and digital intermediate lead finishing producer at FotoKem, Angelique Perez-Brennan.
The issue will be freely available until March 10th, 2026.
