Environment builds, plus how that falling down the stairs shot was achieved, and how the re-animation of the Bride was done.
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! is one of those films that features a wealth of seamless visual effects shots. Lead vendor One of Us worked with production visual effects supervisor Mark Russell to deliver 318 of those VFX shots, which included several 1930s environments such as Times Square and Niagra Falls.
The studio also helped deliver key moments such as The Bride (Jessie Buckley) making a dramatic stair fall, and for The Bride’s re-animation in the lab. Electrical sparks and lighting bolts realized practically were explored by FXWRX as part of a look development process.
In this befores & afters interview, One of Us visual effects supervisor Guillaume Ménard recounts those killer scenes.
b&a: How did you approach re-creating Times Square and Niagara Falls? How were plates for these scenes filmed? What were some of the compositing challenges of selling these period locales?
Guillaume Ménard: For Times Square, production built a partial set including street level facades with practical lighting to simulate neon signage. We extended the buildings and streets digitally both vertically and horizontally.
We went through a few rounds on the design of these buildings. We started with a more historical approach, looking at references at what Times Square looked like in the 1930s, and what buildings would work with each section of the set. As the show progressed, the design for this environment moved toward a fictional Art-Deco 1930’s style, in line with the design on the rest of the film, rather than the more historically correct approach we see in other period films.
We took a similar approach with Niagara Falls. It was shot on a real location and then we added the falls using a mix of DMP and real footage. Even though we started with real location buildings for both, a lot of work went into both the concepting and build phases of the shot to align architecture, textures, and ageing with the film’s stylised look.
b&a: Can you talk about some of the other environment clean-up work that was done for the film?
Guillaume Ménard: We carried out extensive clean-up to remove modern elements from locations and maintain period authenticity. In some cases, buildings were partially or fully replaced using CG and matte painting to match specific art direction. This included redesigning key locations, such as the doctor’s lab exterior, to better align with the film’s visual language and ensure consistency across environments.
b&a: How was that stair fall with The Bride orchestrated? Can you talk about the live-action stunt work that was done, and then how One of Us aided in the final shot/sequence?
Guillaume Ménard: Production used a practical dummy for the stair fall, which provided a strong base for motion. They really like the general movement and look of the practical dummy so for some shots we mixed with our digi-double, sometimes only replacing the arms to have them less flappy, or sometimes keeping the head but using the body of our digi – a real Frankenstein! On the final shot we fully replaced the dummy as we needed more control with her breaking her neck and landing in a specific position.
The sequence intercut The Bride falling down the steps with her floating in a metaphorical dark space. We used cloud tank elements to give us this ethereal feeling of entering a void beyond. We augmented them to add a sense of the peaceful feeling being ripped away and morphing into something darker and deeper beyond to fit with the narrative of the film.
b&a: For some of the lab moments, can you talk about what went into adding CG sparks and electricity? How did this complement any practical on-set work, or other elements shot for the lab?
Guillaume Ménard: We went through a lot of experimental work to create the energy build-up and ‘re-animation’ moment. We began with traditional hot metal and sparks, inspired by classic sci-fi monster films, gradually building the energy before it transitions into a more abstract explosion, echoing the black hole-like moment of her death and linking the two as she returns from the world of the dead.
Much of the scene was built from manipulated practical elements like smoke, light effects, cloud tanks, and optical treatments, reflecting the director’s preference for a tactile feel. We combined this with negative and high-contrast black-and-white treatments to introduce an underlying off-kilter tone.
b&a: How were the more grotesque lab shots accomplished, where you head to deal with any body parts?
Guillaume Ménard: After the reanimation in the lab, we didn’t have any bits with body parts but we did have some gruesome work in other parts of the film, for example, a shot where a head is getting stomped on. The force leaves it crumpled inwards which we achieved with a CG head replacement comped with gory elements (a lot of not very nice references!)
Later in the film we also worked on the sequence where The Bride bites and rips out somebody’s tongue! These shots incorporated prosthetics as well as a CG tongue getting ripped out.
