Sicario CG ultra photorealistic CG and VFX work

[sanghamithran]

Hi Master Deakins.

Hope you are doing well and always waiting for your next film.

I had just seen this CG work reel of sicario on YouTube. If it wasn’t for this video I could have never guessed theses scenes were augmented with CG and VFX like this. Thought all of it was real and practically done.

Could please Give a detailed insight when you have time into your role as cinematographer and the nature of collaboration with Director,VFX supervisor,ART director and all these magicians of the great team working together in blending all this CG and VFX into this much seamless shots.

This work is very invisible and stands very much line with the Roger deakins Philosophy on cinematography.

 

Thank you always for the inspiration that you and your collaborators are.

 

Topic

[Baudelaire]

one of. the greatest action/thriller sequences ever shot.

[Roger Deakins]

Thanks for the compliment. Siccario was one of the most collaborative experiences I’ve had on a film, BR2049 being another.

Denis and I spent many days working through the entire script and the sequence is one of the few we storyboarded in detail. As a group we scouted the Bridge of the Americas, between El Paso and Juarez, and the build was based on that location as well as the action as scripted. As it was impossible to shoot on the real location, Patrice came up with the idea of a minimal build in a parking lot outside of Albuquerque. The film did not have a huge budget so not only the build had to be minimal but the effects work as well, hence the fence alongside the traffic lanes. This allowed most of teh shots to be made without any VFX and, apart from the blue screen at the end of the roadway, we did not have to do much to facilitate what effects work there was. I think Patrice came up with a brilliant solution, one that was driven by the script and Denis’ focus on the story and not dramatic visuals for their own sake.

And the military hardware. Again, we had only a limited budget and no way to obtain the kind of helicopters that were needed for the scene. Though I feel it often drives the visuals of a film, to a film’s detriment, where it is used sparingly VFX effects can expand a story. Also, instead of spending the budget for the sake of shooting something for real using simple VFX work can allow money to go where it is really needed – in our case traveling to Mexico city to shoot the convoy entering what was supposedly Juarez.

 

[LucaM]

In my humble opinion Sicario is the modern “heir” of The Untouchables, it has the same continuous menacing feeling that comes from not being able to divide the good ones from the bad ones, everybody could be a traitor. And the Juarez scene is simply amazing, a gem in a wonderful movie.

[qu ote quote=216034]…As a group we scouted the Bridge of the Americas, between El Paso and Juarez, and the build was based on that location as well as the action as scripted. As it was impossible to shoot on the real location…[/quote]

I hope to remember correctly what you told in the podcast, but was one of the reasons to use VFX the fact the scene of the hanged men was so realistic that could be traumatic for the local people, since they actually witnessed something like that? I know drug wars in Mexico can be gruesome but i thought that was a touch to make the story more dramatic.

[Roger Deakins]

Yes, that was definitely true. The whole history was so traumatic and I understood that there were bodies hung from that same overpass.

[RGB_Chroma]

As a VFX artist who worked on multiple high budget movies, I can’t express how much of an inspiration you are sir. I absolutely agree with the fact of not leaving the scenes with effects like an afterthought but instead using vfx as a tool to support all the other incredible on set departments like yours. As mere vfx workers, we can’t really choose our projects or how things are filmed but storytelling should always be the main focus in my opinion. I’m also a big promoter of having cinematographers supervising the work of the post houses to have a cohesive vision from shooting to delivery.
Great thanks to you and your collaborators.

[sanghamithran]

Thanks much for the detailed explanation of the sequence master Deakins.

Shooting things for real and extending and augmentation of the shots as pre planned is a great learning from the work.

If I may ask how often do you visit and sit with the post house to make sure the lighting on the VFX element is as you wanted or is it done mostly through versions and written feedbacks.

[Frank]

I remember reading about the Bridge of the Americas sequence for the first time and it completely blowing my mind when Roger said it was shot in a parking lot. The effect really is seamless, even after knowing how it was done or seeing before and afters you completely accept the location for what it’s presented as on-screen.

[Author]

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