Wired sat down with Method Studios’ Visual Effects Supervisor Daryl Sawchuk to discuss the studio’s extensive post-production work on Black Panther. Included: this cool video, which includes some interesting behind-the-scenes secrets on how the artists digitally costumed actors Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan.
At this point, it’s probably no surprise that both Black Panther and Killmonger were brought to life using CG stunt doubles, as real actors simply wouldn’t have survived some of those fight sequences. But what’s interesting is seeing how the visual effects artists relied on each actor’s performance on set to know how to accurately recreate each character’s movements, right down to how their muscles flex.
Creating convincing visual effects isn’t just about sitting behind a monitor in a dark office for eight months. The VFX studios are on-set during the entire production, shooting reference footage, and working with actors and stunt people to ensure that they have all the material they need to make digital magic in post-production. It’s a proactive process, not just about fixing what was captured on-set afterward.
[YouTube via Art of VFX]