You don’t have to know much about filmmaking to be impressed by the visual effects of Godzilla Minus One. The movie stars a giant monster, so even if you don’t know practical from digital, you can marvel at the fact Godzilla looks so good and is done so well, you believe he’s real.
Amazingly though, Godzilla himself is probably the least impressive visual effect in the entire movie. A new video released by Toho pulls back the curtain on the film’s Oscar-nominated visual effects which, yes, includes Godzilla. But also shows the incredible ways the team achieved all the water sequences, recreated old cities, and more. Plus, the video breaks down how all of this was achieved by fewer people than a Marvel movie probably has preparing its food. Check it out.
So, again, while Godzilla certainly looks awesome in the movie thanks to the team’s VFX, I watched this and was fascinated to see how everything else was achieved. How all of the ships were created using just one small set. How the actors themselves had to sway back and forth to simulate the waves. Just how little was shot practically of the crowd scenes compared to what we see in the movie.
Plus, the brief scenes inside the offices of director Takashi Yamazaki scooting around while everyone worked are just plain delightful. Even if those were captured after the fact, which they almost certainly were, the way it conveys the size of the team and streamlining of the process is a nice little window into the filmmaking process.
Godzilla Minus One, io9’s choice for best genre film of 2023, is still playing in some theaters. Fingers crossed we can get our hands on a physical copy sooner rather than later.
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