Aquaman Method Studios VFX.jpg
A still from Aquaman. Image via www.methodstudios.com.
Stories & Ideas

Wed 30 Sep 2020

Making something audiences have never seen before in Aquaman

Australia Film Interview Pop culture The Story of the Moving Image
Maria Lewis
Maria Lewis

Screenwriter, author & pop culture etymologist

The thrilling rooftop chase in Aquaman was created through a stunning mix of stunt work, practical effects and cutting-edge CGI.

Australian director James Wan had a clear philosophy when it came to making comic book blockbuster Aquaman (2018): create something the audience has never quite seen before. Given the aquatic source material of the DC superhero, there was no shortage of inspiration on the page. Manifesting that on the screen, however, was the responsibility of Method Studios. The visual effects company helped make Wan’s philosophy a reality with one of Aquaman’s most thrilling sequences: a multilevel fight and foot chase across Sicilian rooftops.

With protagonists Mera and Aquaman being pursued by Black Manta’s henchmen, the action-packed scene required seamless visual effects to elevate the practical footage shot on location at Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast in Australia. “Ultimately what I’m looking for is an action scene that may seem somewhat familiar, but to take it up a notch,” Wan told Vanity Fair of the sequence. “That is our philosophy from day one: to create things that we haven’t quite seen before.”

An integral part of Aquaman’s unique action-packed sequences was the vision of the filmmaker steering the ship, according to producer Peter Safran. “James Wan is allergic to clichés,” he said. “He’s got a tremendous knowledge of the genre, he’s got a fanboy’s taste, so he is able to look at everything and sense whether it feels wanky or if it’s going to be something special.” Having established a long working relationship with Wan after producing a short he and Leigh Whannell made for Xbox – Doggie Heaven (2008) – and recruiting him to establish the Conjuring Universe, Safran shared Wan’s desire to shoot as much on location in Australia as they possibly could. “When we were in prep on the movie, we thought about where we could shoot and there was no question,” said Safran. “James and I were adamant from the get go that it had to be Australia. Not just because he’s Australian, but it’s a blue-sky movie: it’s a beach, it’s water. We wanted the vibe for the actors to be one of warmth and sunshine. Even if the actors were inside on a sound stage, we didn’t want them to be in London in March, shirtless, running around and pretending it was glorious.”

Adds Wan: “The more practical you can photograph, the better and more real it looks”. So when it came to prepping, constructing, shooting and putting the finishing touches on the Sicilian rooftop chase sequence, there were a lot of moving parts to mesh together. “Full credit for all of that choreography goes to James Wan,” said Method VFX supervisor Josh Simmonds in Digital Trends. “He’s got an amazing eye for action and vision to so seamlessly blend all of those parallel sequences. There was also an extensive [pre-visualisation design and modelling] process for it as well, which was handled by another company. By the time we got it, we were looking at it and sort of scratching our heads about how we would blend it all.” Wan’s concept for the sequence was to have a “classic foot chase” across rooftops, but give it a twist by having the action occur on two levels simultaneously. The first part follows the bad guy, smashing through walls and living rooms on one level, before the view pans out to show us Mera attempting to flee above.

To create this, Method had to combine visual effects with the real-world practical elements that were shot in front of blue screens on location. “That’s really how I like to do most of my stunt sequences: I love to try and shoot as much of the actual action in camera as I can,” said Wan. “Ultimately using visual effects to help me stitch moments together, stitch elements together, to create one final shot.”

While the rooftops are real, the explosions are real, the multiple Mera’s also real thanks to stunt performers, actress Amber Heard, and a handy technique called the ‘Texas Switch’, everything else became Method’s creation. “We knew from the start we were going to have to build a huge amount of this seaside village, from the piazza down in the town to the ruins at the top,” said Simmonds. Members of the Method team flew to Sicily, taking hundreds of photos and sketches so they had firsthand material to reference when creating their digital landscape.

Adding another layer of difficulty to the thrilling end result was Wan’s desire to have action happening in the foreground and background concurrently, making every detail of the frame crucial. With the audience’s focus on Mera’s pursuit initially, the camera pans back so that scene is now happening on a rooftop far away while suddenly Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is front and centre during his own fight. “I love to tie my action together,” said Wan. “So if I have characters that are doing things in one location and something else is happening kind of close by, I like to find ways where my camera allows me to connect them together.” Again, that required a meticulous stitching of elements: digital versions of Momoa placed in front of real explosions, before being merged with an actual stuntman colliding with rooftiles, and Momoa himself landing on the ground to complete the sequence. “You’ve got multiple set pieces that you have to bridge, but also have a completely realistic surrounding village,” said Simmons. “We had to free up the camera and blend multiple, real, on-set cameras with some CG cameras in between in order to make it work.”

The conclusion, however, is one of the most memorable sequences of Aquaman: it’s intimate, linear, but also incredibly original in execution. For a film that features an underwater battle with thousands of sea creatures, it’s saying a lot that the fight scene on land remains at the forefront of viewers minds.

Maria Lewis, 30 September 2020

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