Using a digital matte painting, exquisitely created by Marc Gabbana, the Mill team fused the two elements to give it the look of a three-dimensional painting.
Corey Brown, Mill VFX supervisor and lead compositor said, "We ended up borrowing classic lighting techniques from the likes of Caravaggio to help describe key figures in a way a painter would, rather than something photographed. This meant a lot of painstakingly delicate rotoscoping and tracking of actual brush strokes onto the figures. Finishing with canvas textures tracked into every layer of the scene to tie it all together."
"From the outset, we realized that it would be best accomplished by using a number of different tool sets available in our Design, 2D and Color departments," said Mill lead colorist Fergus McCall. "Over the duration of the post, all three teams worked in close conjunction. Corey and his team, and our Design guys achieved 90% of the look. It was my job to simplify and meld the color palate into a more painterly look at the end of this process."
This project was both incredibly challenging and rewarding, and the whole Mill team worked incredibly close and hard to create such a beautiful shot.
Agency: The Martin Agency
Producer: Jessica McMahon
Creative Directors: Joe Alexander, Alon Shoval
Creatives: D'Arcy O'Neill, Beel Williams
Production Company: Radical Media
Director: Tarsem
Executive Producer: Frank Sherma
Editing Company: Lost Planet
VFX & Design: The Mill
Executive Producer: Verity Grantham
VFX Producer: Zu Al-Kadiri
Shoot Supervisor: Corey Brown
2D Lead Artist: Corey Brown
2D Artists: Bruno de la Calva, Krissy Nordella, Kshitj Khanna, Rob Meade, Ella Bolivier
3D Artists: Taylor Cook, Isaiah Palmer
Colourist: Fergus McCall
Design: Tim Haldeen, Christopher Palazzo