Press Release

When Director John Hillcoat wanted to create the post-apocalyptic world of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” which premiers nationwide November 25, 2009, he chose DIVE as lead visual effects house for the skill and authenticity required to replicate the mood of the novel.

DIVE (www.the-dive.net), is the visual effects and film finishing division of Shooters Post & Transfer. Led by veteran Visual Effects Supervisor and award-winning master of photorealism, Mark O. Forker, DIVE delivered VFX for “The Road” created with subtle complexity.

The Road is an ethereal, dark and wrenching tale about a father and son fighting for survival while traveling through a decimated landscape. So Hillcoat wasn’t looking for explosive, otherworldly effects. He needed DIVE’s deft precision to immerse stars Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Charlize Theron in the stripped down, ashen and all-but dead world of “The Road.”

Says Hillcoat, “I very much go by the creative eye and professionalism of the key crew that I’m dealing with and in this case, Mark Forker had quite a history… but not only that, he came from photography. And just the way he spoke about effects, I knew immediately that DIVE should be the lead VFX house.” Hillcoat’s team even took it a step further, having Forker actually shoot visual effects second unit material.

Hillcoat’s experiences with the team at DIVE further confirmed his decision. “John and I come from the same place visually.” says Forker, VFX Supervisor on the film. “We both have a respect and passion for still photography. Since the film consists of three characters: the Man, the Boy and the Landscape, John entrusted DIVE as lead VFX house to oversee an actual character and we were honored and challenged. I understood his insistence on imperceptible visual effects and was thrilled to manage that for “The Road.” That’s the stuff I love to work on: the creation of atmospheres and worlds that look like an actual location—one that seemingly must honestly and truly exist.”

DIVE’s location in Philadelphia as opposed to LA, New York or London, was an added advantage for the Director. Says Hillcoat, “Having worked in LA, New York and London: the level of dedication and passion and perfectionism at DIVE was so impressive. When you’re in a huge pool like LA or London it’s very professional, but you don’t have the degree of interest that we found in our particular case.”

DIVE’s location also allowed Forker to come to the set and to visit the locations before or after shoot days to take all the necessary plates. The team at DIVE was also able to easily accommodate a changing shoot schedule: seamlessly coordinating and updating all of the changes as quickly as possible.

Scenes shot in already austere locations, mainly in Pennsylvania, with additional scenes shot in Louisiana and Oregon, were digitally stripped of life. Ominous signs and structures were created and tailored to match Hillcoat’s vision for the film.

Forker explains just one scene’s multiple challenges in a very complex film. “There was a location in New Orleans we very much wanted to use, but it was only about 40% ‘right’. A street of new homes which, midway through construction, were devastated by Hurricane Katrina, worked well because it was as if progress had stopped on a dime and became instant ruins all at the same time.”

“Our task was to try and obviously create this world that was as real as possible and not feel like visual effects,” says Hillcoat. However, DIVE faced three major hurdles. First, the freeway directly across the street interrupted the neighborhood feel. Second, the location still looked too “fresh”. And the third and most dismaying problem: the shoot days were clear and sunny for a film where all exterior shots needed to appear overcast and dark.

Forker shot some alternate angles on the street, replacing the freeway with an opposing side of houses and replacing fences with trees. Additional houses were created when he shot digital plates of certain details used to give the final appearance of a more intimate neighborhood. DIVE also made new light and telephone poles appear crooked and torn apart.

The team at DIVE also visually enhanced the shot with some additional set dressing not available the day of the shoot. They chose piles of skeletal remains and clothing configurations from a library previously shot on DIVE’s own stage, littered the ground with a few of them, and added a flapping American flag in a window. Additional tweaks in the final composite gave the impression that more of the street was covered in ash, while the sky was replaced with dark foreboding clouds that Forker photographed on a more appropriate day during the shoot.

“The final shot is impressive and devastating, just what the director wanted,” says Forker.

Called “the most important movie of the year” by Tom Chiarella of Esquire magazine, “The Road” makes its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2009. The film is also scheduled to make its North American Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival followed by screenings at the Toronto Film Festival. The Domestic wide release will be November 25, 2009.

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Based in Philadelphia, PA, DIVE (www.the-dive.net), is the visual effects and film finishing division of Shooters Post & Transfer, led by veteran Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Forker most recently Visual Effects Supervisor at Digital Domain, Los Angeles. As one of the east coast’s premier post production facilities for film finishing services, DIVE offers filmmakers the opportunity to complete Visual Effects, Digital Intermediates and Titles by coupling creative continuity with an integrated workflow. For more information contact DIVE Executive Producer Andy Williams at 267.514.7700.

EQUIPMENT:
– Avid Media Composer
– daVinci Resolve RT, 2K data
– Autodesk Inferno 2010
– cineSync
– Nuke
– Apple Shake
– Imagineer Mocha
– Qube! Render Farm
– Autodesk Maya
– Silhouette
– Adobe Photoshop
– Adobe After Effects
– NewTek Lightwave
– SynthEyes Camera Tracker

CREDITS:
Visual Effects Supervisor Mark O. Forker
Executive Producer Andy Williams
VFX Producer Phillip Moses
Compositing Supervisor Ed Mendez
Compositors Tim Bowman, Ryan Leonard, Anton Moss
Digital Effects Artists Kevin Fanning, Jeremy Fernsler
Paint & Roto Artists Steve Dinozzi, Crystle Schrecengost
Integration Specialist Nick Juschyschyn
VFX Coordinator Addie Manis
2D Coordinator Eileen Dare
VFX Editors Mark Wawrzenski, Bryan Baker
Facilities Manager John-Michael Trojan
Facilities Support Matt Wolford
Facilities Engineer Robert Pyle

VFX Production Unit:

Jason Pinardo
Craig Needelman
Leon Sanginiti
Othmar Dickbauer
Jack Swern
John Goraj
Phil Bradshaw
Jeff Cox, No Joke FX
Clarissa Shanahan
Luke Forker
Tony Trovarello
Mark Norman