The new science-fiction film In Time, shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins for writer/director Andrew Niccol, represents the fifth time invisible VFX experts Luma Pictures worked with Deakins. (Luma’s work appeared in four of the films Deakins made with the Coen Brothers: True Grit, A Serious Man, Burn After Reading, and No Country for Old Men.) Luma said VFX supervisor Justin Johnson spent 22 days on set making sure its work would mesh with Niccol’s intentions for the film.
Before and After

Mouseover film still above [full-size] to compare to original live-action plate [full-size]

Luma ended up creeating 65 shots for the film, including set extensions and other image touch-ups and more elaborate matte-painting work. In one scene, Luma was tasked with creating a tollbooth gateway extending pieces of the set that were physically constructred for the shoot. Luma ended up replacing the gateway with a digital version, then demolished the tollbooth, creating debris and smoke effects in Maya.

Before and After

Mouseover film still above [full-size] to compare to original live-action plate [full-size]

Later in the film, Luma helped create a bleak science-fiction landscape where an industrial section of Los Angeles once stood. “The final wasteland sequence required a vast amount of digital augmentation, taking out L.A.’s signature palm trees, billboards and road signs and masking the L.A. feel that is so prevalent in films shot here,” said Johnson in a prepared statement. “We also extended the landscape through infinity, replacing an entire ocean in the background with the shattered, burned-out reality of this desolate scene.”

In Time is now playing nationwide. For more on Luma Pictures: www.lumapictures.com.