Combining Miniatures, Live Action, Matte Paintings and More to Bring Collinwood to Life

London's The Senate VFX finished 186 shots for Dark Shadows, Tim Burton's highly art-directed revival of the 1960s TV series. The Senate's visual-effects supervisor, Anton Yri, was on set for first-unit production as well as model photography, as elements were captured that would later be used by The Senate to assemble images of the film's evocative Collinwood Manor location. At the top of this page, you can see an image of the Manor on fire, which was created by setting a scale model of Collinwood ablaze, than blending those live-action elements, shot at high speed, with shots of the life-size version of the manor's facade from the film's set. Additional flame elements, along with smoke and fog, help sell the image.

Here are some before-and-after shots from the production, along with Yri's comments on the process.

We were entrusted with a broad range of work which required a great variety of visual effects techniques — from extensive green screen work to full CG environments, ghost FX and creature animation. We had a significant number of shots requiring CG, which, coupled with meeting the demands of a visionary director, made Dark Shadows a challenging yet hugely rewarding project. — Anton Yri, VFX supervisor, The Senate

Mouseover film still above to compare to original live-action plate

For Collinwood Manor, although both the exterior and interior sets were built at Borehamwood and Pinewood Studios, respectively, extensive work was required to replace vast green screens and build additional portions of the Manor. Tim Burton preferred the slightly surreal look of the gardens created from scratch, rather than using model elements of the house. To add life to these shots, movement was added to the clouds, which in turn created animating light patterns on the house and gardens. — AY

Mouseover film still above to compare to original live-action plate

For the widest shots of the Manor, which were generally lock-offs, we created more matte paintings. The life-size exterior was only built to the bottom of the [second] floor. The rest required visual effects utilizing a mixture of high-res stills, matte paintings, CG builds and elements from a 1/3-scale model shoot. Flocks of distant birds were also added in some scenes as well as model cars and additional people, which were used to populate the forecourt of the house to give a greater sense that a party was in full swing. The car elements were enhanced with light beams and exhaust smoke. — AY

Mouseover film still above to compare to original live-action plate

All photos courtesy of and  © 2012 Warner Bros. Pictures.