Kris Sundberg and Lynzi Grant have collaborated for the past 6 years on Extraction, Spiderhead, and Hocus Pocus 2. Today they share their latest project: Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
What is your background?
Kris Sundberg // I’ve been working in the VFX industry professionally for about 12 years now and have always toed the line between the production side and being artist or supervisor. I’ve often worked as a coordinator or production manager while also doing shots or supervising the in-house team. I was luckily enough to make some great connections early in my career that led to my being able to work on movies like Jurassic World, Pirates of the Caribbean 5, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Solo, all of which were a dream come true, since those were the types of franchises I grew up with and inspired me to pursue filmmaking. It also allowed me to work closely with some of the best filmmakers and VFX vendors in the world. When I’m between gigs, I also own a small VFX company with my brother where we work on all sorts of projects, from commercial to feature.
Lynzi Grant // I have been doing VFX for 14 years. I started in the industry in NYC, in which I worked up to be a VFX Producer on independent film, TV and commercials. In 2018, I left New York to do Extraction with Chris Hemsworth. Everything since then has been a dream come true, working with Netflix and Disney All amazing experiences which have always led to the next big thing.
How did you get involved on this movie?
Kris Sundberg // It’s a bit of a funny story. I had worked with Lynzi Grant previously and she was hired onto the show first. She brought me on part-time initially to help set everything up and do some animatics, with the idea being that I would eventually join full-time as the assistant supervisor and 2nd unit supe. A couple weeks before production was set to begin, our original supervisor had to leave the show, so the studio and producers started looking for a replacement. Lynzi put my name forward, but I didn’t yet have a relationship with Sony or Bruckheimer as a supervisor. They kept exploring other options, but needed someone quickly, and I was already employed on the show, so they flew me out to Atlanta. I was meant to fill in for the first two weeks of shooting, and then likely be replaced with someone else. After those first few weeks, they all decided things were working well, and I ended up completing the entire show as supervisor. It was really one of those “right place, right time” situations that allowed me to step into the roll, and I’m incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity.
Lynzi Grant // Initially I dreamed of a different movie but this is a classic case of you get what you need and everything else works out. Trust in the process and the journey! This whole industry is based on relationships, so when this role came up the producers called Joe Kosinski who I worked with on Spiderhead for Netflix. The timing worked out and the rest is history. I couldn’t be more grateful for the people I got to collaborate with and the opportunities that were thrown my way. It was an honor to work with Jerry and his team. A real dream come true.
How was the collaboration with Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah?
Kris Sundberg // I love Adil and Bilall! They’re the nicest guys, and very down to Earth, always showing up on set with a smile and a hug for everybody. No ego. Their energy really keeps people going and staying positive through the long days. They’re also very passionate and creative filmmakers and have a great sense of what audiences want to see in a movie like this. I could tell early on that we had similar sensibilities as filmmakers, and they ended up giving me a lot of freedom to be creative, but also weren’t afraid to challenge me in a constructive way if they saw something differently.
This was my first time working with two directors, so I was curious what the dynamic would be like. Luckily, they’re almost always on the same page. If one of them was busy, I knew I could get answers from the other without worrying that I would get a different answer down the road. In that way, they were also able to divide the work between them, so Adil ended up being our main point of contact for most of the film while Bilall focused more on the edit. Of course, we always tried to get both of them when possible, but with how busy things ended up getting, it was helpful to have things split that way. In the end, I now consider them both good friends and hope we get to work together again.
How did you organize the work between you two?
Kris Sundberg // Overall, I think the division of labor between Lynzi and me was pretty typical of the producer/supervisor relationship. Lynzi more or less oversaw the financial and logistical side of things while I focused on the creative. That being said, the lines definitely blurred a bit since we had worked on a few shows together prior to this, and we’re both very hands on. I think my background in production was really beneficial, because I was able to jump in and help tailor our process in a way that maximized efficiency for both me as the supervisor and for the rest of our team. I’ve seen on past shows that things can sometimes bottleneck in that regard, and it’s no one’s fault in particular, it’s just the nature of the supervisor’s creative process not always gelling perfectly with the logistical roles of the production team. I like being able to dive into the database at any time, where we track all the VFX shots, and look at old versions or notes, or get an idea of where we may be falling behind and help formulate a plan of attack.
Lynzi Grant // A bit of history, Kris and I coincidently grew up 20 minutes from each other in Traverse City, MI so I knew he was going to be a solid person by my side from the initial 231 area code phone call. We worked together in 2018 where I hired him to collaborate with me on Extraction and we’ve worked together ever since. Kris has an amazing balance between technical skills, artistry and production prowess which compliments my production/budgetary skills, and the way to run a room. There are different parts to this process in which we do different things or share responsibilities. We collaborate heavily on making sure our vfx methodologies/plan of attack are in line so he can speak to the creative and I can make sure it fits within the budget . It’s a lot of keeping the train on the tracks while being able to anticipate all the issues which requires technical knowledge of what is happening with the work.
How did you choose the various vendors and split the work amongst them?
Kris Sundberg // This one had a lot of vendors because of the time and budget constraints. If you count the individual in-house artists, we ended up with 17 vendors by the end of the show, which makes things more difficult because you’re doing 17 times as many meetings, sending 17 sets of notes, etc. I really have to hand it to our whole production team for keeping everything organized. As far as dividing shots between the various vendors, we always try to keep sequences or assets with a single vendor to avoid shared work, and it’s also easier to then maintain a consistent look for each sequence.
Framestore Melbourne did a lot of the larger CG work in the third act, including the Gatorville facility (interior and exterior), the albino alligator Duke, the seaplane, drones, welding tank, various action enhancements, the finale, and more. Lynzi and I had both worked with their supervisor, Dom Hellier, on a previous show, so we knew they would knock it out of the park. It’s always helpful when you have an established relationship with someone, and Dom is an extremely talented and creative supervisor.
Folks Montreal was in charge of the entire Chinook helicopter sequence, which ended up being one of the most challenging and exciting sequences.
Studio Blackbird took on a few of our problematic sequences and really saved the day with some beautiful work, including a portion of Marcus’s near-death experience, the Fletcher’s Gallery shootout, CG lava lamps, the elevator fight, a good chunk of the third act action enhancement, and a handful of other shots throughout the film.
Fin Design + Effects did a lot of work on the near-death experience, including the final beach scene, and a few other action sequences. They also did the big third act oner, where we stitched from a drone shot to Will Smith holding the Snorricam rig FPS-style.
Spin VFX did the Alleyway fight with the flaming gang van, the Reggie fight, and several other shots throughout the movie.
Crafty Apes worked on all the interior driving comps and the hospital rooftop set extensions.
Zero VFX did Marcus crossing the street, the bridge shootout, the CG jellybeans and some action enhancement in Fletcher’s Gallery, the Armando prison fight, and some other late-stage comp work that really helped us hit our delivery deadline.
Bot VFX did an incredible job with a lot of the cleanup work throughout the film, removing rigging, equipment, etc. They also did a lot of the monitor comps in Dorn’s houseboat and Ammo van, as well as blue screen comp work for some of our interior sets, like the wedding reception, Marcus’s house, and Dorn’s houseboat.
Rick Whitfield and his team designed most of the graphics, and also did playback on set.
Lastly, we had an incredible in-house team, which included Maggie Kraisamutr, Ryan Sundberg, Adam Raboczi, Jason Schaefer, Hunter Kuhnert, Travis Baumann, Mathias Frodin, and me… I can never help doing a few shots myself!
I’d also like to give a shoutout to our previs and postvis teams, which included Day for Nite, The Third Floor, Maggie, Ryan, and our VFX editors.
What is your role on set and how do you work with other departments?
Kris Sundberg // I think the role of a VFX Supervisor on set essentially boils down to two things:
1. Help plan and make sure we properly shoot any sequence that will require visual effects work.
2. Make sure we collect the necessary set data that our vendors will need in post-production.
The first part hopefully includes a lot of pre-planning with the directors and all other departments to establish where visual effects will be used and find the most efficient and creative way to shoot those scenes. This film was difficult because the pre-production period was rather brief, and the script was still being revised. Plus, as I mentioned, I wasn’t the supervisor until roughly a week before we started shooting, so we were always playing catch-up a bit and planning while also shooting, or having to make decisions on the day. That happens to some extent with every production, and it’s a fun challenge that keeps you on your toes. We also made sure to prioritize some of the larger VFX sequences, like the blue screen driving work and Chinook helicopter, so that we wouldn’t get stuck without a plan (and multiple backup plans) on those days.
The second part, collecting set data, is something that most production teams and VFX data wranglers have down to a science that this point. We got the usual HDRIs, ball passes, reference photos, and scans of sets, props, and characters. The other thing that I always try to find and get on camera is some sort of practical reference for the CG object that we’ll be creating, such as the seaplane, welding tank, knives, guns, fire, and explosions. We had a real Chinook on the tarmac set, but it couldn’t fly, so we also filmed a Huey helicopter to be used as reference for that scene.
As for working with other departments, none of this would be possible without constant communication with everybody. It all depends on the work that needs to be done, but, for example, we worked with Art to help design sets that needed to be extended, Grips to figure out where we would need blue or green screen and how much, Camera to film clean plates and reference passes, ADs to make sure our needs are scheduled, and so on. We worked closely with our DP, Robrecht Heyvaert, on the VFX heavy sequences to make sure everything was shot properly for us. Rob is an extremely talented and detail-oriented person and already has a great sense of how to shoot for VFX, so he made my job a lot easier. We also worked very closely with Special Effects on scenes like the seaplane crash, for instance. SPFX Supe Eric Frazier and his team built a metal proxy roughly the size of the real plane and smashed it through the interior Gatorville set to give us some real destruction and reference for geography, physics, and lighting.
Lynzi Grant // Role of a VFX Producer during production:
1. Budget:
When starting a project, it usually comes with an initial legacy budget, which is based on an older script. I read the script and breakdown myself according to my instincts. I highlight my initial questions of methodology, then I sit down with the supervisor to go over if our methodologies are synced. Bad Boys was a bit unconventional because we had a change out of supervisors in prep, so I took on the challenge of shouldering the beginning part of this process of sequence meetings and initial planning with departments. These meetings help narrow down the budget and guides the vendors to bid properly. We are having bidding conversations constantly in order to award and lock the initial budget of the show. This helps us so we can start involving them in the prep of the larger sequences. Planning with the vendors is key to ensure we are getting what they need and expect, once we get into post.
The script is never really locked in and changes constantly. It’s a revolving door process even throughout production. I love the challenge of keeping everyone up to date on the process and the changes with the scope of work. I call a VFX budget a living organism as it’s constantly moving and evolving.
2. Assembling Avengers:
This is by no means a Kris and Lynzi did everything type of job. It’s a massive team effort from the onset staff, to production, to VFX editorial. One of my many strengths is putting the best team possible to tackle the film at hand. Every film is different and requires slightly different people. Kris and I have trained and have collaborated with people over the years to grow with us on each film. We want to put together the best team possible. It requires knowing people’s strengths and putting them in positions that they can grow and have autonomy over their position. I love watching people grow over time and grow into everything I know they can do. When you trust and give people the tools to succeed, it usually happens in an amazing way. This requires you as a producer to guide, let go, and support.
3. Communication:
Communication and good people skills are key to this role. I am the conductor of the VFX orchestra. We are understanding and mastering so many parts of the film. This helps us to know how to maneuver the pieces together to make the symphony sound great. We are constantly in communication with the Studio, Filmmakers, Department heads, and Producers to make sure they know how we are proceeding and the financial/schedule outcomes of all decisions. As I mentioned, the script is never locked in, so communication is huge in ensuring if any plans change that it is fully distributed to vendors and filmmakers. For example, if we switch from using a puppet gator to CG gator, that not only changes the cost of the shot but how we will approach it during filming. The cost of the scene changes from a VFX perspective, but also production wise because more crew members are being added to accomplish it practically. I have to stay aware of how much production costs vs VFX cost and what is more efficient. It’s important to know that we will get the best outcome in the end. This is a delicate balance which requires a team effort between Kris and I .
4. Anticipatory Thinking:
This job is thinking ahead, but also learning from what happened yesterday. We need to think about the shoot day but also 6 months down the road as everything that happens on set will affect our department in post and ability to finish the film. We have to anticipate issues, problems, and pitfalls to ensure we can keep train on the tracks.
5. Organization and Database:
It is imperative that all of our information is logged and documented religiously. This is a combination of shotgrid, filemaker, and good old fashioned excel. We used the back end of Studio Monkey to keep up ingesting all this information in an efficient manner. Kris and I have trained all of our coordinators to do this so it’s documented and organized from Day 1. Time is money, information is money, and efficiency is money. The more tight we can be on the data entry, everything from notes to logging our scans, saves people and dollars for the producers.
6. It’s not just VFX:
Kris and I pride ourselves in not just being VFX staff, but as filmmakers in our own right. We are very in tune with other departments and how they work which makes us better at being collaborative.
Not only are we thinking of the VFX day to day, but it’s my job to plan all the additional days that go along with our needs such as drone shoots, helicopter shoots, driving arrays, element shoots etc. This requires relationships with aerial companies such as Ascend Aerials, Fred North and the local camera departments. We work with the production supervisor and the UPM to ensure we have the correct teams and time allotted for these days. Kris and I are very hands on. We run the shoot like it’s our own,
which requires communication with all departments and the understanding of how those departments operate. I treat these types of days from beginning to end like it’s our shoot from the call sheet, to the shot list to giving all the information to post. I’ve learned over the years that some of this information gets lost and at the end of the day it’s crucial that we get what we need and it’s documented properly. Leaving it up to anyone else is irresponsible.
What were the primary goals for the visual effects team in enhancing the action scenes?
Kris Sundberg // Bad Boys is a modern-day action film, set in the real world, so from day one my goal was always photorealism. I didn’t want people to watch this movie and think about the VFX work: I wanted it to essentially be invisible. A lot of that entailed making sure we got the right background plates for our blue screen sequences and using good references to complement the practical work caught on camera.
It was also clear early on that Adil and Bilall had some ideas for more stylized shots that made that goal of realism a bit trickier, but I was of course up for the challenge. In those cases, we still tried to make sure we grounded the shots somehow, to amp up the style but still feel realistic. For example, in the Chinook sequence there are several shots where the camera is much closer to the Chinook than it likely could be if you were to shoot it for real. It even travels from outside of the Chinook through the windshield, and then back out of the rear ramp before the rotor tower explodes. We always tried to play these shots in a way that maybe could have been done for real, even if it wouldn’t have been practical, such as imagining the camera operator were skydiving next to the helicopter, adding camera shake and vibration, making sure the framing was never perfect, to help sell it in a plausible way.
Lynzi Grant // As Kris mentioned, this is a photo real VFX show. Everything needs to be grounded in reality. With a few exceptions there needs to be a scientific reason why an action is happening. The producers of this movie are very big on cause and effect. An object in the scene can’t just do anything it wants. It has to be derived from somewhere and caused by something. Your eye will always go to “why does that look wrong” and it usually is because it’s not grounded on earth or in physics. A big inspiration and goal for us was Top Gun: Maverick and reaching that level of excellence. The reason Top Gun: Maverick looks so great was because everything they did was based on a real plate or something real in physics. That was our end goal going forward and matching that aesthetic in terms of 100% realism. If we couldn’t find ways to shoot it that way, Kris and I found other ways to get there which took a lot of experimentation and resources.
Aside from the Chinook seq that Kris already talked about, another shot that was unrealistic was the welding tank spinning on the dock. The way it was originally boarded on paper we thought would work. This was conceived while we were shooting and a good candidate for some tech viz but we didn’t have time. Adil and Bilall really wanted something with a dynamic camera movement and to have 2 camera movements stitched together using the tank. The more we pushed as time went the more it looked like a looney tunes balloon. We took a step back and really studied how tanks would naturally spin in real life and combined that with the dynamic camera movement. This took Kris getting his hands dirty once again, and doing multiple post viz versions to connect both camera movements together that sold the realism to the audience. Framestore did an excellent job at collaborating in this process and rendered a convincing final product.
How did the use of visual effects in Bad Boys help in achieving stunts that would be too dangerous to perform in reality?
Kris Sundberg // Adil and Bilall wanted to do as much practically as possible, which is my preference as well. Overall, I think the action in the film feels more visceral because there’s almost always an element of reality in there. Shoutout to our special effects team for giving us some glorious explosions and other practical destruction, and to Greg Rementer, our stunt coordinator and 2nd unit director. Greg and his team did an amazing job with getting some incredible, practical action in-camera, including Marcus riding on top of a car, Mike and Marcus crashing through a glass window during an explosion, Armando and Callie falling from a second story mezzanine, Mike and Marcus being slammed into the walls and ceiling of the Chinook, and the iconic Reggie fight.
There are of course situations where VFX is necessary for safety. We often tried to approach these sequences in a hybrid way: shooting as much as we could practically and then augmenting with VFX, or shooting multiple passes and comping them together. For example, the seaplane sequence involved clean plates of the actors doing their action, and then a separate pass of the special effects seaplane proxy crashing through the set. We then combined those elements and added our CG plane and additional FX work to make the final shot.
Another example was the flaming gang van. Adil and Bilall wanted the whole van to be engulfed in flame by the end of the sequence, but there were concerns about the amount of real fire we could safely put on the van without causing an unwanted explosion. It needed to be controlled, so the special effects team put a protective tray over the hood of the van and lit that on fire to give us as much practical flame as they safely could. We then used that as reference to cover the rest of the van with our CG fire. It also provided some great interactive lighting.
The Chinook sequence also included a lot of action that was too dangerous for our main cast, so stunt doubles were utilized instead, such as the moment where Marcus crashes into the walls and ceiling of the Chinook and then slides into the cockpit. Since the shot was meant to look like one long take of the real Martin Lawrence, we worked with the stunt team to find moments where we could stitch between different takes to sell the effect. After Lintz gets yanked out of the Chinook by his parachute, the camera whip pans 180 degrees to push back towards Martin. The Chinook is then meant to hit some turbulence, so Martin jumped to his left. That’s the end of the first take. We then lined up his double (Brandon M. Shaw) on the same mark and overlapped the action, starting just before the turbulence. Brandon was on wires and was then yanked into the walls and dropped on the floor a couple times. We next lined Martin up in that same spot, this time on a wire as well. He overlapped the action of falling on the floor by doing a quick flop before being pulled halfway toward the cockpit, making sure we see his face at first, but then putting his head down. Again, we overlapped this action with Brandon, this time pulling Brandon all the way into the cockpit and up into the air to crash against the windshield. The camera whip pans away from Brandon to the pilot. When we whip back, it’s another take of Martin in the same spot. The other tricky thing about all of that was the fact that we had to shoot main unit with Martin and second unit with Brandon on different days, so we had to make note of everything and ensure lighting and camera positions matched as closely as possible on the different days. Add to that the practical smoke and wind effects, painting out the wires and stunt pads, replacing the blue screen through the windows, and the end result is a tricky stitch shot that hopefully feels like one long take of Martin being painfully tossed around inside the Chinook!
What were some of the most challenging action scenes to enhance with visual effects in the film?
Kris Sundberg // I think the most challenging scene VFX-wise was the Chinook sequence, mostly due to our budget and time limitations. We had been able to film a practical Huey helicopter as reference for the exterior shots, with the original goal being that we would essentially replace the Huey with our CG Chinook. However, because of the schedule limitations, the helicopter shoot ended up being on a day that wasn’t ideal lighting-wise, and we weren’t able to get the Huey up to the altitude we originally wanted. The Chinook needed to start around 6,000 feet in order to plummet long enough for the rest of the interior action to take place, and we were only able to take the Huey up to about 1,500 feet. Plus, as the sequence evolved editorially in post, we ended up redesigning several of the exterior shots to amp up the action and better tell the story. All of this led to us designing most of the exterior environment and Chinook from scratch, based on whatever reference photos and videos we could find. The Chinook is also a bit of a big, awkward looking vehicle, and it took some time to settle on shot designs that were dynamic and cool. It was very iterative, and the team at Folks was an amazing collaborative partner in that regard. It was a lot of fun working through different animation ideas with them, and I’m extremely happy with how their CG Chinook model, and the sequence as a whole, turned out.
The aerial environment was something that came together in a surprisingly simple way in the end, but not after a lot of hard work. We were originally building the environment in a way that would allow for different altitudes, dynamic lighting based on a selected sky dome, and cloud layers we could adjust and move as necessary, but we were struggling a bit to make all of that work in a photoreal way within our allotted timeline. I ended up doing some digging online and found these incredible high resolution aerial HDRIs created by an artist named Jean-Christophe Erny. I did some previs tests using those HDRIs and, even with a low quality Chinook model, it really elevated the realism of the shots, and the directors loved the look. We now had a clear target, and in the end, we ended up using a combination of Jean-Christophe’s HDRI and a modified version created by Folks in order to complete all of the shots.
The other big piece of the puzzle was the final crash into the lake. The original idea was to see the Chinook crash in a wide shot from ground level, but we all decided that wasn’t exciting enough once we got into post. Bilall pitched a new shot where we follow behind the Chinook as it hurtles toward the lake, and then camera would continue into the water. Luckily, we had already shot some plates of the lake location using a 360 degree drone array from Wild Rabbit Aerial. Those plates were originally meant for a different shot that didn’t make the cut, but we were able to repurpose it for this shot. The 360 array allowed us to have almost full virtual control over pan and tilt once the plates were stitched together. We designed the final shot with previs first, based on the drone’s flight path, then handed that to Folks who did an incredible job on the final shot. We probably could have gone full CG instead, but I think having those plates really helped ground everything in a more realistic way.
What role did pre-visualization (previs) play in planning and executing the action sequences?
Kris Sundberg // By the time I joined the show, a lot of the visualization was already being done by Greg Rementer and his stunt team in the form of live action stuntvis. These are always really fun to see, because they usually involve a big empty space where they stack cardboard boxes in the shape of the set and use makeshift props to act out a scene. It feels like when I used to make home movies with my brothers, but it’s really well done despite the lofi quality. They beat out the action sequences with the stunt team as stand ins for the actors and present it to the filmmakers, then make revisions until everyone is happy with the scene, and we then use that as a baseline for the real shoot. In this case, Greg even had a VFX artist on his team that did the original previs, such as the full CG Chinook shots. Greg himself also added explosions, muzzle flashes, blood hits, etc using stock elements. On other shows, our team oftentimes helps with those elements, but in this case Greg’s team did everything and we provided input where necessary, which helped speed up the process.
The only scene that our team prevised during production was the seaplane crash, since that required a more technical approach. We knew we were going to have to shoot everything in two passes, since the practical plane proxy crashing through set was too dangerous to allow any actors or crew inside during the event. We also needed to shoot those passes on completely different days, since the Special Effects department needed time to rig everything, and the set would essentially be destroyed after the event. We wanted to make sure we were getting exactly what we needed. Therefore, we brought the Art Department’s 3D model of the interior Gatorville set into Maya, along with a simulation of the seaplane crashing through the set, which was done by the Special Effects team. Those pieces helped give us accurate measurements and a good approximation of the speed and trajectory the proxy plane would travel. We then worked with the directors and DP to pick virtual camera angles and mockup the characters’ actions. We rendered the full action from the various camera angles and edited a mini sequence together to make sure we were happy with the results. We were then able to use that data to place all our real cameras on set.
How did you collaborate with the stunt coordinators and directors to seamlessly blend practical and visual effects?
Kris Sundberg // I think most of this has been answered above, but essentially it came down to good communication and reference. We always tried to err on the side of practical effects, where possible, and then augment with VFX when necessary. One sequence that ended up needing more VFX work than initially anticipated was the albino alligator, Duke. The original plan was inspired by the movie Emancipation, another Will Smith film, where they used a practical alligator puppet. We tapped the same company, Legacy Effects, and they essentially repurposed that same alligator puppet, with some upgrades and fresh coat of white paint. Our plan was to get as much as possible in-camera with the puppet, and then augment where needed with VFX.
We had a fun test day prior to shooting where the Legacy team brought the alligator to a pool at the hotel where I happened to be staying, and we ran through the action with the stunt team. The hotel staff really got a kick out of that. We then shot the whole scene with Legacy puppeteering the alligator opposite Martin, and it looked good on the day, but when we started cutting the scene together, it fell a bit flat. Duke didn’t look big or scary enough, so instead of building a CG Duke that matched the puppet, we instead started exploring the idea of replacing the puppet fully with a different creature design. After pulling some new references and doing some initial concepts, we worked with Framestore to design the version of Duke that you see in the final movie.
Even though we ended up replacing the puppet for most of the shots, having the puppet there in the first place was still an invaluable resource for us to have as reference and for practical interaction with the water and with Martin. It also provided something concrete and real for the actors to act against. Plus, there are still a few puppet shots that survived, such as the one of Duke swimming away at the end of the scene!
Can you give an example of a specific scene where visual effects significantly amplified the impact of the action?
Kris Sundberg // I think every action scene was amplified through VFX, and that’s not to say we came in and saved the day or anything. Filmmaking is the sum of its parts, and we’re a piece of that puzzle. If you take out any of the visual effects work, like a muzzle flash for instance, the scenes would look and feel incomplete. The same thing would happen if you stripped out the sound effects or music, or any other element.
That being said, if I were to choose the scene that I think was most amplified through visual effects, it would probably be the Chinook sequence. I believe there were very few shots in that sequence that didn’t require some level of VFX work, and it simply would not have been possible to shoot it practically.
Lynzi Grant // In these types of films, we are collaborators and a small piece of the bigger picture. It’s our job to fit in and enhance the story. We don’t like doing VFX just to show off VFX. This means creating shots that you could go shoot and could be accomplished if we were on a typical set. Answering questions in your head like “where would the camera go” and “would Rob (DP) be able to accomplish this move?”. “What rig would make that move happen?” If a shot would be super outrageous these are the questions I was prepared to answer to talk through the rationale of the shot with the Producers. This is how the Chinook eventually maintained it’s photo real balance by creating camera movements that you could shoot with a helicopter.
What techniques were used to simulate realistic explosions and crashes?
Kris Sundberg // A lot of the crashes and explosions were real in this one, and that provided great reference for us in our work. I mostly deferred to the vendors to utilize whichever tools they preferred in order to achieve the desired effect, but from our side, we always started by looking through the dailies and selecting practical shots from our photography as reference. Otherwise, you end up stabbing in the dark a bit. We would also pull additional references online or from other movies when necessary, which are helpful, but there’s no replacement for having an element that your crew actually filmed with your picture camera and lenses. It’s an invaluable resource to be able to compare with and use as a benchmark.
Were there any instances where you had to recreate entire environments digitally for certain action scenes? If so, how did you approach this?
Kris Sundberg // The aerial environment for the Chinook sequence was definitely the biggest one for us, which I described above. The original environment was built using tiles we shot from a helicopter in Atlanta, and then we discovered Jean-Christophe’s HDRIs.
The only other instance was the interior Gatorville set. Framestore recreated most of that for the seaplane crash, though the final shots include a combination of plate and CG. The CG set was created using a lidar scan and texture photography of the real thing, and then we designed the upper dome based on concept art from the Art Department. That part was never built practically.
Lynzi Grant // The environments we were creating were very important to the story. We had to really understand the producers and filmmakers goals for these environments to capture them correctly. Gatorville had a specific map of how the extraction plan was played out and how they all exited the park was crucial. The producers really wanted the audience to know where the building was compared to the beach. That dictated how large our overall environment was and what we had to create vs what we shot practically. This required working with the art department where gatorville was intended to be set and if you flew in from the air, what would you see? This shot was a combination of a couple of plates. We shot gatorville in Atlanta, then we needed to find the correct perspective of the ocean to correspond with the overhead physical map of where the extraction takes place. The space between gatorville and the ocean had to be shortened so they believed they actual ran through the woods to get to Mcgrath at the end.
How did the use of drones and advanced camera techniques complement the visual effects work in capturing dynamic action shots?
Kris Sundberg // The 360 array drone was a big one for us, which was utilized for that shot of the Chinook crashing into the lake. It’s a great tool and technique that I would love to explore further in future projects.
We also used FPV drones for a handful of shots in the film. You can get some really dynamic shots that used to be impossible outside of the CG world. For the shot of the drones entering Gatorville in the third act, we stitched together three different setups across two different sets. The first was a drone flying over Mike, Marcus, and Armando as they approach the exterior of the building. The main Gatorville building exterior was fully CG, aside from the albino alligator mouth over the entrance, so the FPV drone flew through the gator mouth and into a doorway underneath. We then shot the B-side plate at our interior Gatorville set, which was constructed inside of a big warehouse. We had the drone fly a similar path through the front doors and then circle the interior as the special effects team shot off smoke plumes and sparks and the actors performed. It was a fairly complex operation that took a few takes to get right, but I think the end result is quite something.
Another big shot was the drone stitch into Mike’s POV, where Camera Department used that awesome Snorricam rig. Those were originally meant to be two different shots, but as we were filming the drone shot, Bilall came to me and said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we made it one long shot, and stitched this with the Snorricam?” Once we finished the drone shot, we had Will start with the Snorricam in the same spot where he had ended previously. We also shot some photogrammetry and clean plates of that area to help with the stitch, which was ultimately done by Fin Design using a digi double of Will in combination with our CG Gatorville asset and some of those filmed plates.
Later in that same shot, we had to switch to CG again briefly on the final transition where the camera crosses over top of Will’s hands to get us back into POV mode before he encounters the final big henchman. The rest of the shot is mostly in-camera using the Snorricam rig, aside from some hidden cuts to shorten the sequence, CG glass breaking, muzzle flashes, and some equipment cleanup. The gun toss in that shot is something I’ve seen people comment on as looking like bad VFX, but that was actually a real gun mounted in front of the camera on a magnet! Martin Lawrence was then able to pull the gun off the rig at the end of the shot.
Can you describe the techniques used to create the impossible shots particularly those that defy the laws of physics or involve complex camera movements?
Kris Sundberg // Several have been discussed already, but one additional moment was in the Chinook sequence when the camera traveled through the bullet hole in the windshield and followed Lintz as his parachute pulled him out of the helicopter. First of all, our interior Chinook set was a really cool build designed by the Art Department in conjunction with multiple other departments (Stunts, Special Effects, Camera, VFX, etc). The front Cockpit was a real decommissioned Chinook cockpit modified to give us more space to shoot in, and the fuselage was built from scratch. The stunt rigging was integrated into the set, and the whole thing was built on top of a motion base that could shake and rock back and forth. A circular lighting array was mounted around the set, with the ability to fade the lights on and off in a circular pattern to emulate the movement of the sun as the Chinook moves and spins.
For the shot through the bullet hole, we decided the best way to achieve the shot would be to mount the camera to the stunt track on the ceiling of the Chinook. That way, we could program the camera to move a specified speed and distance every time, while also maintaining a safe distance from our actors. Derek Russo, who played Lintz, was on wires connected to that same track, which were programmed to be pulled once the camera was a specified distance away from him. The stunt team would count down the action, then push a button to start the camera move, which shot forward through the cockpit and slowed briefly as Martin pulled Derek’s ripcord, then Derek and the camera both rocketed towards the rear of the Chinook. The only problem was that the camera needed to start outside of the cockpit, and we couldn’t cut a hole in the real cockpit to create room for the bulky overhead track and camera mount. We ended up building a “shadowcaster proxy” of the cockpit for this one setup, which was a wooden frame roughly the shape and color of the actual cockpit. That way we still had some cast shadows from the set lighting and a good reference point for where the CG cockpit would need to go. The parachute was CG, and we also discovered late in the game that the cage holding Armando (Jacob Scipio) wouldn’t fit inside with all of the stunt and camera rigging, so we had Jacob stand on his mark without the cage and added the CG cage in post.
Were there any unexpected technical or creative challenges encountered during the production?
Kris Sundberg // There were several! But that’s part of the fun: figuring out how to solve those issues in a satisfying way. One of the other challenges I haven’t mentioned yet were the interior driving scenes. Adil and Bilall really wanted to shoot those scenes practically, with a tow rig or the like, but it simply wasn’t practical with the amount of work and our short shooting schedule, so production decided early on we would need to do some sort of poor man’s process.
We initially explored building a volume on stage in order to get as much as possible in camera. The problem there was that we weren’t planning to go to Miami until the end of our shoot schedule, so we couldn’t film any of our BG plates prior to shooting the interior driving scenes on stage in Atlanta. The stage work was also early in the shoot schedule, and there simply wasn’t enough time to process plates and prepare everything for the volume. Therefore, we had to use blue screen, but we still decided to use LED panels for interactive lighting. Basically, there was an array of panels hanging just above the car playing back whatever content we needed for each scene. Again, since we didn’t yet have our true background plates, we ended up sourcing existing driving plates as placeholders for lighting only. We also used those plates for temp comps in post until we eventually shot our real BG plates in Miami. The whole thing was a bit backwards and wasn’t ideal, but I think it ended up working fairly well in the end.
Lynzi Grant // Everyday was a challenge especially because of the limitation with both of the strikes. The ADs did an incredible job at reorganizing the schedule daily, but things were shot in an order that we didn’t plan. Everyday was working with all depts and my team to shuffle people around between units and make sure we were prepared for the work at hand which was sometimes a surprise.
Another scheduling issue was any sequence that needed background plates. Good lighting on driving foreground plates are essentially to make all the driving look real. Anything that had Miami in the background we shot the corresponding foreground plate on a stage a year before including everything from driving, windows, rooftops etc. Planning everything lighting wise with Kris and Rob, for the driving sequences was particularly challenging. We needed to have the right footage for the lighting panels for the shoot day which we got off of driving plates.com. These plates had to be generic enough where we could go to Miami and shoot high res driving footage at any point and it would match. When it comes to doing these types of shoots, the VFX team has all the information regarding the needs for the scene, so we pushed to have a pre light day. This isnt always guaranteed, but as I said before, time is money. Putting on my AD had, I knew if we had a dry run the day before, the whole crew would be more confident and we could get through all these setups in the 4 days for all the driving.
Were there any memorable moments or scenes from the movie that you found particularly rewarding or challenging to work on from a visual effects standpoint?
Kris Sundberg // All of it holds a special place for me, since it was my first time leading a project of this scale. Some of my favorite shots are the ones where most people would never realize VFX was involved, such as the wedding reception or Dorn’s houseboat. Those sets were on a stage, and every view of the exterior is blue screen with plates of the Miami skyline comped into the BG. It may seem unremarkable and straightforward, and to some extent it is, but you still need to plan for those things, make sure you have the right elements, develop the look, and then make sure the whole scene feels cohesive within itself and within the larger film. All of that can be more challenging when you have multiple vendors.
Another challenging bit was the graphics work, mostly because of the quantity and intricacy. Every phone, computer, and TV needed to have graphics designed from scratch, and we had to make sure they functioned properly according to the make and model of the device, while also serving the purpose of the story. Our VFX editor, Nolan Reese, did a great job mocking up a lot of the graphics initially for the editors and for preview screenings. This allowed us to iterate more quickly and find the right story before handing it off to Rick Whitfield to polish. Rick has been in the business a long time and had also done the graphics for Bad Boys 3, so we were in good hands there. The other challenge was the sheer number of elements we needed to collect for the graphics, a lot of which needed to be preplanned and scheduled as part of the shoot, such as the surveillance footage for the Reggie Fight and the drone feeds in the Ammo Van. One fun Easter Egg in the graphics work is the houseboat scene where Dorn is scanning the files from Captain Howard’s storage locker. The mugshots that pop up are all crewmembers. We took my camera into the garage of Jerry Bruckheimer Films one day and did our best to look like hardened criminals.
Lynzi Grant // Kris talked in depth about the chinook sequence which I am so very proud of. Kris did an incredible job at making that exceptional.
The lava lamps in Fletcher’s gallery were a point of conversation for the whole project. We initially planned for a smaller sequence with the art gallery. The set up was going to be the SFX and art department filling the tanks with colored water and colored lights. VFX was going to put the lava lamp wax in the tanks in CG. As the sequence was getting edited, it expanded dramatically and we couldn’t get any vendor to do the initial ask of the lava lamp wax for the amount of money we had in the budget. I don’t take lightly to not being able to create something that the filmmakers were expecting, so I was bound and determined to find an answer. Blackbird VFX came around in November and agreed to my plea and really knocked our socks off. I was very impressed with their professionalism, understanding of the directors needs and making a flawless product. They went above and beyond making the stand alone wax look flawless but also created liquid sims of the wax as it came out of the tanks as they were exploding. This whole scene at first glance seems light, but these types of VFX really take the movie to the next tier.
Looking back on the project, what aspects of the visual effects are you most proud of?
Kris Sundberg // I’m honestly most proud of the fact that we finished on schedule and the work looks good, in my humble opinion. I’m proud of our team and the vendors for all their incredible work. It was a tight schedule, and there is of course always work that I think could have been better given more time, but we delivered, and everyone involved seemed happy with the results. I don’t think you can ask for much more than that.
Lynzi Grant // I’m very proud of the whole process. We really came together as a team to ensure we got everything done on time and on budget. Every person on our team pulled their weight to make it all work seamlessly. Michelle, Bay, Javier, Johanna, Nolan, Matt, Andrew. We can’t take full credit for any of it when it really is a massive group endeavor.
How long have you worked on this show?
Kris Sundberg // I was on the show for about 15 months, with a bit of a hiatus in the middle during the strikes.
Lynzi Grant // Jan 2023, with a break for the strike Sept-Nov 2023.
What’s the VFX shots count?
Kris Sundberg // I believe the final count was 1166.
What is your next project?
Kris Sundberg // I’m not sure what my next film will be, yet. I’m enjoying some time off with my family and working on some of my own side projects in the meantime. If I had a choice, I’m a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda games and would love to work on the feature adaptation. Feel free to give me a call, Wes Ball!
Lynzi Grant // I’m enjoying traveling the world this summer. I have my eye on a few things, but whatever is meant to be will happen. Good people and good stories.
What are the four movies that gave you the passion for cinema?
Kris Sundberg // Great question. It’s honestly hard for me to recall, because I’ve wanted to work on movies for as long as I can remember, and I’m constantly inspired by new films. I’ll just list four select favorites of mine throughout the years:
Fight Club
Spirited Away
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
Lynzi Grant // The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,
Top Gun: Maverick
A big thanks for your time.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Framestore: Dedicated page about Bad Boys: Ride or Die on Framestore website.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2024
