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Script:
VFX is used throughout media to create the illusion of fantasy, and to help immerse the viewer in the world it creates. VFX can be used in many different ways to achieve the same effect, and there is sometimes trial and error.
In the 2019-to-present series, His Dark Materials, each character has a Daemon, which is an animal companion in a fantastical world. To achieve this, they considered all the options (such as using real animals, or using a ball on string to imitate where a Daemon is located in a scene) and settled on using FX to create them instead. However, to get their positions in a scene correct, they created puppet models of the animals they needed and had puppeteers moving them in a scene.
The puppets were far easier to attach the FX to because of how realistically they move, and they could be more easily tracked. Without the puppets, the process of animating animals into a scene with no reference for scale or position is far more difficult. It also helped the child-actors in the series, as they could more easily visualise that they were speaking to their Daemons as opposed to thin air.
This was also a time-saving strategy, as there are many characters with Daemons, and the main character has multiple, which meant having all the different models for the animals made it far easier to switch from one to the other, and helped save resources and money. They limited the amount of models they made by only selecting a certain number of animals the main character, Lyra, could be accompanied by. Because of the use of puppets in place of Daemons, their movements are far more realistic and meld far better than they would’ve if they were purely FX.
Because of this, the VFX in scenes with the Daemons portray the Daemons less as CGI animals and more as characters in a scene. VFX isn’t the first thing in mind when watching a scene featuring them.
Daemons give scenes more emotion. In this fight scene between Lyra and Mrs Coulter, the Daemons convey the emotions that the characters don’t outwardly show. Mrs Coulter’s Daemon, the monkey, is aggressive, which the character doesn’t outwardly show. Lyra’s Daemon, however, is scared, and shows the same emotions as her. These creatures act as extensions of characters, and add more depth to the emotions in a scene.
A similar strategy was used in Freeform’s Siren, which features various characters as mermaid-like creatures. To achieve this effect, they created a large water tank and had actors dressed in marked suits so that their movements could be tracked. The CG model was then added on top with ease, and this, like with the puppets, meant the movement had a high level of authenticity.
Apparatus was also used as a stand-in for sets, such as sunken ships, so that the actors could interact with something. These sets were also roto’d over like the actors and because of this they blend together well.
Clips and sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKNKHd_daOU - HBO, Official Channel - His Dark Materials: Bringing Daemons and Bears to Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC-oDMAKXMU - Siren, Official Channel - Eline Powell Becomes a Mermaid
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