The visual effects boutique delivers 225+ shots for the psychological thriller, adding to the tale’s horror with invisible effects, which included a 3D animated spider, digital limb replacements, and CG environments and set extensions.
Lionsgate's 'Cobweb.' All images courtesy of Lionsgate.
VFX Legion was the primary visual effects vendor on the psychological thriller Cobweb, directed by Samuel Bodin and written by Chris Thomas Devlin. The story follows Peter (Woody Norman), an eight-year-old terrified by mysterious tapping and eerie whispers coming from inside his bedroom wall. His mother (Lizzy Caplan) and father (Anthony Starr) insist they are just his imagination, but as the boy’s fears intensify, he suspects his parents are hiding a dark secret.
The VFX boutique delivered more than 225 shots for Lionsgate's newest horror film, which premiered last month in theaters.
Legion helped Bodin (in his directorial debut) bring his vision to life with artists crafting invisible effects designed to heighten the tale’s horror unfolding in the family’s eerie old house. The team created computer-generated “gory” shots for the film’s visceral moments and a range of digital effects, including a 3D animated spider, digital limb replacements, and CG environments and set extensions.
Footage for the film was captured in a sound stage, primarily in a house built with no ceiling, creating a need for set extensions to augment the practical footage. Matchmove artists followed the camera as it meandered through hallways, rooms, and secret spaces – tracking its movements, orientation, and field of view and then recreating identical angles with a virtual camera. Artists constructed CG sections of the ceiling with the texture and look of the dilapidated building that seamlessly integrated with the real-world environments.
Cobweb’s development began a few years before its release. In 2020 Lionsgate acquired the film's rights and signed Bodin, with the actors joining the project later that year. Shooting began in Sophia, Bulgaria, in November 2020, then delayed when COVID-19 halted production. Legion, established in 2013 as a fully remote VFX boutique, continued work with existing footage throughout the pandemic.
Co-founder and VFX supervisor James David Hattin helmed the project, assembling a team of production managers, producers, VFX artists, animators, matte painters, trackers, coordinators, and support talent tailored to the film’s needs.
Cobweb’s VFX was created remotely using tools, including Autodesk Maya, Foundry Nuke, Maxon Redshift, and SynthEyes.
Source: VFX Legion
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
