The Emmy Award-winning EFX supervisor helped creator Ian McCulloch produce a series of gruesome human and animal bodies seemingly pulled apart in layers in the horror thriller series now streaming on Peacock.
One must wonder, with a resume that includes Lovecraft Country, Creepshow, Fear the Walking Dead, Werewolf by Night, Interview with the Vampire and Love & Death, what keeps Emmy Award-winning EFX Supervisor Carey Jones awake at night. Or whether he has developed a strong constitution for the macabre. “This is a job, art and a passion so it doesn’t keep me up,” shares Jones, who recently applied his craft to the Peacock horror thriller series Teacup. “However, deadlines keep me up!” Created by Ian McCulloch and based on the novel Stinger by Robert McCammon, the eight-episode show follows a group of people living in rural Georgia who may or may not be threatened by an alien lifeform that inhabits the bodies of other beings. James Wan executive produces for Atomic Rooster.
Evidence that something is horribly wrong rears its head when local resident Claire Kelly (Holly Morris) crosses a mysterious blue line that has been sprayed painted across a roadway… and turns into a rotted corpse frozen in time. “When we started, I got a bible from Ian that had a detailed description of what he felt this ‘transformation’ would be and how violent it would be,” explains Jones. “In fact, what he sent me was extreme and we dialed it back! We had an artist, Mike Broom, who could whip out hundreds of sketches quicky; pencil drawings that showed silhouettes and interpretations to get the three-dimensional discussions started. From there, we’d do more concerted and direct pieces of artwork like Photoshop or ZBrush that we then submitted to get final approval. The one word that they would always use is ‘grounded’. We used a lot of anatomy books to show the different layers of the body, skin, and what’s inside; that’s what we used as a main source of reference.”
To get the correction proportions, a head cast and body scan of Morris were created. “It’s called photogrammetry,” notes Jones. “Essentially, she stands in a pod of cameras, which take upwards of 300 plus photos and the computer stitches that together into a 3D replica of the actress in the desired position. Once we get that digital information, we have it printed. But really, the process is where a block of foam is put into a machine that carves it out. That’s how we got her body. Now the head was from a life cast where we put a silicone material over her face. That comes off, we put molded clay inside, which we pull like it’s a direct representation of her. We have artists and sculptors here [at KNB EFX Group] that then add the details per the design that we got approved.” Different sculpts did not have to be made to show a progression of deterioration as the event happens over a period of days rather than months or years. “The person is more like a statue frozen in time, but the blood and guts would age, and maybe she’ll get dustier.”
Claire established the visual aesthetic for other victims such as Carmen Navarro (Adelina Anthony) and Valeria Shanley (Diany Rodriguez). “Once we got the first one done, which was the Claire statue, as well as the animals, the rabbit, snake, and dog, we had the language that we could then match to,” states Jones. “For each individual thing, we made sure that we did the research on its anatomy so when it did get turned inside out or pulled apart, that anatomy was still intact but reconstituted into a directional thing where you get the feeling that it was being pulled back towards the blue line.” The idea is that the blue painted line provides gravitational resistance, which pulls the body apart and reconstitutes it into a different shape. “It basically splays you open so anything inside that will be in its way would get ripped through,” Jones adds.
Years of experience comes in handy when things must be kept grounded in some recognizable reality. “We have been doing this for a long time so we’re able to reproduce it in a realistic way,” remarks Jones. “‘Body Worlds’ is a travelling exposition, where they take a body and deconstruct it through every layer down to the nervous system,” Jones notes. “So, we used that a lot for reference. It’s more using medical references to make sure that we stayed true to whatever anatomy was needed. Then we used different materials to create that. There would be hard materials such as the bones and soft materials like silicone which we layered over top of that to make it feel more flesh-like. Also, you get that detail with color. Fat has yellowy tones and some white depending on where it is in the body. Your innards and flesh have different colors depending upon the depth it is from the surface. All that stuff came into play when we were doing coloring and textures.”
Over the past 10 years new EFX technologies have enabled new ways of positioning and moving bodies. “With photogrammetry or digital scanning, you can get into some crazy positions and not worry about the comfort of the performer,” Jones shares. “We did a lot of digital scanning and used a lot of 3D designs, especially with the animals. The rabbit and snake were basically designed in a 3D space, and we used stereolithography printers, which are resin printers. The lasers spray this resin, which is hardened to create the finish piece. We did a lot of 3D printing, foam carving, traditional hand sculpting in clay and mold-making. Basically, we ran the whole gamut of the techniques that are available.”
A solid statue was produced for the rattlesnake. “Because we didn’t have to animate the snake and was in its mid-strike position, it was essentially manufacturing a finished statue,” states Jones. “We built inside of the snake this posable armature so if they did want to lower it down or uncoil it or position it differently, they were able to do that. I would say that the snake, rabbit and even the dog was a wider load in terms of building things. The human statues and make-ups were certainly the more difficult things.”
A tight partnership with the visual effects team was crucial. “Everything with regards to the final statue was scanned,” states Jones. “When we did make-up for the interim stages of a transformation so that VFX could morph between the actor’s normal look and our make-up on the statue, we turned over all our assets, which made their job a lot easier. They’re literally using the same language and products that we’re using so it all matches. Not only did we handover our digital scans and digital free sculpts, we also had them scan all the actresses in the make-up. Literally after the make-ups were done, they would do a photogrammetry scan of the actress so they had a 3D model of her that could be augmented forward and backwards. They could take it back to her normal state but also take it from our make-up state to the final product and augment that.”
Numerous components involving several departments were required for the statues. “[The hardest part was] making sure that from our artists to sculptors, mold makers and finishers, we were all communicating so that the final product was what it was supposed to be,” remarks Jones. “When you are onset, the set is such a moving puzzle piece. Sometimes the statue was in place, and we had to move it but then get it right back in its place and make sure it looked untouched for continuity.” Time was always of the essence. “Throughout the process I made sure that I sent along photos and updates so nothing was a surprise, and we were able to get everything out there early enough where they could do camera tests. The earlier you have a conversation with the DP and director, the faster they can also understand the limitations of how to shoot it. If you’re not given enough time to build something and you’re bringing it to the set at the last minute, they already have in their head how to shoot something and you’re suddenly dropping this thing in place. It doesn’t work out.”
Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer best known for composing in-depth filmmaker and movie profiles for VFX Voice, Animation Magazine, and British Cinematographer.
