In this exclusive interview, VFX Supervisor DANIEL RAUCHWERGER discusses the VFX work of AppleTV’s series SILO.
SYNOPSIS: Silo is the story of the last ten thousand people on earth, their mile-deep home protecting them from the toxic and deadly world outside. However, no one knows when or why the silo was built and any who try to find out face fatal consequences. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette, an engineer, who seeks answers about a loved one’s murder and tumbles onto a mystery that goes far deeper than she could have ever imagined, leading her to discover that if the lies don’t kill you, the truth will.
SILO is created by Graham Yost based on the book series “Wool” by Hugh Howey and executive produced by Yost and Morten Tyldum, among others. Season One is a 10-episode arc starring as the main cast Rebecca Ferguson, Juliette Nichols, Common, Robert Sims, Tim Robbins, Bernard Holland, Harriet Walter, Martha Walker, Avi Nash, and Lukas Kyle.
Diving into the intricacies and collaborative nature of the visual effects of SILO, DANIEL RAUCHWERGER and I discussed, among others:
- the challenges of the central round staircase in the silo
- creating realistic crowd movement
- importance of the motion capture performers as they were integral in creating the library of movements for the crowd, capturing people with purpose and with variety in their movements for VFX purposes
- creating realistic vertical perspective
- using practical effects and lighting to create a sense of height and depth that VFX integrates into the overall visuals
- creating a contained space that maintains the feeling of depth without causing discomfort or a sense of falling off
- challenges in creating the turbine room set, including stitching together multiple sets due to the height and scope of the action required
- physical design and lighting of the silo
- inspirations from the Hugh Howey graphic novel version of “Wool” and adapting that for the screen
- the challenges and excitement of adapting the sci-fi novel for TV with a focus on visuals and character development
- and more!
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 9/13/2023
SILO is streaming on AppleTV
