Alien: Romulus VFX Supervisor Eric Barba offers an insightful analysis of the film’s most intricate CGI sequence. This latest installment in the Alien franchise follows a courageous group of space colonizers who confront the terrifying horrors that have defined the series. Featuring powerful performances from Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, the film showcases impressive visual effects and a shocking third-act twist featuring a design of one of the franchise’s most chilling monsters. With an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a worldwide box office gross of $350 million, Alien: Romulus has garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success. The film has recently earned an Oscar nomination for Best Achievement in Visual Effects.
During an interview with ScreenRant, VFX Supervisor Eric Barba elaborated on the challenges he faced while creating the film’s most complex CGI sequence, highlighting the significance of the lift-off into space as the film’s most demanding visual effects achievement. The primary aim was to depict a planet where sunlight is obscured by relentless storms and dense cloud cover. Although filming the sequence was straightforward due to favorable conditions on set, the captivating photography by Galo Olivares provided an excellent foundation for the VFX team to enhance their work.
Clearly, the lift-off into space requires establishing a multitude of elements within that sequence. When we were on set, it was relatively easy to create an atmosphere that appeared gritty, grimy, and muddy. During those nights, temperatures dropped into the high 30s, and rain turned the set into a muddy landscape. Everyone was cold and covered in mud, yet the sets were beautifully dressed and detailed. We did enhance the shots to a degree, especially the expansive opening sequences, but the goal was to immerse the audience in the moment. As they ascend into space, it was essential for us to convey that they are on a planet where the sun is hidden behind storms and clouds. Director Fede Alvarez expressed a desire for every shot to resemble a painting, which truly inspired me as an artist. I relished that challenge.
The most challenging aspect was ensuring that the space shots radiated beauty while simultaneously evoking a sense of fear. It’s not typical for visual effects teams to underlight or backlight scenes, as they often want to showcase their work. However, we had stunning physical models that were meticulously scanned and transformed into the digital realm. The digital teams excelled at this transition, but they often preferred to illuminate everything. My response was, “That’s wonderful, but we need to maintain a balance between beauty and fear.” This led to an ongoing review process to adjust the lighting levels throughout.
I recalled advice from a painting instructor of mine, who taught me the importance of composition by layering light and dark elements. His mantra was to position a light object in front of a dark one, and then place another light object in front of that to create silhouette shapes. We applied this technique to the rings, making them appear icy white while ensuring the planet and the station were backlit, which allowed us to highlight silhouettes effectively. These classic painting techniques required continual oversight, especially given that digital effects tend to be overlit compared to the beautiful lighting in live-action scenes. Galo provided us with a stunning color palette, and seeing the shots during filming made me excited about the project. It was clear that we were creating a dark, scary film in the Alien universe, which suited the aesthetic perfectly.
Director Fede Alvarez’s instruction to Barba was to craft every shot to resemble a painting. While Olivares’ cinematography laid the groundwork, lighting the sequence during post-production posed challenges. VFX artists naturally aim to illuminate scenes to showcase their effects, but Barba countered this by incorporating artistic techniques centered on silhouette and shadow, which imparted the gritty, atmospheric quality synonymous with the best entries in the Alien franchise. You can read Barba’s complete analysis below:
I explored every resource available to me. Ultimately, I found inspiration in the Cassini space probe, which provided unprecedented close-up photography of Saturn’s rings. The imagery was incredibly inspiring, but it presented a challenge since the photographs captured the rings from a great distance, often rendering them as solid shapes due to their rapid movement. However, a BBC special titled “How Saturn Got Its Rings” featured a captivating CG representation that became our creative muse.
Once I viewed that, I knew I had to share it with Fede. His reaction was one of enthusiasm, and we relayed this vision to our teams. I envisioned the rings as white ice from the start, which would allow for effective composition and backlighting. It took some time to refine this concept, but once Fede saw preliminary images, he was fully onboard. We also collaborated with the talented concept artist Fred Palacio, whose painted overlays guided our artistic direction. His exceptional work, combined with collaboration from ILM, helped us achieve our vision. As we approached the third act, Weta took over, utilizing the same references and imagery. I told Daniel that the rings needed to be so massive that they would dim the southern hemisphere during rendering, requiring substantial computational power, which Weta is famous for. They embraced the challenge and delivered exceptional results.
Significance of Eric Barba’s Work on Alien: Romulus
Oscar Nomination Validates Barba’s Exceptional Visual Effects Contributions
Alien: Romulus stands as a visual spectacle, masterfully merging practical effects and meticulously crafted CGI. Given the monumental effort and the resulting high-quality visuals, it is no surprise that the film’s visual effects have been nominated for an Oscar. Barba shares this nomination with esteemed colleagues Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin, and Shane Mahan, and they face noteworthy competition from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Wicked, and Dune: Part Two, all nominated for Best Achievement in Visual Effects.
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It is noteworthy that Barba is already an Academy Award winner, having previously secured the same accolade for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. His extensive career includes contributions to projects such as David Fincher’s Zodiac and Terminator: Dark Fate. However, it is evident that Alien: Romulus demanded exceptional creativity and effort to bring the xenomorph, the Offspring, and the surrounding universe to life. While the final outcome of the awards will be revealed on March 2, there is a significant possibility that Barba could become a two-time Oscar winner. Achieving this would make it the second film in the franchise to win this prestigious award since Ridley Scott?s iconic original in 1979.
Insights on Eric Barba’s Analysis of Visual Effects
The VFX Team’s Contributions Enhanced Iconic Aspects of the Alien Franchise in Romulus
The early films in the Alien franchise, particularly the original, were characterized by a distinct grittiness that set them apart from other science fiction films. While I have great appreciation for Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, I felt that the visual effects in those films were overly polished, and in the case of the latter, the CGI was somewhat disappointing. Alien: Romulus successfully returns the franchise to its retrofuturistic roots, employing low-fidelity technology in its design while achieving an impressive balance in the execution of CGI.
Alien: Romulus
7/10
- Release Date
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August 16, 2024
- Runtime
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119 Minutes
- Director
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Fede Alvarez
- Writers
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Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues, Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett
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