This sequence of shots was created to be played on an LED screen behind Gary Oldman and Rooney Mara for the David Fincher film, ‘Mank’.
Although the film is black and white, the sequence was created in full colour.
Each shot in the sequence is well over 1000 frames long. It was a massive logistical challenge to incorporate all of the regular updates from the 3D department and to keep the work creatively progressing smoothly.
All of the buildings, streets, cars, and people in the sequence are fully CG. Everything beyond that, including the sky, distant hills, and views were all created and comped using Nuke.
The Nuke particle system was also used to create hundreds of distant trees which really helped sell the scale of the scene. Dust, smoke, and haze passes were also generated and comped within Nuke.
Extra detail was then added using the 3D toolset. Signage was added to storefronts, decals on shop windows, and murals on walls. We also built multi-dimensional window displays that we dropped into various buildings along the street.
Finally, everything was finished and polished in Nuke. Heat haze, depth haze, glints, light wrap, and other optical effects were added to give everything as realistic a feel as possible.