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How To Produce An Emmy-Nominated Show

02/09/2022
Creative Production Studio
Montreal, Canada
406
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Rodeo FX’s VP of production Anouk L'Heureux and VFX producers Graeme Marshall and Louis-Charles Lapointe talk LBB’s Adam Bennett through the special effects magic behind Stranger Things Season Four, the Witcher Season Two, and Apple TV’s Foundation.

Have we ever lived through such a gilded age in the realm of TV? With a countless number of great shows making their mark on popular culture, it’s precisely this era of televisual plenty that the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards is setting out to celebrate on September 12th. 

Against this unprecedentedly high-quality backdrop, however, getting a show to stand out from the pack has arguably never been so challenging. For many of the top-billed shows in line for gongs at this year’s Emmys, a commitment to high-quality visual effects has proven to be a remarkably reliable way to catch the eyes of audiences and critics alike. Whether it be the gruesome and macabre low-fantasy world of The Witcher, the sparklingly high-fantasy aesthetics of Foundation, or the bombastic 80s-inspired Sci-Fi of Stranger Things, setting the scene with breathtaking VFX could prove to be a ticket to Emmys success in 2022. 

One important thread tying together all three of those examples has been the work of Rodeo FX, the Montreal-based post-production powerhouse studio which is becoming increasingly familiar amongst awards season regulars. With a litany of high-profile film and TV projects including Game of Thrones, Better Caul Saul, Blade Runner: 2049, and Dune among many others, Rodeo FX is no stranger to the red carpet. With that being said, the team will be watching eagerly on the 4th, during the Creative Arts Award ceremony to see if any of The Witcher, Foundation, or Stranger Things win on the night.

To find out how these incredible projects came together - as well as reflect on what makes an ‘Emmy-worthy’ VFX more broadly, LBB’s Adam Bennett sat down with three members of Rodeo FX’s production team: VP of production Anouk L'Heureux, and VFX producers Graeme Marshall and Louis-Charles Lapointe.


Above: From left to right - Anouk L'Heureux, Graeme Marshall, and Louis-Charles Lapointe are all part of Rodeo FX’s production team. 


The Witcher Season Two with Graeme Marshall 

Above: The second season of Netflix’s increasingly iconic The Witcher series saw Geralt of Rivia face up to terrifying challenges - all brought to life with remarkable visual effects. 


LBB> Hi, Graeme - where were you when you found out about The Witcher’s Emmy nomination, and can you describe the team’s reaction? 

Graeme> Most of the team had the page open in their browsers waiting for the announcement and kept refreshing so they could let the rest of the team know! 

Once we saw the nominations it felt really validating to be recognised for all of our hard work on the show - work that had started before Covid and finished during Covid. To see all of that effort pay off in this way was really amazing!


LBB> So how did the pandemic affect your approach to the project?

Graeme> A lot of our team were going through personal stuff, and learning how to adapt to the work from home situation. I personally had a kid during covid, so there were times that they were running around in the background while I was working on the show.

At times it felt like I became more of a cheerleader - which on a regular day is an important part of leadership - but instead of that being a small part of my job it became a large part. It was almost like I took on the role of a counsellor - like Dr Phil!  Aside from that, I had to learn how to follow up more and host virtual one on ones - the luxury of walking over to an artist's desk to see what they were working on was gone. There was also no measure to see whether or not an artist was working or not. It required a lot of trust - trust in your teams that they’ll get tasks done. And they did. Our team is amazing, and the work speaks for itself.  


LBB> Using The Witcher as an example, how can VFX help a show to become Emmy-worthy? 

Graeme> VFX has been at the forefront of movies and TV for about the last 30 years, but its role today can still be easily underplayed.

When you have a show like The Witcher, with creatures and an overall fantasy aesthetic, it’s clear that VFX plays a big role - but it’s also easy for it to go wrong. That’s where Emmy-worthy VFX comes into play. When you can do it right, you immerse the viewer in the world the show has built. You make it believable and a part of the world.

Equally, there are shows that you don't even realise have VFX, and that’s an equally important part of the industry. That’s also Emmy-worthy - when people don’t even realise that what they are looking at contains VFX. 

Looking at the big picture, VFX is an industry that is constantly changing and evolving, and it's hard to stay on top of that. In that sense, Emmy-worthy VFX utilises technologies and techniques, and harnesses them or pushes them to achieve the desired result.  VFX producers are visual problem solvers. 


LBB> How did Rodeo get the opportunity to work on The Witcher? Can you talk us through the bidding process and your goals at the start of the project?

Graeme> I got put on the show relatively early on - we started with one key creature and expanded from there. A filler shot here, an environment there, and then more creatures. Eventually we were awarded three key sequences and three creatures, and the relationship grew from there. 


Heading into season two, Firstly Sebastien [Francoeur, VFX Supervisor on the show at Rodeo FX] had to wrap his head around the creatures and the work we had ahead of us. We worked with Yvon (Jardel) and Christian (Liliedahl) in Animation, and Josee (Chapedelaine), the Head of CFX. We ran a lot of animation tests, and we worked hard on developing the key character studies for Eskel Leshy, the Myriapod, and Queen Leshy.


LBB> What was the most enjoyable or memorable moment of the show?

Graeme> One of my favourite shots when the Myriapod is beheaded and its head rolls towards the camera in slow motion. It’s so gory and satisfying. The other standout shot for me is the aerial shot looking down at Eskel when Geralt sinks the hooks into him. Dadi (Einarsson) allowed us to play with depth of field and focus, and really play on the grittiness of the show to help us integrate our effects into the plate photography.


LBB> And finally, what was the most challenging moment?

Graeme> Eskel Leshy was a challenge because of the roots on his head. Through the evolution of the character he transformed from a bi-ped with roots around his head and neck, to an amorphous creature that moved a lot like a tumble weed  - he became an environment in and of himself!. There were a lot of creative challenges presented to us during production, but our Witcher team and the departments at Rodeo FX all worked together to come up with creative solutions. I think It’s important to know what you don’t know, and to surround yourself with people who do know. Putting our heads together and playing on each other's strengths and knowledge bases ensured that we always came up with innovative and visually appealing solutions.


Foundation, with Louis-Charles Lapointe

Above: Apple TV’s Foundation is based on the series of stories by legendary Sci-Fi writer Isaac Asimov. 


LBB> Hi, Louis-Charles - I understand there were some challenges in terms of tight deadlines with Foundation, can you tell us a bit more? 

Louis-Charles> For Foundation we were approached to be part of the series when the VFX production work was well underway already. With the pandemic and industry capacity issues, they reached out for us to take on the work for the Scar sequences from episodes one and two (at first). 

We didn’t have much time to complete the work with the original schedule. We had to find a way to really understand the show's aesthetic, and come up with methodologies that would support everyone's vision in a timely manner. It was a quick turnaround for us to find visual references, and then to put everything into production in order to build the massive Scar environment in a compressed schedule. 


LBB> So how do you get to work on not just one, but two seasons of a show like Foundation? 

Louis-Charles> As with so many things, it’s a team effort. First of all it starts with a great client collaboration, building trust by bringing their visions to life. I also need to pay tribute to the work of Arnaud Brisebois (VFX Supervisor) in terms of the creative and methodological aspects of our work on Foundation. The show is right up his alley and his passion was essential for us. 

With everyone happy in terms of how things worked out for season one, it felt like a natural step for all parties to collaborate again in season two. That’s an incredibly rewarding feeling, as is seeing the work on-screen. 


LBB> The show has a gorgeous high fantasy/sci-fi aesthetic. Did you take inspiration from any other virtual worlds - be they in film, TV, or gaming - when it came to the effects we see on-screen? 

Louis-Charles> Very early in the process of defining the look for the Scar scenes, Arnaud made sure to build a thorough reference catalogue including unfortunate real-life events such as post-earthquake destroyed buildings, images from the Beirut port explosion, collapsed bridges, the Grenfell Tower Fire in London, and of course the 9/11 incidents. The goal was for our work to look as realistic as possible. Being in a sci-fi world didn’t mean that our imagery had to be separated from reality - in fact, we needed to ensure it was as grounded as possible. 


LBB> More broadly, if you could describe Emmy-worthy VFX in one sentence what would you say? 

Louis-Charles> Emmy-worthy VFX is quality VFX that can make the fantastical feel real. At the end of the day, we are here to help a showrunner put their vision and story into images. So, for us as VFX producers, our mandate is to help find strategies to bring visions to life while ensuring the level of quality, realism, and remaining efficient.


LBB> What was the most enjoyable or memorable part of working on Foundation? 

Louis-Charles> That’s a tough question! I think seeing the excitement and passion amongst the creative team was a wonderful thing to be part of. It made the work so fun - but that’s not to minimise the achievement of what we did with Foundation season one. Honestly, I have only good things to say about this show. 


LBB> And finally, imagining you were successful on September 4th, how will you be celebrating? 

Louis-Charles> It is with a lot of sadness that I won’t be able to attend the ceremony, but I will for sure be keeping up with the news and raising a glass (or two) from a distance. We will celebrate with our team regardless of the outcome. Being nominated is a real honour in itself, after all!


Stranger Things Season Four, with Anouk L'Heureux

Above: The first volume of Stranger Things Season Four received 13 nominations for the 274th Primetime Emmy Awards.


LBB> Anouk, congratulations - how did you feel when you found out about Rodeo FX’s Emmy nominations? 

Anouk> I wasn’t able to believe it at first - I knew we were co-working on great shows and at Rodeo it’s our core value to do great creative work - but at the same time we don't control awards. So it’s truly great to see our teams nominated for 3 awards out of 5 in the VFX category. It’s a wonderful validation for the quality work our people have been putting in on these shows, and across all our projects. 



LBB> So, using season four of Stranger Things as an example, how can VFX help a show stand out?

Anouk> VFX plays all sorts of different roles. In Stranger Things, VFX is pretty much a character in itself - but it’s also so important that we have shows where the VFX is more seamless to help audiences fall into their worlds. 

For me personally, if I watch a series and the VFX isn’t there or at the right level, you’re in trouble. More and more we see quality VFX is becoming important and noticed by audiences - it’s just as much a part of a show’s success as the characters.


LBB> We’ve heard that your work on some of these projects actually began pre-pandemic. How did Covid-19 affect managing your resources and the team?

Anouk> Internally, it changed a lot of things because we needed to restructure the work and there were a lot of requests. Quality is so important to us, and we needed to make sure we kept ourselves at the level these shows require us to be at. Some shows needed reshoots that took a long time - we needed to be clever with how we scheduled our work as a result - and some directions could change.

As for our own talent - if we don’t take care of them and put them in the position to achieve success then we’re not putting them at the level that we need them to be at. We need to keep our artists interested in the work - always challenging them and inspiring them creatively. I think Rodeo being a creative-people type of studio put us in that ideal situation - our team all have their own great experiences and they carry Rodeo’s values close to their hearts. 


LBB> How much of a challenge is it to maintain trust with the likes of Amazon, Netflix, and Apple TV? 

Anouk> Collaboration is key. Both internally with supervisors and also with clients - it's carried by our producers, and having great ambassadors for the team. It's making sure we are working with our clients as collaborators and asking for what we need and the client fully knows what we can deliver. 

With this simple formula, they trust us more and more every time because we go above and beyond. We’re proud of our work and know we have great artists and a great team. Sharing a vision and carrying that vision with clients and loving the projects. As a result, the client is not afraid to give us more challenging and enriching work - and the cycle continues. 


LBB> What does it mean for Rodeo to be back at the Emmys this year?

Anouk> The awards recognition is a representation of our work. Our clients appreciate working with us, and they come back to work with us. I’ll repeat it two million times - collaboration is important! We still have the same values - the work and recognition we have this year has grown from the work we did last year and the year before. This is because we’ve worked hard over a long period of time. 

It’s all the different teams that show the depth of our talents - challenging each other to grow stronger. It's the team - like Louis-Charles - he’s so intelligent, kind, and structured and the clients love that. And Graeme - he is so passionate, he loves and lives the projects and the creative partnerships. The quality is there and everyone loves working with them. We’re proud of our work, and that counts for a lot. 


LBB> Finally, if you could describe Emmy-worthy VFX in one sentence what would you say? 

Anouk> It’s almost like fate, it’s an alignment of so many different factors. Award-winning work is an equal measure of creative and applied work. You can be immensely creative and do the most amazing work - if the project is not done with care and quality, it'll be hard to cut through and get noticed. 

The three shows that are nominated fill me with pride. Our teams deserve the nominations and the awards (and I hope the jury will agree!). No matter what happens, we have a strong team delivering exceptional results. That’s worth celebrating either way. 

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