PROJECT INSIGHT
Under the sea
Blazing Griffin and Goodbye Kansas reveal their post-production and VFX work on the hit BBC series Vigil
“THE VISUAL EFFECTS NEEDED TO BE A VITAL TOOL IN TELLING THE STORY”
Jim Parsons, visual effects supervisor, Goodbye Kansas
T
elling the story of a murder investigation aboard a Trident nuclear submarine, the gripping six-part thriller series
Vigil
presented digital entertainment company Blazing Griffin and VFX studio Goodbye Kansas with a host of creative challenges during production. With complex water simulations, a CG submarine, atmospheric lighting and a host of impressive digital techniques on show, 3D World couldn’t resist talking to each studio and diving deep into their work on the acclaimed BBC series.
GETTING ABOARD
“We were approached in the summer of 2019 when the series was in early prep,” explains Johanne Wood, post-production supervisor at Blazing Griffin, “Blazing Griffin had been gaining a reputation as the go-to place for drama post-production in Scotland, having recently completed work on Shetland and Guilt.” Vigil was the latest in a series of quality drama productions based in Scotland. “This was the biggest drama to come out of BBC Scotland since Blazing Griffin opened,” adds senior online editor Jon Bruce, “it was always going to be a hugely ambitious project.”
Post-production is a range of processes and techniques involved in taking a project from a bunch of camera and sound files to a completed production. “My job as postproduction supervisor was to manage all those processes, logistics, communication and budgets,” says Wood, “to make sure that everyone involved has what they need in order to be able to do their job well and on time. That includes the editorial team, who were spread out across the country and are our storytellers crafting the episodes with our directors. Then through final post, grade, online, liaison with VFX, sound design, music, and finally quality control and mastering, until we have our finished episodes ready to deliver to the BBC.”