Candyman VFX artist Andrew Zink breaks down the digital effects and 3D modeling process for the famous hallway scene in a new featurette.
The VFX Artists Behind The 2021 Horror Sequel, candy manrecently explained how the film’s terrifying mirror image was created. Produced by Jordan Peele, the last candy man is a direct sequel to the original 1992 film of the same name. The sequel focuses on Anthony McCoy, the baby saved from a fiery death caused by Candyman himself in the original. He returns to his childhood neighborhood of Cabrini-Green, now a gentrified neighborhood, and begins to fall down a rabbit hole as he reveals the legend of the Candyman.
candy man was directed by Nia DaCosta with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II leading the cast alongside Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo and Kyle Kaminsky. The film also features the returns of original stars Vanessa Williams, Virginia Madsen and Tony Todd, reprising their roles as Anne-Marie McCoy, Helen Lyle and Daniel Robitaille, better known as Candyman himself. In theaters in August 2021 to strong reviews from critics and audiences alike, fans can now get a detailed breakdown of how the jaw-dropping mirror scene and the rest of the digital effects were executed.
In the new featurette published by Collider, Luma Pictures VFX Supervisor Andrew Zink, discusses the complex visual effects process behind the character Candyman himself. Zink specifically broke down the notable hallway mirror scene, citing it as one of the most difficult scenes to create, as they were working with a digital body double that had to mimic Abdul-Mateen II’s movements. Read Zink’s quote on the mirror scene below:
“Another challenge was the hallway scene where Sherman mimics Anthony’s reflection. The actors had been filmed together, working with a choreographer to match each other’s movements through a fake mirror. However, the plate of the performance didn’t provide us with all the information we would need to inform our match-move criteria, so our animation department, led by Raphael Pimentel, stepped in to fill in the gaps, such as hands, arms, legs and facial performance, all of which had been hampered by Anthony.
In this scene, the protagonist Anthony McCoy sees Candyman in many mirrors until the appearance of the spirit takes the place of its own reflection. It’s surprising how the spirit of the movie is actually a 3D model instead of an actual actor. And while one could already assume that shooting this particular scene was difficult, hearing how complicated it really was is intriguing.
candy man was a surprise hit In 2021, exceeding box office opening expectations. It gave audiences a modernized take on the 1992 classic while illuminating it with a moral lesson on gentrification. candy man also provided audiences with gruesome and unnerving scares along with innovative visual effects techniques.candy man currently holds an 85% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the most successful horror films of 2021. While there are no current plans for a sequel, it would be extremely interesting to see what other stories can emerge from Cabrini-Green’s lairs.
Source: Collider
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