The Flying Colour Company (TFCC) takes us through their recent projects over the past year.
The studio delivered work on Extraordinary S2, Fifteen Love, One Day, Alex Rider and This Town. Read more about their involvement below.
Extraordinary S2 (Disney+/Hulu)
TFCC provided VFX services for all eight episodes of Extraordinary, as well as on-set supervision in London. They closely collaborated with directors Jennifer Sheridan and Toby Macdonald, as well as the Sid Gentle Films team, including producers Charlie Palmer and Abiola Rufai-Awojide, Pat Lees, and SG executives Sally Woodward Gentle and Lee Morris.
They handled a wide variety of effects, including gigantic food, emotional waves from Ian’s fingers, Jezzlord’s cat transformations, a tipsy witch, invisible Gavin, electric sparks for the therapist, shrinking characters, floating iPads, chameleon superpowers, Cash’s time manipulation, floating hearts, emotional clouds, smoke vanishing acts, time acceleration abilities, graffiti fingers, blood flying effects, and glitching characters. They carefully created each effect to blend seamlessly into the story, adding to the show’s magical feel.
Fifteen Love (Amazon Prime)
TFCC worked on the new World Productions/Amazon Prime show Fifteen Love. They provided comprehensive VFX services across all six episodes, from pre-production and on-set VFX supervision to 2D and 3D VFX, all the way to final delivery.
TFCC’s innovative approach to VFX was demonstrated in their 3D stadium creation, where they shot actual tennis players playing on several grass courts in the UK. The tennis court elements were then composited into the 3D stadiums that they built entirely with their highly creative 3D department. The crowd, in some instances, was created by replicating a practically shot crowd, but it was mostly created by their 3D team. While the stadiums were computer-generated, great attention to detail was applied to ensure correct textures, shadows, and lighting, resulting in photorealistic shots.
Other work included many tennis ball inserts, which saved production time by allowing the characters to play shadow ball instead of real tennis. Additional environmental work involved making tennis courts green, adding grass, monitor comps, and various cleanups and environmental alterations.
One Day (Netflix)
In the Netflix series One Day, their team handled all the VFX for the entire fourteen-part series and provided on-set VFX supervision. They restored historical landmarks like Waterloo Station and Parisian sites and recreated different time periods from the ’80s to the 2000s across iconic locations including London and Edinburgh.
The team excelled in creating detailed crowd scenes and seamlessly replacing book covers. Their enhancements included improving stunt sequences, notably the climactic scene where the lead actress meets her fate. They also brought warmth to wintry scenes by adjusting the sky, intensifying greenery, and removing breath.
They transformed trains into Eurostars coaches and built Greek landscapes to replace Blue Screen backgrounds. Adding natural elements like trees and rain further enhanced the viewing experience.
Alex Rider (Amazon Freevee)
The team contributed to the highly anticipated release of Alex Rider Season 3, which aired on Amazon Freevee on April 5th. They played a crucial role in bringing this spy series to life by providing full-scale visual effects for all six episodes, with on-set supervision in the UK, as well as Malta.
Before filming began, they prepared Scorpia effect footage and conducted night vision tests to ensure amazing production quality. Their work included creating practical elevations and roofs of Maltese buildings using 3D geometry and DMP, including the sea and rocky shoreline. They also built partial boat assets and conducted explosion simulations adding smoke, fire, and debris.
Their team designed an X-ray gadget interface, crackling lasers and explosive muzzle flashes. From intense fight sequences to an epic transmitter on top of a cathedral, their VFX enhanced every moment with realistic blood, bullet wounds, smoke, and lasers.
Additionally, they created multiple graphics for image analysis, facial recognition, and video interference. Their work extended to create crowd scenes, crafting CG bullets and cars, and orchestrating dramatic door lock explosions and power cable effects.
This Town (BBC)
TFCC played a significant role in the entire six-part BBC One series, This Town, including on-set supervision. The show was created by Steven Knight and directed by Paul Whittington.
A major aspect of their work was reviving the Ska music era, restoring historical elements of 1980s-1990s Birmingham, including buildings, cars, and graffiti to capture the essence of that time.
Their 3D team modelled stunning scenes, such as an epic Molotov cocktail that included a glass bottle, smoke, flaming rag and a the entire background therefore creating a fully manufactured shot. Another fully CG scene is the scene with the bridge setting with authentic period details like the highway, period vehicles, and the entire environment.
Furthermore, they meticulously painted digital maps of Holyhead Harbour, enhancing the scene with shipping containers, cranes, vehicles and the entire background.
Other contributions included adding fight scenes seamlessly to the background, incorporating effects like muzzle flashes, blood splatters, bullet wounds, and enhancing various visual elements like TV screens and bird animations.
