DNEG’s VFX Supervisors Fabricio Baessa and Francois Lambert give us a closer look at Devotion.
Devotion tells the inspiring true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots in the Korean War. Directed by J.D. Dillard and starring Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell as naval officers Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner, Devotion takes audiences through a tale of heroism, friendship, and sacrifice, as Brown and Hudner become the Navy’s most celebrated wingmen.
To bring the story to life and to recreate dramatic war-ravaged landscapes and breath-taking aerial choreography, the producers called on DNEG, one of the world’s leading visual effects and animation studios, to act as the lead VFX partner on the film. The team, led by VFX Supervisors Fabricio Baessa and Francois Lambert, delivered more than 650 shots across 22 sequences in the film.
Stunning photorealistic sequences, such as ‘Battle of the Chosin Reservoir’, required the DNEG team to create smoke, explosions, tracer fire and bullet hits in numerous shots – this visual effects work was key to highlighting the proximity of the danger for the US soldiers. To be true to the real-world environment and in keeping with the broad scope of the work, the scene also required mountain background replacement and used crowd simulation to show the full scale of the Chinese military.
When working on Devotion, we had such a wonderful opportunity to faithfully recreate the details of the real-life story and bring to life key moments of the film while using the latest technology.
Fabricio Baessa, VFX Supervisor at DNEG
Back in the air, the battle also required the animation of the Corsairs, an American fighter aircraft, and ultimately ended with a 3,000 frame long fiery crash, seamlessly blending a CG background, CG plane and effects such as fire, dirt, snow, and smoke.
To allow actors to deliver even more authentic and immersive performances, DNEG Virtual Production used LED volume technology on-set. By displaying photorealistic scenes on LED volumes around the actors, audiences could be transported into battle with even more detail and realism. This work included adding virtual backgrounds around the cockpits to create the illusion of flight.
The result of our work, in collaboration with J.D. Dillard, is a stunning, true-to-life war film that highlights the heroism of Majors, Powell and their comrades.
Francois Lambert, VFX Supervisor at DNEG
To create the historically accurate planes and ships featured in the production, the team was able to reference real planes on several shots. The real Corsairs used on-set were rigged with custom-made IMU/GPS boxes that not only recorded the GPS locations of each plane but also the roll, pitch and yaw flight data information. This data was used by the DNEG VFX Animation team to drive the additional CG planes with all the micro-adjustments that only real flying can provide. The crew also studied blueprints, drawings and photographs to learn as much as possible about the appearance and character of the machines at the time. Respecting the laws of physics – and the requirement that the film remains as historically accurate as possible – the team worked to ensure the planes and ships feel real to the audience. This included researching the tiny imperfections in movement and accurately portraying the motion of the planes.
Bringing to life landscapes and battle scenes is one thing, but working on realistic military hardware like planes and ships is even more challenging. Creating authentic assets that can be recognised by historians and embraced by audiences is always a daunting prospect.
To preserve this legacy and tell the story of these amazing pilots is an opportunity I’ll never forget. The result is an immersive and highly technical production that will captivate audiences and will, we hope, make it a cinema experience of a lifetime.
Francois Lambert, VFX Supervisor at DNEG
Bringing such a significant story to life was a real privilege and joining the project was an exciting opportunity. Emotions around stories such as this are always heightened and the audience is very emotionally involved with the characters.
Fabricio Baessa, VFX Supervisor at DNEG
Devotion premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September 2022 and had its theatrical release across North America on 23 November 2022.
