Live Action Proof of Concept, Inspired by ‘Black Hawk Down’ and Cloverfield Franchise, Created with Same In-House Tools Used on ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ and ‘The Revenant’
Today, the eery haze of the Upside Down rides again in Gradient Effects’ new short, Megan. Designed to test the LA studio’s new 8K infrastructure, Megan takes viewers deep into the heart of an alien hot zone, where monsters lay in wait in a spore-heavy world reminiscent of the one Gradient created for Stranger Things.
The five-minute short includes over 100 VFX shots created by Gradient and sister company Secret Lab, many of which are highlighted during a making-of section immediately following the film. The relationship mirrors a common workflow throughout the company which often sees proprietary effects and tools created for feature films by Secret Lab passed down and used by Gradient to increase the quality of their TV productions.
“Gradient and Secret Lab were designed to tackle two different challenges: demanding TV schedules and ambitious VFX,” said Olcun Tan, Owner and Visual Effects Supervisor at Gradient Effects. “Finding ways to blend the practices has helped us turn out special projects for years. With Megan, we learned how to apply the same process to 8K, which will help us serve our clients even better when it becomes the new standard.”