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JAMVFX completed close to 100 VFX shots for the reboot of Worzel Gummidge, a BBC Christmas special.
JAMVFX advised, choreographed, and composited crow sequences along with a number of sky replacements, face embellishments, and a magical crop transformation.
One of the main challenges was populating a field with crows and having them react to Worzel & Susan. We worked closely with bird handler Anthony Bloom, of ‘Birds for Film’, flying crows/ravens and rooks around a green screen studio. It was a fascinating experience watching Anthony work with the birds, a real Dr. Doolittle. Working closely with Leopard films and Mackenzie Crook our team delicately composited the sequences of Worzel & Susan striking a deal with the crows.
In addition to the shot elements, JAMVFX’s CGI team created and animated various crows for the more dynamic sequences in the show. By matching the size and posture of the green screen birds, we were able to create a number of sequences to seamlessly match with our real birds.
VFX supervisor & lead compositor Pete Young and EP Jordan Andreopoulos worked closely with Mackenzie to realise these sequences. It was a great experience collaborating with Leopard films. Mackenzie was very clear on his vision and how the birds should react. The process from shoot to delivery was turned around very quickly under the careful production of Leopard’s producer Georgie Fallon and post-production supervisor Charlotte Dean.
I think we’ve exhausted every crow pun in the rook, I mean the book, says Jordan Andreopoulos EP & JAMVFX founder. We really enjoyed working with the team and look forward to working with them all again in the future.
While the crows presented the largest body of work JAMVFX also undertook a significant amount of beauty and compositing work. Most notably this included; the magical transition effect on the crops as they ripen and become ready for harvest, sky replacements on the beautiful and ethereal night scene as the scarecrows create the key, and last of all beauty work on the prosthetics and costume.
