John Wick 4 arrived in theaters almost a year ago and was the culmination of a story that had been going on since 2014. Although the fifth part will be in development in LionsgateThe company is betting on a film full of exciting action, led, as always, by Keanu Reeves. But while the saga films boast many scenes that the actors shoot with impossible choreography, the final result would not be possible without the special effects team.
A new video about the filming process reveals that John Wick 4 had to 1500 visual effects shots. A huge number of episodes that required countless hours of painstaking work by dozens and dozens of digital artists. The article provides just a few examples that show that this is one of the films with the best visual effects in all of 2023.
One of the elements that attracts the most attention are the small additions in the fight scenes. And that’s what almost all the glare of shots, smoke of weapons, fragments of walls after impacts and even blood are the work of special effects specialists. Instead of using practical effects, John Wick 4 The work was carried out from the computer, coordinating the actions of the teams every minute in order to avoid possible errors when weapons appeared in the game. In a story where much of the plot is based on scenes filled with guns, this is especially surprising.
This work culminated in a much-discussed scene filmed sequentially from the ceiling. In her, wick He defeats one by one all the killers lying in wait for him. And although Reeves and the rest of the actors were there, the fatal consequences of gunshots and explosions are a matter of post-production. Only it contains hundreds of special effects that simulate real situations. Also, some movements rolled separately and were included later. And even a digital 3D reconstruction of the apartment and the main character to add it to the mirrors and create the impression of a real reflection.
Arc de Triomphe recreated using computer graphics
All swords that appear in John Wick 4of which there are many, are distributed through computers. Arrows fired from bows are also completely digital.like blind eyes Cain. And along with them there are many other small effects that can be seen in the video. But perhaps most impressive is the recreation of the environment. For example, the Osaka rooftop scene at the beginning of the film is filmed on a set rather than outdoors. Views of the city didn’t really exist.
The same thing happens when the interior of the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris appears. John Wick 4 Yes, he visited the city of love, but what do you see from there? It is created using CGI in several overlapping layers.. The same thing happens in the New York scenes, for example, during the destruction of the Continental. To achieve such a detailed reconstruction of these cities required numerous reflections of very realistic digital lights to mask the plastic look of the poorly achieved effects.
CG reconstructions reached the highest level in the Arc de Triomphe scene in Paris. wick He struggles to escape a dizzying chase that leads him to an iconic monument. There, a fierce fight ensues with several killers, and cars are moving non-stop around the roundabout. Well, it’s all a lie. John Wick 4 He didn’t have permission to record there.so they were able to do it with CGI.
Principal photography of the scene was filmed at Berlin Airport. There, the choreography, practice and special effects teams had to work in unison so that the shots were measured down to the millimeter so that the recreation could be carried out. From this material visual effects artists They recreated the Arc de Triomphe and its surroundings stone by stone., detail by detail. The result is perfect. Lighting and color were then matched to the recorded images and edited. Even if you look closely, you cannot find errors that reveal the catch.
What you can learn John Wick 4
Another scene in which effects play a fundamental role is the fight in the Berlin club. There are several waterfalls, some of which are real, others not. Water is a very difficult element to work with on a digital level. And to make things even more complicated, in this episode the lights constantly change tone and color because it’s a nightclub. Something that had to be changed frame by frame in these false waterfalls and in all the people dancing on the dance floor, most of whom were CGI extras.
All this work suggests that John Wick 4 He had a very large budget. And while it’s true that it was an expensive film, It cost “only” 100 million.significantly lower than production Marvel And COLUMBIA REGION., For example. A painful difference considering the exquisite level of these special effects compared to recent superhero films. There is no doubt that, on the one hand, every penny of the budget was invested wisely so as not to waste resources. And on the other hand, it seems clear that the team was given the necessary time to achieve this level of excellence. Something increasingly less common in the industry.
Source: Hiper Textual
