Author: Sarrah Anderson

26.06.11 – Rocket Science VFX was brought in to help reconstruct 1970s Chicago for DEVIL IN DISGUISE: JOHN WAYNE GACY (Peacock), transforming contemporary filming locations into period-authentic environments.

VFX Supervisor John Coldrick describes the directive and meticulousness behind the work.

“A lot of what we did was structural correction,” says Coldrick, “We weren’t adding embellishment, we were reengineering the practical locations to be period and location specific. Proportions, surface detail, signage systems, everything had to align with archival reference and still hold up under lens distortion and lighting continuity.”

The goal was to ensure the photography felt historically authentic, without feeling imposed.

“When you’re dealing with factual, sensitive storylines,” Coldrick adds, “there’s a responsibility. The setting has to feel accurate. The tone must feel honest.”

The Greyhound Bus Terminal served as a key locale to set the narrative within downtown Chicago. Filmed at Jackson Square in Hamilton, Ontario, the location required a comprehensive transformation to represent the station circa 1970s.

Previsualization and concept work for the Greyhound Bus Station was developed by Rocket Science Head of Creative, Matthew Schofield, and team. Working directly with Production VFX Supervisor Robert Crowthers and Coldrick, they established the look and created the newly conceived station as a 3D asset in Maya. The front of the building and the distinctive Greyhound sign were each modeled and textured individually. Digital matte painting and CG integration extended the surrounding cityscape, adding and adjusting background buildings while reconstructing period storefronts, roads, and sidewalks across the full frame.

The station needed to feel active and highly trafficked, the kind of place where someone could pass through without ever being noticed.

The environment work extended beyond the terminal to other locations central to the investigation. The Des Plaines Police Department also required subtle reconstruction through building extension and signage work to bring the location back to its 1970s context.

Beyond street-level environments, Chicago’s elevated rail system, the L train, reinforced the city’s identity throughout the series.

The train, station, and platform were modeled as 3D assets with careful attention to beam spacing, ironwork patterns, and surface wear consistent with the era.

“The ‘L’ isn’t just background,” Coldrick notes. “It has weight. The proportions have to be right. The texture has to feel real. If it’s even slightly off, the illusion collapses.”

The series briefly departs Illinois for a 1960s flashback set at Grand View Mortuary in Las Vegas, requiring a complete shift in geography.

Desert hillsides, mid-century structures, palm trees, and regional signage were integrated to establish the Nevada setting, where 2.5D digital matte painting extended the photographed location outward, reshaping the horizon and integrating heat haze to reinforce the sweltering climate.

As the pressure mounts, the focus shifts to Gacy’s home in suburban Illinois.

Positioned within a middle-class neighborhood, the house is initially framed as part of a community that carried familiarity and warmth, with porch lights active, homes illuminated, as though the street carried an everyday routine.

As suspicion grows, the visual treatment shifts.

“Lighting subtly recedes from the surrounding houses, and the contrast deepens, leaving the Gacy residence increasingly exposed within the frame,” says Coldrick.

Previsualization and early concept development from the Rocket Science team helped to establish how that gradual isolation would unfold across aerial and street-level views, with the surrounding neighborhood progressively falling away and attention drawn toward the Gacy residence.

The house exterior itself was replaced through 2.5D matte painting. With the property appearing across autumn, winter, and spring throughout the series, snow cover along roadways and shrubs, foliage density in surrounding trees, and grass color were all modified to reflect each season. Modern vehicles were removed across exterior shots so the location remained true to its decade, and in colder weather scenes, visible breath from actors was painted out to support seasonal continuity.

With close to 250 shots, Rocket Science VFX handled each detail with care that the production required while ensuring the work sat quietly beneath the story.

“Devil in Disguise reflects invisible visual effects in its truest form. The team effectively helped to set the story in 1970s Chicago seamlessly,” says Executive VFX Producer Christa Tazzeo. “Thank you to our collaborators, Production VFX Supervisor Robert Crowthers and NBC Universal.”

DEVIL IN DISGUISE: JOHN WAYNE GACY is an eight-episode limited true-crime drama series that follows Lieutenant Joe Kozenczak and Detective Rafael Tovar of the Des Plaines Police Department as they uncover the remains of 32 victims and expose the systemic failures that allowed Gacy to walk freely for years.

The series is executive produced by Patrick MacManus and Kelly Funke, and produced by Littleton Road Productions, NBC News Studios, and Universal Content Productions.

Watch DEVIL IN DISGUISE: JOHN WAYNE GACY on Peacock and Apple TV in the United States and Canada.

26.01.28 – Rocket Science VFX returned to Rian Johnson’s mystery of the week series POKER FACE, once again tackling complex FX sequences, environments and crowd work, delivering over 500 shots for Season Two.

“Similar to the first season, versatility was key, we knew each episode would bring unique challenges to help support the story of each case as it unfolded. The RS team was excited to work with the Production VFX Supervisor Sam O’Hare and Associate Producer Cameron Angeli once again. Thank you for your trust and collaboration”, says Executive VFX Producer, Christa Tazzeo.

Effects work took center stage at the scene of a murder in the Florida funeral home sequence in episode two, where RSVFX elevated the intensity of the internal blaze with CG smoke and fire designed to build across the scene.

Multiple fire and smoke simulations were created, isolating regions within the 3D layout of the funeral home to control behavior. Each section—roof collapse, hallway fire, stairwell smoke—had tailored settings for color, density, and movement to enhance the narrative progression of destruction. Additional 2D practical elements from plates and library were utilized to achieve the realistic look.

A key priority was timing and control. Rocket Science VFX Supervisor, Kayden Anderson notes, “It was important that the smoke spread the right way with the right timing.” Long simulations were developed to establish the flow of smoke, and the final look was refined through a layered approach. “We ended up with a two layered approach so that we could have the thick, dense, rolling smoke and additional top layer that had more dispersion and a more diffused look,” says Anderson. “This broke up the overly defined shapes and added a lot more depth to the smoke and environment.”

CG falling embers were layered in to further the realism, along with exterior CG smoke and pyro effects for the full fireworks display as the funeral home meets its demise.

Episode 11 body bag moment was a major creative and technical lift for the RSVFX team. The brief called for replicating a cadaver in a plastic body bag, which would fill with a liquid that breaks down the body for disposal.

The bag and liquid were recreated fully CG across the sequence. Anderson explains, “We created a CG body with the plate photography reprojected for the body. There were multiple layers of simulation to get the right look and motion of the liquid in the bag.”

To help define the look, the team pulled references from an unexpected place. “We drew reference from the sous vide process of cooking,” says Anderson. “The liquid was a combination of a thick soap-like material with a sulfuric color to it. We also used some practical photography reference as a guide when designing the look of the bag.”

“The big challenge was getting accurate animation of the bag and liquid. There were a lot of time jumps in the cut that we had to find ways to reconcile. The combination of the bag filling, but also retracting was a tricky balance.”

Alongside the FX-heavy sequences, RSVFX delivered environment and set extension work across various locations, including the lakeside boathouse extensions.

Digital crowd support was called on to extend what was captured practically in the Alabama Cheesemongers minor league baseball sequence in episode five. The goal was to recreate a lively game atmosphere with subtle variations and movement across the field and stands, adding additional spectators where needed while keeping the scale connected to the plate photography supervised by the RS team on-set.

Attention was placed on behavior of the extras and continuity of the crowd. CG spectators were designed to react naturally to events in the scene, with wardrobe colors, specific props like flags, foam fingers and cheese hats, and movement patterns closely matched to the practical extras. This approach allowed transitions between live-action and CG elements to remain seamless.

From the creative mind of writer/director/producer of the hit movies KNIVES OUT and GLASS ONION, Rian Johnson, POKER FACE is a 10-episode mystery of the week series following Emmy nominated Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, who has the extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road in her Plymouth Barracuda and with every story encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve.

POKER FACE is produced by T-Street, MRC and Animal Pictures and is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. Nora and Lilla Zuckerman serve as Showrunners and Executive Producers. Other Executive Producers include Ram Bergman, Nena Rodrigue and Iain B. MacDonald, alongside Maya Rudolph and Danielle Renfrew Behrens as Co-Executive Producers.

Watch POKER FACE season 1 and 2 on CBC Gem in Canada and Peacock in the US.

25.12.02 – Emmy nominated boutique visual effects studio Rocket Science VFX RSVFX delivered 200+ heroic battle shots in the Jason Momoa starring historical drama miniseries CHIEF OF WAR (Apple TV+).

“The team at Rocket Science completely knocked it out of the park. They brought great ideas to the table, explored creative options and executed with precision through intricate fight scenes,” says Chris Scollard, Production VFX Supervisor.

Co-created by Momoa and Thomas Paʻa Sibbett, CHIEF OF WAR unfolds in the early 19th century, as the Hawaiian Islands were caught between war and the dream of unification to save them from the threat of colonization. Ka’iana (Momoa), a noble returns home and becomes drawn into Kamehameha I’s campaign to unite islands.

Guided by VFX Supervisor, Adam Jewett and VFX Producer Kayden Anderson, the RSVFX team helped bring this world to life through a blend of environment building and large-scale battle visual effects that grounded the story’s spectacle in realism.

The epic battle sequences take place on a mirage of volcanic rock which plays a pivotal role in honoring the story.

“The volcanic ground, captured on location in Hawai’i, presented unique characteristics as a result of volcanic events reshaping the rock over millions of years. While certain angles show lava rock that is thousands of years old, other angles showcase the newer rock. For continuity, we crafted these sequences using a mix of digital matte paintings with placed CG rock assets, and per shot custom ground sculpts to extend the volcanic landscapes,“ says Jewett.

As the volcanic environments set the stage, the choreography of combat demanded just as much attention—especially the role that blood played in shaping the sequence. Blood was central to the tone and choreography of the battle. The team approached it with a hybrid 2D/3D workflow—using CG blood for bespoke effects paired with 2D elements for weapon hits and impacts.

“We had to treat the blood as its own characteristic,” says Jewett. “This sequence in particular needed to feel more gory than the rest, we needed to ramp up the action.”

The blood became part of the visual storytelling—used to emphasize movement, impact, and emotion. Each shot required careful tracking to match the camera and actor’s choreography, with the team relying on speed-ramping and plate adjustments to maintain continuity and rhythm between cuts.

The layered 2D/3D approach helped shape the emotional flow of the fight, turning each burst of blood into part of the scene’s movement and energy.

“We had to customize nearly every shot to match what appeared in the plate and the actors’ choreography,” says Jewett. “Many of the weapons involved extensions as well as adjustments in frame to get them to work with the stunt performances, bringing them close enough for contact.”

These sequences demanded intricate compositing and close collaboration between departments to ensure every impact aligned with the narrative’s intensity.

“It was a pleasure to work with Chris (Scollard) and Bill (Halliday), on this momentous show. Thank you for the trust and collaboration. The team was energized with your leadership and creativity,” says Christa Tazzeo, Executive VFX Producer.