Last year, Mark Russell broke down the visual effects of The Instigators, giving us a closer look at the film’s creative process. He now returns to talk about his experience on The Bride!.
How did you get involved on this film?
I was contacted by the producers of the film as they were beginning to assemble the creative team to meet with Maggie. I had worked with most of them before and the studio, so it seemed like a natural fit. Maggie and I got a long well. I loved the spirit of the film and was thrilled for an opportunity to work on a film less focussed on typical themes.
How was the collaboration with Director Maggie Gyllenhaal?
Maggie is incredibly passionate about everything. She is very creative and intuitive, and it forced me to work on that level. Maggie has wonderful and unique ideas, and it took a bit of time for me to understand the way she finds things and feels her way through. She is very open to experimentation which can be both challenging and rewarding for visual effects.
How did you choose and split the work amongst the VFX Studios?
I really try to play to the strengths of the vendors I work with, and The Bride was no exception. We went with One of Us in Paris for the majority of the work in the film because they are a wonderfully creative group and aren’t afraid play a little. Maggie was really impressed with their work in Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. We were looking for a true creative partner who would be willing to take his journey with us. They were terrific! Once we got into a position where we knew the total scope of work, we brought in a few other companies to help. Twin Pines in Spain did a wonderful test with the cornfields, so they did that, a number of the driving scenes and the final shootout. Then Refuge VFX for some great fluid work and some moody shots. And then finally, we brought in ILM to bring home a few digi-double shots of Ida falling down the stairs.
The Bride! recreates 1930s America on a large scale, can you walk us through your overall VFX strategy for bringing period Chicago, New York, and Niagara Falls to life digitally?
I worked pretty closely with production designer Karen Murphy on the look and feel of the period elements of the film. She and Maggie wanted to create something that wasn’t necessarily period specific, but had a specific vibe. For example the scenes in Times Square started with a period accurate layout of the street, and then from there we added a lot of 1930’s Paris and Berlin to give something with a bit more style.
When rebuilding 1930s Chicago, what were the biggest architectural or historical challenges you faced, and how did you ensure authenticity in the skyline and street-level environments?
We were going for a more heightened and stylized aesthetic rather than being held to period accurate looks which really allowed us some creative freedom in creating and modifying the environments. It also made it a bit more difficult to find the things that worked best for Maggie. We did a lot of exploration of ideas before landing on the final product.
New York in the 1930s had a very specific density and energy, how did you balance historical accuracy with cinematic composition when extending or fully creating those environments?
The New York environments were a particular challenge because we wanted to create something familiar, yet elevated and stylized. Karen provided VFX with a great deal of reference material that Maggie responded well to. We took all of that reference and created places that felt real, but quite a bit different then they were. Times Square posed a number of interesting challenges. We had started down a path to shoot the scene on the streets of Patterson, NJ, but once we analyzed the amount of control and cleanup required we made a pivot to building a small piece on the backlot at our stages in Brooklyn. This gave us much more control during the shoot and it meant that I could spend less energy cleaning up really streets and put more into the environment itself.
Niagara Falls is such an iconic and naturally powerful location, what approach did you take to recreate the Falls digitally while preserving their scale, atmosphere, and physical realism?
Mood and atmosphere with the drivers for this sequence. The location of the town in relation to falls is something we created because it fit the shots better. As to the design of the town. We found a location in New York City that had the right feel, and we augmented the existing building to create the idyllic “Honeymoon Hideaway”.
Were there particular references, archival photography, paintings, early film footage, that became foundational visual guides for your CG recreations?
We gathered a whole lot of stills from NY in the 1930s in addition to a ton of images from Paris, Berlin and London from roughly the same era.
How much of these environments were built as full CG assets versus digital extensions of practical sets, and how did that influence lighting and camera movement on set?
The majority of the environments in the film are 2-1/2D matte paintings, but we did build full CG environments for Times Square, parts of Niagara Falls and Dr. Euphronious’ townhouse (above the ground floor). The cornfields that the Bride uses to hide away in the car chase are fully CG.
From a technical standpoint, what were the most complex simulations involved, water, atmosphere, crowds, vehicles, and how did your team solve them?
Technically, I think the most complicated sequence in the film is Times Square. The digital environment was a complicated build and we were very particular about how all of the lights and atmosphere interacted with the actors and the practical set. One of Us spent a good deal of time on the design and layout of the buildings at the start to be accurate to Times Square of the time, then we threw them a curve ball by bringing in more and more elements of Paris and Europe until we got to a place that everyone was happy. We paid a lot of attention to the overall texture and feel of the location – How the light reflected in the street and on the buildings, for example. I was thrilled with the final result.
The film’s final shootout is significantly enhanced with VFX, can you break down how you augmented the sequence beyond what was captured practically?
As is now the norm, there were never any live rounds fired for the final shootout. We did have a great deal of support from an incredible special effects team who spent two full days firing debris into the air, but we also had a lot of unique and untouchable pieces of set dressing and props that we didn’t want to harm. All of the blood, muzzle flashes and 90% of the bullet hits are digitally added, and we made sure they had a very specific look and feel to them. We wanted it gory, but not cartoony.
In that climactic gunfight, how did you integrate muzzle flashes, destruction effects, debris, and environmental interaction while keeping the action grounded and believable?
The very talented team at Twin Pines did a great job integrating all of our added elements to what was photographed beautifully. The physic effects team also delivered in a big way. For some shots we even had to remove flying debris because there was so much.
Period films often require invisible VFX work, what are some examples of subtle digital interventions in The Bride! that audiences may never consciously notice?
One of the things we did that was really fun was to enlarge Frank for certain key scenes. Christian spend a lot of time in lifted shoes, but for the scene were he was running or dancing we stepped in to help. We were pretty subtle about it, but if you compare the before and afters it’s pretty remarkable how a few key shots can color your perception of a character. We also did a number of shots were we dirtied up the world a bit by adding stylish posters or debris or atmosphere in the background which helps to tie everything together and into the mood of the film.
Looking back at The Bride!, which sequence best represents the creative and technical ambition of your VFX team, and why?
We spent a good deal of energy on finding the right amount of brutality for the film. There are an only a few places where it comes out, but when it does, Maggie really wanted it to make an impact. In particular, the scene where Frank stomps one the head of one of the guys from the club was something where we struggled for a while to find the right amount of violence and gore.
How long have you worked on this show?
All in, I was on the film for about 21 months.
What’s the VFX shots count?
I think we ended up with just shy of 700 shots
What is your next project?
I’m hoping to change things up a bit and jump to a series for the next project.
A big thanks for your time.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
One of Us: Dedicated page about The Bride! on One of Us website.
© Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2026
