CGHeute has an interview with Jeff Campbell, VFX Supervisor on Legion.  Bringing an army of angels to life, hellbent (no pun intended) on bringing about the extinction of the human race is no small task, but Jeff was able to tap into previous experience from the Orphanage’s work on Max Payne to bring these larger-than-life characters to the screen.

There were many complex shots in this film.  But one that stands out is a moment when an army of angels descends from the heavens.  The shot begins in a medium close-up of Michael silhouetted against a sunny sky.  The camera then tilts up to reveal thousands of angels in formation.  The angels break formation and dive in a steep swirling vortex before flying by very close to camera.  The shot combines greenscreen footage with matte painting, crowd simulation, effects animation, and hero keyframe animation by Lead Animator Marc Schreiber.  It was a challenge to render and pull together so many elements but in the end it turned out very nice.

Jeff Campbell – VFX Supervisor “Legion” | cgheute.