FilmmakerJames Wanhasnot been shyabout his displeasure at learning thatAquamandidn’t make theAcademy’s shortlistfor the Best Visual Effects Oscar, and now you can see for yourself all the hard work that went into bringing the DC film to life. In many ways,Aquamanis DC’s biggest VFX challenge thus far, as much of the film takes place underwater.Zack Snyderattempted to tease a bit of how that might work inJustice League, but Wan and his team hit upon a few different key ways to create the illusion thatJason Momoaand Co. were hanging out and talking underwater.
Probably the biggest revelation from thisAquamanVFX reel is how they created the hair. As it turns out, they didn’t use wind machines or anything like that—the hair on the cast’s heads underwater was completely digital, and the actors filmed their scenes completely dry with their hair tied down. I knew there was some VFX element to the hair while watching the movie, but had no idea it was this extensive.
It’s also nice to see some of the impressive practical sets that were built for many of the scenes, even though they also involved extensive blue screen for the backgrounds. And while I found the film itself to beunderwhelming, the visual effects and artistry of bringing the underwater worlds ofAquamanto life were undoubtedly impressive. I have no idea why the Academy chose to snub the film from the shortlist.
Check out theAquamanVFX reel below, and click here to catch up on all of ourAquamancoverage thus far.
