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Netflix’s “The Boroughs” thrusts viewers into one of the most immersive sci-fi worlds of the TV season. The Duffer Brothers-produced series, which hails from creators Jeffrey Addis and Will Matthews, relies heavily on visual effects to craft its vision of Lovecraftian horror set inside a retirement community. But while the show might dazzle you with its VFX, many of them were made possible through collaborations with other departments on set.
During IndieWire’s recent Craft Roundtables, “The Boroughs” VFX Supervisor Tara DeMarco broke down the extensive research that went into even the most seemingly mundane sequences. She explained that much of the VFX work begins before anything is even shot, as she had to work with the props department to ensure the actors could deliver performances that would still look realistic once the more fantastical special effects were added.
“Often, we’ll go around to the other departments and ask props to have four different props standing by for the cast to interact with based on what they find,” DeMarco said. “Like ‘What is that action? Does it need to have weight? Do we need to feel that it has weight? Or are they supposed to throw it really far?’ Whatever is happening […] that is all the homework that happens in the office ahead of time, so that we set a template, along with our other [heads of department]. We can advise, and they have the pieces necessary to capture the performance.”
Per Netflix’s official synopsis, “The Boroughs” is set in “a seemingly perfect retirement community, [where] a grieving newcomer’s monstrous encounter inspires him to join a misfit crew of unlikely heroes who uncover a dark secret that proves their ‘golden years’ are more dangerous, and they are more formidable, than anyone expects.” The series stars Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters, and Bill Pullman.
For more from all of our Craft Roundtables, click here.
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