Digital Domain Revives Classic VFX Techniques for Marvel Television’s “Agatha All Along”
11.13.24Leading visual effects studio Digital Domain reenters the MCU, reimagining the enchanting world of fan-favorite Agatha Harkness and her coven for the thrilling “WandaVision” spin-off.
LOS ANGELES — November 13, 2024 — For the highly anticipated Disney+ and Marvel Television series “Agatha All Along,” the award-winning Digital Domain artists embraced a distinctive approach by utilizing traditional 2D compositing techniques, an artistic directive by production that was aimed at maintaining the authentic, "old school" lineage and feel for VFX. Confronted with a limited toolset, this directive created some interesting and artistic technical challenges that the team at Digital Domain quickly overcame by employing innovative methods to achieve the client’s particular vision.
From the spellbinding magic effects to action-packed broom chases and fantastical environments, the Digital Domain team delivered an array of creative visuals that immersed viewers into Agatha’s magical world and paid homage to classics for a nostalgic yet fresh touch. Led by Digital Domain VFX Supervisor Michael Melchiorre and under the creative direction of Production VFX Supervisor and Digital Domain alum Kelly Port, the artist's dedication to seamlessly preserving production’s unique vision is evident throughout the series, delivering a captivating visual experience for audiences.
Magic Effects
Beginning with Lookdev in November 2022, Digital Domain was tasked with establishing distinct looks and colors for the magic of each witch: Agatha Harkness (purple), Teen (blue), Rio Vidal (green), Alice Wu-Gulliver (orange), Lilia Calderu (yellow), and Jennifer Kale (pink). Each effect had to be unique yet maintain a consistent feel, with each beam of magic requiring a specific origin and destination. Endeavoring to keep the effect grounded in the 2D world, the compositing team came up with an artistic and creative solution, and they were able to literally create magic in Nuke. The team augmented the beams generated in Nuke with tesla coil footage and other practical elements. This technique allowed for different variations and quick iterations. Occasionally, artists hand-animated bits of energy, drawing inspiration from classic films like “Ghostbusters” and “Poltergeist” to match the series' authentic 2D, old-school vibe.
In addition to the magic effects, Digital Domain also handled the witches' desiccation effects, a task we were also responsible for on “WandaVision.” Traditionally, artists would have created CG digidoubles, but, in this instance, the time and cost would have been prohibitive for the high number of characters that needed to be desiccated. So, while the hero characters, like Agatha and Teen, utilized the same 3D approach seen in “WandaVision,” building full CG Digi doubles for approximately 12 other witches requiring desiccation was not feasible.
For the non-hero characters, the team developed a hybrid approach. The CG team started by building one master desiccated head asset based on our internal genman/genwoman rigs. The compers then took these generic renders and UV-mapped them to fit the unique facial features of each actor or actress. This allowed for a quick turnaround time, seamlessly blending compositing techniques with 3D enhancements to achieve the desired result.
Broom Chase
Drawing inspiration from "Return of the Jedi" and its speeder-bike chase, on-set production built an elaborate forest set. It used drones to capture 180-degree array footage that, when stitched together, could be used as backgrounds to insert our broomstick riding coven into. Each coven member was shot individually on a blue screen, suspended by harnesses. Once the compositing team extracted each character from the blue screen, the animation team stepped in to help ‘fly’ the witches through our digitally created forest environment that matched the practical set. This helped ensure they were all traveling correctly in 3D space, keeping their scale and position consistent and, most of all, keeping a natural and realistic appearance.
The comp team took this flight information from anim and reprojected each witch onto animated geometry, rephotographing them with the camera lens that matched the selected array background. The lighting team rendered full 3D versions of our forest assets that were used to extend and enhance specific areas of the practical photography. This resulted in seamless composites that were often constructed from as many as eight to ten individual plates. As they try to escape the forest road, the coven flies high above the treetops and across a blood moon. This scene initially began as a traditional painted backdrop on glass, a technique reminiscent of matte paintings used 40 years ago. Using this painting as our base, the team fleshed it out, adding extra details like distant stars and galaxies. Individual puppets dressed as each character were photographed on miniature brooms against a blue screen on set. To enhance the scene, we augmented each character to ensure their hair blew naturally and clothes moved properly. We hand-animated each character to fly smoothly in an arc across the moon, paying homage to "E.T."
Digital Domain’s previsualization team, led by Head of Visualization Matt McClurg, was particularly instrumental in planning and mapping out the complex Broom Chase sequence. On set, the production relied heavily on the previs created by McClurg and his team, using it as a key reference for camera angles and coverage within the technical confines of the shoot. This groundwork was invaluable for the Digital Domain artists during post-production, offering a blueprint for our VFX team on how the plates were intended to be assembled. Although the creative process evolved and adapted, the visualization provided vital touchstones that guided the VFX team’s efforts. As the primary previs vendor, McClurg and his team delivered approximately 740 unique shots across 16 sequences, including the Morgue, the Castle, The Witches’ Road, and several others, significantly contributing to the series' visual storytelling.
Agatha’s Death & Ghost
One of the most challenging sequences was Agatha’s death. Digital Domain’s VFX work in these scenes required a delicate balance of beauty and darkness as Agatha sacrifices herself in a peaceful, somber moment. She is lifted by intertwining magic and gently placed on the ground, where she merges with the earth. The intent was to create a scene reminiscent of a nurse log—simultaneously beautiful and decaying.
Although there was consideration of completing this sequence in 2D, most of the work was done in CG. As Agatha is gently laid to rest on the ground, her body withers and decays in a visually stunning manner, with grass, flowers, and mushrooms growing to envelop her. As the mushrooms mature and die, they are replaced by blooming roses and purple flowers, symbolizing the beauty that arises from her sacrifice. The environment team meticulously controlled every mushroom, flower, and blade of grass, while the effects team added subtle details such as falling pebbles and dirt being pushed aside as new flowers sprouted from the ground. A keen observer will notice that Agatha’s toes begin to curl as she withers away. A subtle nod to witches that have come before.
In the following episode, Agatha is reborn as a ghost. The team drew inspiration from "Ghostbusters," “Poltergeist” and other ’80s ghost films to achieve the ethereal effect. Production was very specific about how ghostly she needed to appear and, most importantly, that we retain every subtlety of Kathryn Hahn’s wicked performance. We began by extracting Agatha from each background and reconstructing the room behind her. Through a series of keys and mattes of targeted densities, compositors slowly layered Agatha back into the plate, paying close attention to the density and transparency of her form. On-set production had fans blowing on Agatha to simulate a gentle, ethereal breeze. However, this was often blowing too fast for the gentle look we were after. To solve this piece of the puzzle, compositors strategically retimed and slowed down areas of her gown or hair that were moving too fast. Again being careful not to alter the performance or facial features. These areas were then reintegrated into Agatha’s ghostly form.
The exceptional work of our roto/paint and lighting departments further elevated Digital Domain’s VFX excellence. Their meticulous attention to detail and expert craftsmanship provided the perfect finishing touches, ensuring that every frame was seamlessly integrated and visually stunning. This underscored the team’s commitment to creating a captivating and immersive experience for viewers.
The Digital Domain team also created the skeletal face for the villain reveal, Agatha’s mother’s ghost, and more.
Marvel Television’s “Agatha All Along” is available to stream today on Disney+.
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ABOUT DIGITAL DOMAIN
Digital Domain Holdings Limited (“Digital Domain”) is a pioneer in creating transportive experiences. Over the last 30 years, Digital Domain has grown to lead the visual effects industry, expanding the arm of virtual humans and visualization globally. Digital Domain’s rich legacy comprises hundreds of feature films and episodes, thousands of advertisements, game cinematics, and experimental immersive experiences. A creative force in cutting-edge technologies, Digital Domain has brought exceptional artistry to Academy Award-winning blockbusters of Titanic, What Dreams May Come, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Marvel Cinematic Universe titles crushed all-time worldwide box office, such as the Avengers franchise, and Stranger Things made a splash with Season IV.
Digital Domain stands as a trailblazer, achieving the remarkable distinction of being the first independent visual effects studio. Since 2016, the company has charted a pioneering course into the realms of virtual reality technology and artificial intelligence, revolutionizing the creation of emotionally expressive and photorealistic virtual humans in real-time.
Digital Domain Holdings Limited is a company that is listed under code 547 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company has a global presence, with offices in prominent hubs such as Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal, Luxembourg, Hyderabad, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Digital Domain is dedicated to constantly evolving, innovating, and striving to be a leader in creating extraordinary visual effects.
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