The Oscar-nominated VFX supervisor ofAlien: Romulusexplains how the movie blends practical effects with CGI.Evil Deaddirector Fede Alvarez took over the long-runningAlienfranchisefor 2024’s newest entry, a typically action-packed deep space thriller, featuring loads of classic creatures, along with some surprising new creations. The movie’s VFX were indeed one of its stand-out elements,leading to an Oscar nomination for the team behind all those Facehuggers, Xenomorphs and other terrifying extra-terrestrial menaces.
Alien: RomulusVFX supervisor Eric Barba recently spoke toScreenRantin connection to the movie’s well-earned Oscar nomination in the Best Visual Effects category,and discussed how the film blended CGI with practical effects in creating its monsters. Barba began by talking about the film’s director, Alvarez, and how his vision influenced the decision to do a lot of things practically:
Well, Fede has great vision, and he knows that in a horror film, you have to really get your actors engaged, and you have to feel how tense they are, how scared they are, and all those little micro moments in their eyes, and the only way to really do that is if they’re in the moment. And to get them in the moment, we needed to build as much practical as possible.
Getting the actors to really feel the tension of being aboard an alien-infested spaceship meant keeping things as literally dark as possible, as Barba next explained:
Some of the things we’ve had conversations about, that maybe don’t come up as much, are the little details. Like, for example, the giant hallway that we use when they go back and forth, we didn’t put green screen or blue screen outside of it. We put black, and we kept it dark and we kept everything just so that the feeling on set was I was in this dark, cold spaceship, and that goes for everything. The cockpits, we put black out in front instead of blue or green. We always tried to keep the actors in the moment.
Making the actors react more viscerally to their environment meant creating practical monsters as well, and that even went forAlien: Romulus’ most memorable new creature, the towering Offspring:
And then, certainly with the puppets, the Facehuggers, the chestburster, so they were seeing what they were and reacting to it. You have a Xenomorph in your face, literally, with its splatter going all over you. How can you not be in that moment? And The Offspring, the actor that played it was terrifying in person, honestly. Because once you’re in full makeup and you’re just kind of staring up at this seven-foot-ten creature, it’s unbelievable.
Barba then detailed how CGI was used to add digital monsters to the real ones, filling the screen with an assortment of outer space horrors:
So that was paramount, and once you get that, then everyone feels like they’re in the movie. And then, obviously, with other visual effects, we’re able to embellish. We need more Facehuggers, and we need more Xenomorphs, and we’re in space, all those things. But it was for the actors, primarily, to get them involved and to feel like they’re there.
What This Means For Alien: Romulus
The Alien Franchise Is Known For Its Great Effects
Ridley Scott set a high effects standard with theoriginal 1979Alien, executing memorable visuals on a relatively small budget, the movie going on to win a Best Visual Effects Oscar. James Cameron then came along to directAliens, not just matching the benchmark set by the original film, but surpassing it, at least in terms of quantity.Aliensmade it 2-for-2 for the franchise by also winning the effects Oscar.
The latestAlienmovie may indeed have its flaws, but there’s no doubt it delivers in terms of its visuals, giving viewers more monsters than ever to feast their eyes on.
Those classic films established an effects legacy that every subsequentAlienfranchise movie has tried to live up to,Alien: Romulusbeing no exception. Barba and his team unquestionably pulled off some memorable effects in their movie, snagging a deserved Best Visual Effects nomination, the first for the franchise sinceAlien3. Part of the movie’s nomination-worthy recipe, as Barba explained, was a thoughtful feel for when to go real, and when to incorporate CGI.
Our Take On Alien: Romulus’ Visual Effects
The Movie Delivers The Goods Visually
WhetherAlien: Romulustriumphs on Oscar night or not, the VFX team can be proud their work snagged the fourth Academy Award nomination in their department in franchise history. The latestAlienmovie may indeed have its flaws,but there’s no doubt it delivers in terms of its visuals, giving viewers more monsters than ever to feast their eyes on.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke
Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs
Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer
Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould
Alien: Romulus
Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan
Barba and company’s decision to go practical with a lot ofAlien: Romulus’ effects was indeed a good one. The blend of real and CGI not only helped the actors get more into the moment, it aided viewers in experiencing a more visceral thrill. AnAlienmovie with only digital slime and goop would indeed be a disappointing experience, but thankfully Alvarez and his fellow creatives understood that sometimes, real is better.
Cast
Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.
