LipSync Post Brings Zombies To Life In '28 Weeks Later'

In '28 Days Later', director Danny Boyle reinvented the zombie flick by introducing the infected; vicious and mindless victims of the Rage virus that roamed a dead and deserted London.
In its sequel, '28 Weeks Later', directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and staring Robert Carlyle, the virus returns, leaving an already decimated population with the task of corralling it again, which the occupying US army decides to do by levelling London in a devastating firestorm.
LipSync Post was instrumental in producing some of the film's stunning effects sequences in a very fast turnaround project. 400 vfx shots were scanned in at 2k using the company's Northlight film scanners, with LipSync also taking charge of the global distribution of all shots to the various effects houses working on the film.
As well as the usual day for night sequences, muzzle flashes, adding of smoke and other invisibles, LipSync's own VFX work on the film constituted some of the most challenging sequences. The big explosion shots were composited in Shake, with 3D elements such as shattering glass being produced in Maya, while the team found themselves having to digitally make London look deserted and corporate logos disappear. It also had to contend with producing some of the more specialised shots of the genre, such as adding horrific neck wounds and producing convincing exploding brains shots.
The company also found itself playing a central role in the reviews and approvals process, collating all the work from the other facilities involved and shooting out sequences to film for screening. The result is one of the defining works of modern British horror cinema.
28 Weeks Later is released in the UK and US on May 11.
(DS)