Ever since the concept of the new Batman came into fruition (after the whole, will Ben Afleck play the role and who will if he doesn’t), fans had been anticipating Matt Reeves newest take on the World’s Greatest Detective. Finally that moment came and the fans have been pretty much in agreement in their appreciation of Reeves film and Robert Pattinson’s take on the role. Not only has the film taken in over $750 million worldwide, it iwas released on HBO Max on April 18th, and HBO five days later on the 23rd.
With that in mind, it was our pleasure to talk a bit with Scanline VFX’s Supervisor on the film, Julius Lechner. We talked a bit about his career, some of the jobs he has fulfilled and of course, a couple of the scenes that he worked on for Scanline and The Batman. Disclaimer: No spoilers were harmed during this interview.
Intro
GVN: Thank you for sharing a bit of your time Julius.
JL: Hi, Thanks for having me.
GVN: Good to talk to you. So, let’s start out with a bit of your background. When did you take an interest in Visual Effects work and which films or television shows inspired you to pursue that venue?
JL: Honestly for me, it kind of evolved over time. I knew I always wanted to do something creative but technical as well. So I kind of slid into that realm of VFX after a while. As far as film that inspired, I would probably say “Independence Day,” but that was a while ago.
Freelancing
GVN: I’m not sure but somehow that doesn’t seem so long ago. But then again, I go back to the original Star Trek. Which kind of tells you the difference in OUR ages. In fact, your fellow VFX Supervisor Bryan Hirota mentioned in a past interview about working on Independence Day. So that was a good one to be inspired by. You started out doing freelance work. How difficult is it to get your foot in the door as a freelance VFX artist and what did you learn of value during that time?
JL: In my specific case, I was working in Germany. And Germany has a lot of freelancers working in the VFX field. In my case, I was doing an apprenticeship, and that led me into freelance work where I learned a lot.
ILM
GVN: During my research, I saw from there, you went to Pixomondo and then did a brief stint at ILM, which I would imagine is the goal of many an aspiring VFX artist. How did that come about and what did you take away from your time there?
JL: Yes, they apparently saw some of my freelance work and asked me if I wanted to join them. It was definitely a great experience to work with them for a bit. As far as what I took away from that opportunity, I learned that every company has its own different ways of working and their own piplines. So it was good to see theirs as well.
Different Positions
GVN: After that, you settled in at Scanline VFX in a number of different positions, including Lead FX Artist, FX Supervisor, CG Supervisor, DFX Supervisor and finally VFX Supervisor. What is the difference between each of these jobs and do the skills you learned in the previous positions help you with the following ones?
JL: Of course. In terms of, for example FX Supervision, you’re in charge of the software simulations and how they replicate natural phenomenon, like explosions, rigid body destructions, things like that. As a CG Supervisor, you are in charge of a broader spectrum including lighting and the look of asset builds and so on. But as you move on to DFX and VFX Supervisor, those responsibilities increase and you evolve not only as a supervisor but as a team leader. For sure those are experiences that you carry forward into each new position.
The Batman
GVN: So, let’s talk about the main reason we are bending your ear, and that is Scanline’s work on Matt Reeve’s highly anticipated and highly praised Batman film. Between your Munich team and your North American Team, Scanline produced 217 different shots for the film. So, as far as VFX work, is that considered a heavy load and how excited were you to get the opportunity to work on this next version of Batman and were there any challenges involved that gave you and your team pause as you started your work?
JL: I would say that was a medium workload as far as VFX shots goes. But first of all, I was VERY excited about the opportunity to work on Batman. Especially since I was growing up, Batman was one of my favorite superheroes and a friend of mine had all of the toys. So working on The Batman was great. Especially with Matt Reeves directing and being given the overall VFX supervision. So, I was really excited about that.
But, as with any project, once you get a feel for what you will be working with, you need to figure out what you will need to develop to do that kind of work. In our specific case, I wanted to push… our company is very well known for big, heavy effect simulations, especially water. So I wanted to push the envelope on those effects.
Working with Water
GVN: That is a great lead in to what I was going to ask. As you said, a major part of your work involved what might be considered some of Scanline’s main milieu involving explosions, water, and (in this case), an impending tsunami. Was there any part of these sequences that required a technique outside your established procedures?
JL: For sure. What was really important for Matt and Dan was for it to feel as real as possible. And there are a lot of interactivity between the things that ARE in the water and the water itself. So for example when debris or cars get trapped, they act as an obstacle the water has to flow around and react to it. Everything has to talk to each other. And we also wanted to make sure we have creative control really with where the water flows, how fast it flows and where these obstacles occur.
So there was an opportunity to use a setup that we hadn’t used before. We wanted it to make it as fast as we could for the artists to get creative feedback. So, we created a two-tier system where artists could run low-res simulations but already have the interactivity of the cars and the other debris pieces in the water before we would run the big and heavy simulations.
Getting Ahead
GVN: So when you start the heavy lifting of your shots, had principle photography already been completed and you worked mainly in post production or did you start early on and is it advantageous for you to get that head start?
JL: It depends on the project at what point you mainly come in. In this case, we were already involved way before principle photography started and that always helps if you are involved sooner rather than later.
Gotham Square Garden
GVN: Very good. Another of your shots required creating a complex environment involving both the interior and exterior of Gotham Square Garden. How much time was spent in developing this sequence and on average, how many artists are involved in this type of segment?
JL: It really is a little army involved and it goes over months of development, es.pecially the arena which was a pretty heavy build. Because you are basically recreating a photo real stadium with all the details in there. It’s not only a matter of building, but recreating something that exists 100% like that in real life. In this case, we had a really good reference from the 02 arena in London.
However, the inside was similar to the O2 Arena but modified, epecially in the rafter portions that had to fit around a blue screen set. Thus it had to have the feel of the O2 Arena but we had to come up with a new structure for the rafters and roof sections.
Working around Blue Screens
GVN: You had mentioned the blue screen set… Naturally, this would eventually involve the Dark Knight (Robert Pattinson) and Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz). How much coordination is involved with the live action and the effects that you produced?
JL: With that in mind, before you shoot, you have to already know how its going to be put together after the fact. So Matt and Dan had a pretty good idea of what they wanted and gave us a good previs of what the sequence needed to be. As well as what the layout of the roof and the rafters needed to be for this environment to support the action. But when it comes to the specific details, from what it will look like after the principle shot, that is done in post production.
GVN: So theroretically, if there was a reshoot required in the specific scenes involved, i.e. Gotham Square Garden, how would that effect the work you have already set in motion on those shots?
JL: Well, in this case (fortunately) we didn’t have any reshoots, but when it happens, they usually plan ahead accordingly so any reshoots they do, still fit into the original sequence.
Past Projects
GVN: Thank you so much for your time, Julius. Now, I know asking about future projects from you good folks is a futile task (Scanline trains you well). So in closing, as I have done for some of your fellows, I notice the number of major projects you have worked on. So if it’s alright, I’m going to mention a few of these and ask for a quick remembrance of your work on those projects.
The Eternals
GVN: So let’s start with Marvel’s Eternals where you were Digital Effects Supervisor.
JL: So I was on The Eternals, but not for the entire length of the show. However, for that film, I was mainly involved in the asset builds of the show.
Justice League
GVN: Alright, next we have DC’s Justice League and your job as CG Effects Supervisor.
JL: There, my responsibilities were anything that involved dynamic simulations. In that particular case, it was hair and cloth, explosions and any natural phenomenon you needed to simulate. Concentrating on getting it done on time and making sure it looked good and was controllable and supports the story.
Game of Thrones
GVN: Finally, because I am a big Game of Thrones fan, I notice you did some work for that show as a Visual Effects Artist. So what was involved in that project?
JL: So I was working on two different seasons: Season 2 and Season 4. On Season 2, I was fortunate to work on the “Battle of Black Water” which was great because it was a real TV moment for the show. In season 4, I worked on “The Children,” where the skeletons (Wights) came out of the snow, attacking Jojen, Hodor, Meera, and Bran. So in one way or another, I was working in snow.
GVN: The Children was the episode that Tyrian killed Tywin in the privy so it had alot going for it. HBO and Game of Thrones certainly produced some cinema worthy special effects for the show. It’s nice to hear about some of the work that went into it. Well, we appreciate it Julius and we will be following your and Scanline VFX’s work as always. For those who haven’t seen Matt Reeves’ The Batman, it can be seen on HBO Max and on HBO.
If you want to see the great work that Scanline VFX has produced, be sure to visit their website and their promo reels that are just just some of the examples of the movie magic they help create.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.