The Walk
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment Director: Robert Zemeckis
Director Robert Zemeckis returned to Atomic Fiction to support the story of Phillippe Petit’s legendary high-wire walk. Artists brought back 1974 New York and its Twin Towers, helped actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt expertly walk the wire and immersed audiences in his experience physically and emotionally. To replicate the Towers’ chameleon-like qualities, a factor of their reflectivity, every shot needed its surrounding environment to be in 360°. The tower facades were then shaded to replicate thousands of tiny bumps in every square meter of their anodized aluminum skin. 28 minutes of the feature take place on or between the Towers. Long, sweeping camera moves, evolving lighting and weather, and the need for period accuracy necessitated a full-CG build. Art directing the city’s haze, placing moving smoke stacks on buildings, creating crowds and flocks of birds contributed to the experience.
Production VFX Supervisor:
Kevin Baillie
Atomic Fiction VFX Supervisor:
Kevin Baillie
