MAXXXINE
A24
MAXXXINE & 808 Ltd.
Maxine returns in the closing chapter from the twisted world of X (2022), in this gripping follow-up to the acclaimed series. Set against the vibrant backdrop of 1980s Hollywood and starring Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito and Kevin Bacon, MaXXXine follows Maxine Minx, the resilient adult film star determined to achieve stardom.
With a compact and agile team supervised by Scott Chambers, 808 Ltd. delivered 145 shots for the highly acclaimed thriller-slasher. Some of the most complicated shots that were awarded involved invisibly making modern day Hollywood look like it did in the 1980s, along with squeamish gore enhancements and complex crowd duplication.
Unlike your classic big budget VFX films that one might tend to think of involving huge explosions, lasers and aliens, the visual effects scope required on MaXXXine focused on subtleties, invisible work that enhanced the film by giving the filmmakers complete control on the look and performances. Take a peek into our world in the breakdown below:
CASE STUDY
808 Ltd. VFX Breakdown
Much of 808 Ltd.’s work on MaXXXine involves subtle clean-ups and fixes that go unseen, ensuring the final image is flawless. Visual Effects often transform how the world looks on screen, but they can also be crucial in supporting changes made to the plot as the story evolves. One of those changes was a literal script adjustment seen on screen.
“We are so proud to be a part of this New Zealand connection as the first two in the trilogy, X and Pearl were shot here - to get to work on the final instalment was very much an honour.”
- Scott Chambers, Founder & VFX Supervisor at 808 Ltd.
“One of the trickiest shots we worked on was replacing type text on undulating, shadowed and deformed script pages - there was a crucial plot change after filming had wrapped and it was up to us to save the day, removing the need for what we surmised was a potentially expensive reshoot. It was intensely demanding as the shots were full frame and there was nowhere to hide but we pulled it off.”
- 808 Ltd. Compositor Cameron Doidge
Subtle Adjustments
Much of 808 Ltd.’s work on MaXXXine involves subtle clean-ups and fixes that go unseen, ensuring the final image is flawless. For example, 808 Ltd. had to remove parts of the set for not fitting into the 1980’s time period. The tricky part was dealing with the refraction of these elements in Kevin Bacon’s glasses.
Blending Stunt Work and Visual Effects
In this scene, a stuntman lands on a crash mat that has been elevated off the ground, which ultimately meant that he needed to be translated in a natural way to land on the concrete ground instead of this higher level. A challenging shot for the team, as not only did the fall trajectory and impact need to be fine-tuned, but in the selected take, the stuntman also accidentally slipped off the mat, giving the hand-crafted transforms an extra level of complexity to adjust for this.
Timing and Precision
Timing can make or break a shot, and sometimes you only get one chance to get it right. In this scene the actor in the pool jumps out of the water a second too early, resulting in him having to grasp for Maxine twice. The task was to make this action more fluid, ensuring the man catches Maxine in one smooth motion. It was a tricky challenge, but one that the team enjoyed.
808 Ltd. would like to thank Ti West and A24, Frank Rueter and Kara Rueter at OHUfx for being great partners in bringing this modern day classic to the screen.