Radium/Reel FX hits the mark in this Matrix-style :50 promo for Season 3 of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie, directed by Norry Niven of Three (One) O, Dallas, TX. The spot features the title character, played by Edie Falco, contorting herself out of harms way from bullet-like pills that display clips of scenes from the previous season. Radium/Reel FX served as a one-stop shop for on-set VFX supervision, creative editorial, color grading and visual effects.
CG Supervisor Zach Tucker was on set, working closely with Niven for the New York City shoot. Tucker ensured that Niven had all the VFX support he needed, while simultaneously ensuring that Radium/Reel FX had all it needed for post production.
"Working with an actor like Edie Falco was a dream for me as it would be for any director, she is one of the most incredibly talented and versatile professionals in the industry and makes anything she touches all that much better," added Niven.
Senior Editor Peter Tarter cut the spot in a few days, allowing the rest of the Radium/Reel FX team to begin work on the CGI. Lead VFX Supervisor Kevin Althans worked with his team to create the CGI pills and visual effects for the promo spot. "We created photoreal CG pills that actually behaved like bullets," said Althans. "We manipulated the high-speed Weisscam footage, ramping in and out of slow motion to accentuate the drama."
In the final scene of the promo, Radium/Reel FX created a 3D matte painting and made the set appear much deeper by projection mapping and tiling existing footage multiple times. "Since we basically created a new digital set, we were able to traverse the environment with a new camera move, giving everyone the desired closing to the spot," noted Althans.