Last autumn the VFX Academy programme gave thirty young people (aged 16–19) the opportunity to learn industry skills in both Practical SFX and Post Production VFX through recreating an iconic scene from Breaking Bad.
The death of Gus Fring is one of the most gripping moments in the entire Breaking Bad series featuring a dramatic explosion that leaves the serene villain with one side of his face missing.
To meet the many technical challenges involved in recreating this scene, Nerve Centre recruited industry experts, Niall Carlin of Doublejump Studios, a Derry resident with a wealth of VFX industry experience, Christian Kotey, a respected Storyboard Artist and practical SFX Make up Artist who has worked on The Walking Dead, and Props Master Denzil Browne.
The VFX Academy programme took place in Belfast over six consecutive Saturdays from 15 October 2022, with ten students learning to apply practical SFX make up with tutor Christian Kotey. This involved designing and making moulds to create practical gelatin-based prosthetics to emulate scar tissue.
Niall Carlin, as the VFX Mentor, was given directorial duties for the shoot, allowing the young people to obtain real time experience of how to film for VFX using professional equipment.
Twenty academy students specialised in Post Production VFX learning to use the industry standard software After Effects to compile their own VFX edit of the footage.
Doublejump love to help inspire the next generation of budding VFX and motion graphics artists. It was ur privilege to help teach and guide these wonderfully talented young people and create something insanely cool!
