We chat to Shaina Holmes, owner of Flying Turtle Post, about the VFX of Big Time Adolescence

Flying Turtle Post owner, Shaina Holmes, discusses running the innovative studio and working on Hulu’s Big Time Adolescence

Industry veteran Shaina Holmes is a true VFX superhero. As the owner of the Ithaca, New York-based studio, Flying Turtle Post, she oversees everything from client outreach to compositing, as well as being the face of the company. She also finds time to teach the next generation through her role as an assistant professor of Television Radio Film at Syracuse University.

This breadth of experience has meant Holmes is at the forefront of industry change. With a mentorship-based approach, her company’s mission is to support underrepresented filmmakers by providing ways of achieving their VFX goals without breaking the bank. To learn more, 3D World asked Holmes what it’s like to run such an innovative studio, and how the team delivered Big Time Adolescence, a recent coming-of-age comedy film for Hulu.

How did working on Big Time Adolescence come about for you?

I first met executive producer Ryan Bennett and post supervisor Molle Debartolo when we all worked together at Company 3 New York. They now work at American High, the production company behind Big Time Adolescence. The film was actually our fifth project with American High in a year. We were the sole VFX vendor involved and delivered 29 VFX shots in total.

With all five American High projects overlapping in various stages of production, we were in constant contact with Ryan and Molle to help answer any questions that arose throughout principal photography. As a result, we were able to remotely come up with practical effects or creative solutions to on-set problems. For example, an on-set artist was hired to create pre-built screen graphics: an essential step for a show that

portrays modern multi-screen high school life. These graphics were then supplied to us and integrated into our VFX, saving us a lot of design time in post.

You wore multiple hats on this project, working as VFX supervisor, VFX producer and lead VFX artist. Why is this?

I’ve always worn many different hats at every company I’ve worked for, and now that I run my own business, the same remains true. I supervise client outreach and project management whilst also training and developing our entry-level employees.

I’m also the compositing supervisor, on-set supervisor, and oversee the bidding of all shots, as well as script breakdowns. I really try to take the time to engage one-on-one with each artist, coordinator, editor and intern I hire. I have always found that if I put time in with each person, they find the job to be a more personalised experience that leads to long-lasting working relationships and amazing work with a team that grows together.

It is a lot for one person to manage, so when we get larger shows, I try to have a coordinator to help me stay organised, create deliverables and manage the distribution of client notes. This is especially important as a lot of the shows we work on overlap with the school year, when I teach at Syracuse University. In those instances, I usually end up doing double shifts for a few weeks to keep on top of both.

Why is Fusion Studio your tool of choice on projects like this?

I’ve been using Fusion as a VFX artist since 2001, when it was eyeon Digital Fusion 3.0. In 2009, I switched into producing and supervising visual effects, so I was on the box less and never adopted other compositing software. When I started teaching in 2016, it perfectly synced up with Blackmagic Design releasing free versions of Fusion. I happily started teaching it in class, along with Davinci Resolve.

Blackmagic Design’s software has been a great tool for us to use at both Flying Turtle Post and Syracuse University. Not only because of the cost effectiveness of the software itself and ease of installation across multiple platforms, but also because of the outreach Blackmagic Design has been doing to make their products more accessible for smaller studios and indie filmmakers.

What kind of shots did Flying Turtle work on for Big Time Adolescence?

This project mainly consisted of invisible VFX shots that help create a seamless experience for the audience without distractions. We were able to do some

fun sequences, including creating CG baseballs, adding stock smoke elements to hotbox a car, intricate wipe transitions, screen replacements, and even removing tattoos, equipment, and any out-of-season nature elements.

“THIS PROJECT MAINLY CONSISTED OF INVISIBLE VFX SHOTS THAT HELP CREATE A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE FOR THE AUDIENCE” Shaina Holmes, Flying Turtle Post

Can you tell us more about these CG baseballs?

The film was shot in the late summer in Syracuse, NY. During the shoot at the batting cages, production decided to shoot without having the pitching machine on, likely for safety and noise issues during a dialogue scene. Unfortunately, they didn’t shoot any reference materials of the balls being thrown or reacting on the ground in this environment on that shoot day. I was aware of this at the time and suggested that a second unit shoot day should capture this coverage.

By the time I received the footage in November or December, those second unit shoot days did not include these elements. The post supervisor and I, along with my coordinator, rented a Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K camera and went to the batting cages to shoot the references we needed. However, by this time, it was winter. There was ice and snow on the ground. We set up the camera as close as possible to the framing and composition of the original shot, shoveled the snow, and scraped the ice on the ground. My coordinator then showed off his pitching skills and tried to match the angle, bounce and spin we expected to recreate in CG.

We then used Maya and Substance Painter to model, texture and animate the CG ball. The CG render was done with Arnold. Compositing was done in Fusion, using the reference footage for placement, bounce, spin, speed and the backboard shake when the ball hits it after the actor ‘swings and misses’. Shadows and motion blur were then added for extra realism.

How about adding smoke to the hotboxed car?

In the past, we have created our own smoke elements for shot-specific actions. This was more atmospheric smoke that barely interacted with the actors. Because of this, we ended up layering different smoke stock elements, rotoscoping multiple layers to give some depth, and adding some warping. This helped mimic any particular movements needed if an actor was moving in the car.

There were six shots with increasing amounts of smoke needed for Big Time Adolescence. We needed to be smart with the way we used the stock elements for different camera angles so that they didn’t look repetitive.

Can you tell us about some of Flying Turtle’s subtler VFX work in the film?

When most people hear the term visual effects, they think of huge blockbusters. Many might not expect that we modified imessage texts or painted out leaves in a parking lot to ensure seasonal changes weren’t obvious. But invisible VFX are essential to most films, even indie projects.

That’s why I love telling people outside the industry about my work. They are regularly amazed at the amount of detail that goes into creating the perfect illusion on screen.