Studio VFX Breakdown

Shots taken apart and rebuilt on screen: this studio breakdown runs finished frames back to the original plate and reassembles them layer by layer, through FX, CG and integration. It is the format that shows the working rather than the result — what was photographed, what was added, and in what order.

Almost nothing in a finished shot arrives in one piece. Underneath there is usually a tracked camera solved from the footage, roto and paint removing what shouldn’t be there, matte extractions, then CG rendered out in separate passes so that reflection, shadow and depth can each be balanced against the plate. Simulation elements land on top; grade, grain and lens artefacts go last, deliberately degrading a clean render until it matches the imperfections of the original photography. Laid out as a breakdown, that stack is also a record of decisions — which fix was cheaper in comp than in 3D, where a practical element was kept because it beat a simulation. Showing the layers is how Terminal FX explains its process, and this reel is that explanation.