Check out the trailer for I Am Legend.

This I Am Legend promises to be the most ambitious film version of the book yet. Sony Imageworks produced more than 800 visual effects shots. The Brooklyn Bridge was recreated as a heavily detailed model. All images © Warner Bros.&nbs

Ever since its publication in 1954, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson has remained one of the most revered works of science-fiction literature. A unique combination of tense action and philosophical reflections, the book tells the gripping story of Robert Neville, a man who escaped a worldwide pandemic that turned the whole humanity into nightly, blood sucking creatures. Neville has become the one and only human being on Earth, the last of its kind: a true legend for the new species that has emerged on the planet.

After two previous adaptations (in 1964 and 1971), Warner Bros. enlisted director Francis Lawrence (Constantine) to deliver the most ambitious film version yet, starring Will Smith as Neville (opening Dec. 14). In order to visualize Matheson's world, more than 800 visual effects shots were required. Overseeing the challenging effort was Janek Sirrs, with Jim Berney serving as vfx supervisor for Sony Pictures Imageworks: "On a project this complex, with the success of the movie relying heavily on the quality of the vfx shots, it couldn't be any other way. For example, during production, we had to able to cover multiple effects shoots simultaneously, meaning that we both had to be working off the same game plan."

Berney confirms, "I was on-set with Francis Lawrence and Janek Sirrs everyday in New York. Janek and I were responsible for making sure the plates were shot correctly and to advise what could be done through effects and animation to accomplish the look he was going for. During the postproduction, we worked with the director to create the designs of creatures and environments. We would discuss different options, and I would advise what could or could not be done. Then, I would go back to my team and convey what was wanted, and we would build it technically and creatively to reflect the director's vision."

Jim Berney served as vfx supervisor for Sony Pictures Imageworks, which did roughly 99% of the work. The biggest challenge was starting production without normal pre-production and a completed script.

Rushing into Production
For Sirrs and Berney, the biggest challenge was simply entering into a production that had suddenly been fast-tracked. The team didn't benefit of the normal pre-production and development lead-time needed for this type of vfx work involving creature design. "The project was green-lit without a completed script and, as a result, without a fully-fleshed out concept of what the creatures should be," Sirrs observes. "We found ourselves still redesigning creatures during post-production to match the continually evolving nature of the film -- obviously not an ideal place to be at the same time as trying to get finished shots out of the door."

During principal photography, the vfx approach dramatically evolved. Originally, the creatures -- called the Infected -- were to be created via prosthetic make-up effects. But due to a lack of development time, the finished make-up didn't correspond to Lawrence's vision. As a result, the director chose to cancel the make-up effects effort and switch entirely to CG animation -- a decision that obviously had a huge impact on Imageworks' schedule and resources.

"Primarily, the switch was related to the fast-track nature of the project mentioned above," Sirrs comments. "The original plan was to use digital creatures only for wider shots, in large numbers or for impossible stunts. However, even with juggling the production schedule around, it become apparent that we would begin shooting the creature scenes before the creatures themselves were fully designed and suitable prosthetics created for the actors. There was an attempt to simplify the look/concept of the creatures to keep in line with the original plan, but this ultimately proved to be visually unsatisfactory. Which left us with the digital option -- make all the creatures digital and buy ourselves time to finish designing, without impacting the production schedule. Easier to say than do from a vfx perspective, but really the only option that made sense when looking at the production as a whole. And, on the plus side, it freed us up to design the aspects of the creatures that would have been difficult or impossible to do practically."

Apocalypse Now
Work had started in September 2006 with a core team that included VFX Producer Crys Forsyth-Smith, Animation Director David Schaub, Digital Effects Supervisor David A. Smith and a team of CG supervisors, including John Monos, Bob Peitzman, Daniel Eaton and Darren Lurie. Initial development focused on creating a decayed and abandoned New York. "Francis wanted everything to be as realistic as possible," Berney says. "He always said he wanted this to be based on a real life scenario of what would be left in the case of a three year desertion in NY City. So anything we did, we researched first. That included everything from what plants would grow to what animals would populate the area."