During pre-production, the vfx team created a library of tigers shot against bluescreen. Sometimes, animatronics were added for close-ups and in scenes with actors.

MS: How were visual effects used to enhance or modify the actual Asian locations?

FM: Locations, enhanced with production design, were mostly perfect. However a number of matte paintings and other subtle modifications contributed to creating the atmosphere of the film and gave a sense of continuity between sequences.

MS: What is your favorite shot? What do you consider your best work?

FM: There are a lot of shots that I like, sometimes because they were very hard to create and now look so simple. My favorite could be the last shot of the film which turned out peaceful and beautiful while the reality of the shooting was crowded with ever changing lighting conditions and the restless tigers never staying on their marks.

MS: How did your work support the story and allow it to be made?

FM: We always have to remember that wild animals never do exactly what you ask from them and in the case of the tigers, can be extremely dangerous and unpredictable. You can sometimes fool yourself into thinking that they have developed the habit of being tame with the cinema crews. Forget it! They are fast and you always have to stay at a safe distance away from them. Practically, this translates into a lot of multiple passes and rotoscoping to tell the story.

MS: Who are the key members of your crew — i.e., animation director, lighting, pipeline — and what are their contributions?

The filmmakers learned that, although trained, animals are wildly unpredictable and that rotoscoping helps to solve many production problems.

FM: I’ve had a wonderful and talented crew on this movie. Philippe Soeiro, a top French compositing artist, supervised all the artistic aspects and even indulged in compositing some challenging shots himself. Christian Rajaud supervised the entire shoot on location in Cambodia, Thailand and France until the very last day while we were already working on the effects shots in production. We joined him to supervise the most complex sequences. Sarah Flament brilliantly coordinated the work between all the digital artists and editorial. I have had a crew of fifteen very motivated digital artists, all of whom worked with precision and in a team spirit. Because of co-production issues, 40 shots were made in England by a very competent crew, which we selected, supervised, and enjoyed working with. We developed a very constructive working relationship with editorial and the director that has allowed us to effectively respect delivery delays and budget without artistic compromises. Efficiency in a good spirit could be the motto of this production.

MS: Is there anything else that you’d like to share with me?

FM: Since all the subsequent digital grading [color timing] was also done at Éclair lab, it was very easy to remain strongly involved in the whole postproduction process until the very end of the project. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

Mary Ann Skweres is a filmmaker and freelance writer. She has worked extensively in feature film and documentary post-production with credits as a picture editor and visual effects assistant. She is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild.