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Double Negative Does VFX for Pride & Prejudice

Jane Austens classic novel PRIDE & PREJUDICE, one of the greatest and most memorable battles of the sexes ever portrayed in literature, has been enhanced for its latest cinematic release by leading London visual effects house Double Negative.

Fresh from critically acclaimed work on BATMAN BEGINS, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN and the HARRY POTTER franchise, Double Negative has created 400 invisible shots for the new film, which tells the tale of the five Bennett sisters and the mysterious Mr. Darcy. With the guidance of British director Joe Wright, the Double Negative team has helped to realize a stunningly beautiful vision of Georgian England that the elements would not necessarily have first provided.

The original notion was to use computer-generated imagery to enhance the pivotal aspects of the film. This involved several tactics, from enhancing the appearance of some of Englands finest stately homes, to enhancing the skies and landscapes to suit the purposes of the director.

John Moffatt, vfx supervisor, Double Negative said, We had a very collaborative relationship with Joe throughout the entire project, offering him as much flexibility as he needed to focus on directing the film. For example, we initially agreed on a very stylized approach, so created very dramatic, Turner-esque skies as backdrops. We eventually decided that a more realistic approach would allow Joe the freedom to let the actors tell the tale in what is essentially a character-driven film. The last thing we wanted was for the audience to be jolted from the realism of the story by a breathtaking but distracting visual effect, so we instead concentrated on creating subtle enhancements so realistic that they are invisible to the audience.

Double Negatives creative work allowed the director a greater level of creative control by enabling him to carry on filming even when the environment was not quite perfect. This involved the creation of new skies, which are impossible to distinguish from reality, but reflect the grandeur of the Great British countryside. Another factor was altering the lighting conditions after scenes had been shot to enable continuity for the actors. In one scene filmed at 4:00 am, Lizzie (Keira Knightley) and Darcy (Matthew Mac Fadyen) become entangled in a romantic clinch just as the sun rises behind them.

Added Moffatt, While shooting, the lighting changed drastically, and we ended up in full daylight. Rather than disrupting the filming to wait until the next morning, we changed the lighting of later shots to match the earlier footage, adding some CG mist and a new sky. We were on hand during every stage of filming to advise him of which environmental discrepancies, we could solve in post production - to ensure he could direct with as little interruptions as possible.

In another pivotal scene, Lizzie sets off in a carriage through a vast landscape in the dead of night. The original footage actually took place overlooking a huge quarry in bright sunlight, so Double Negative not only removed the quarry and surrounding roads, but also created an entirely new horizon, complete with winding stream and distant cottages. To finish the scene, the lighting was changed to reflect the middle of the night, and a suitable sky was added. Further elemental effects come later, in a scene where Lizzie runs away, crossing a bridge over a lake. The script required it to be raining heavily, so Double Negative created sheets of computer- generated rain to enhance the original weather conditions. The addition of ripples on the lakes surface completes the illusion.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE was filmed at some of Englands finest locations, including Chatsworth House, the largest private country house in England, which doubled for the Darcy residence Pemberley, and Groombridge House, which was used as the Bennett family home. To fully complete the period look, Double Negative digitally restored these stately homes to their former glories. In the scenes involving Chatsworth House, Double Negative enhanced the gold plating on the window frames, making them look years younger. Elsewhere in the courtyard, Double negative digitally removed large weeds that had been growing for years through the flagstones of the courtyard, and extended the courtyard to cover an anachronistic gravel driveway. Such changes play a vital role in establishing the story in the early nineteenth-century.

The understated title sequence also relied heavily on Double Negatives expertise. Working with graphic designer Tom Hinkston, the team developed a suitable typeface and then set out to integrate it into the film. Moffatt explained, We wanted the titles to be in sync with the rest of the film, in that it should be understated and gentle. To achieve this we had the typeface move slowly across the screen, and as the sun rises behind the trees in the background, the text is illuminated, with light glinting off the gold typeface.

As with many period dramas, shooting in the open countryside can present its own continuity problems. The film is set in the 1800s, so the audience isnt expecting to see an electricity pylon or a plane leaving a trail across the sky, continued Moffatt. It was Double Negatives job to meticulously remove any modern anachronisms that would lead the audience back into the present. Whether it was crewmembers in shot, or cranes on the horizon behind Groombridge House, the removals all add to the authenticity of the finished film, with nothing to remove the viewer from the period storyline.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE was released Sept. 16, 2005, in the U.K. by United International Pictures and Working Title Films, and on Nov. 18 in the U.S. by Focus Features.

Since its formation in 1998, Double Negative (www.dneg.com) has firmly established itself as a leading player in visual effects production worldwide. Located in the heart of London's Soho, the company is a pre-eminent visual effects studio with more than 30 feature films to its credit. Led by md Alex Hope and ceo Matt Holben, Double Negative handles projects from initial design through on-set supervision and production to post-production.

Bill Desowitz's picture

Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.

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