The Buccaneers

Sent to secure husbands and titles, young American women explode into the tightly corseted London season of the 1870s, kicking off an Anglo-American culture clash.

Absolute VFX team completed 162 shots across four episodes of the eight-part drama.

Release Date

8 November 2023

Services

Genres

Set in a gorgeous nineteenth century baronial castle in the Scottish Highlands, episode six was set at Christmas but shot in the milder month of October. A close collaboration between 3D and 2D disciplines was deployed to transform 87 autumnal shots into extensive CG snowy forests, matte-painted landscapes and snowy rooftops. Various factors, including the time of day, drone shots and multiple camera angles added complexity to the task.
Our strategy involved establishing a ‘hero’ look for each scene and replicating it throughout the entire sequence”, says Carl Godwin-Alvarez, VFX Supervisor. “Achieving this required careful consideration of the approach for each scene and the development of bespoke solutions that could be applied across the entire sequence to maintain consistency.”
Another location, The Duke of Tintagel’s residence, was concepted early in the project and relied on the amalgamation of period specific features found at Culzean and Drumlanrig castles. Working with DMP Artist, Neil Miller, Absolute created a variety of concepts and supplied drone shots with DMP elements to get layout approval for this fictional setting. Set extensions, particle simulations, window replacements, period cleanup, beauty work and simulated travel were other elements tackled by the VFX studio.
The team collaborated with VFX production supervisor, Jimmy Knowles on the project, with whom they had previously worked on Prime Video UK’s ‘The Rig’. “Jimmy got in touch way back in August 2022, saying that he had no doubt our team could ‘knock it out the park’ following our previous collab, which is always brilliant to hear”, says Danny Duke, Absolute’s Head of Film & TV. “‘The Buccaneers’ was an incredible feat for our team, with some of the most complex and seamless work we’ve done to date. We’re excited to see that it’s being renewed for season 2. Bring it on, or should I say: lock up your lords!”

Credits

Directed by: Charlotte Regan, Richard Senior, Susanna White

Absolute Credits:
Digital Matte Painting Artists:
Neil Miller
Claire Simond
David Gibbons
Jack Long
Paul Campion

CG Artists:
Rebekah King-Britton
Tony Atherton
Patrick Keogh
Camila Valencia
Darja Sidorova
Domantas Lukosius
Fernando Benitez
Heidi Prescott
Keith Rogers
Lucia Quesada
Megan Mclean
Ollie Grant
Rasel Hussain

2D VFX Artists:
Carl Godwin-Alvarez
Phil Oldham
Mark Pinheiro
Alice Mitchell
Becanti Wijnbergh
Cameron Shanks
Dean Yaw Adjeikum
Gabriel Sitjas I Carvacho
Gok Gursoy
Harvey David
Jonas Mcquiggin
Nick D’Aguiar
Paul Greenwood
Rahul Karavadra
Tommy Coulter-Liston

Production:
Danny Duke
Zelda Tinska
Howard Truong
Zijing Huo
Kevin Carolan
Lia Jacobs

VFX Editor:
Ana Nunes
Pipeline:
Ben Hawkyard

Envy Credits

Absolute Post

Visual Effects

Absolute is an award-winning visual effects studio, home to a wealth of world-class artists and with a broad range of services for both Longform and Shortform work.
About Absolute

Originally operating within the commercial realm, circa 2015 saw the studio begin collaborations with filmmakers and content creators across feature films and episodic productions. Absolute have crafted effects across feature films featuring Hollywood stars such as Mads Mikkelsen (Return Of The Goat), Jude Law (The Nest) and Emma Stone (Maniac). Meanwhile, their episodic portfolio boasts solutions for BBC (Great Expectations), Disney+ (Super/Natural) and Prime Video UK (The Rig), whilst How To Be A Person for Channel 4 won a BAFTA.

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The Buccaneers

Sent to secure husbands and titles, young American women explode into the tightly corseted London season of the 1870s, kicking off an Anglo-American culture clash.

Absolute VFX team completed 162 shots across four episodes of the eight-part drama.

Read more
Envy Credits

Absolute Post

Release Date

8 November 2023

Services

Genres