Our Work on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

We were responsible for 412 shots in Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Solider. This included starting the series off with a bang when Falcon / Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) takes on a group of sky-diving baddies in a high-octane, mid-air fight over an intricate canyon environment.

The opening scene includes close-ups of Falcon in flight—a slight challenge as they were originally shot against a blue screen on an overcast day when the scene is set in the bright afternoon sun. Our team created ‘bobblehead’ shots by extracting Mackie’s head from the blue screen plate, relighting it and compositing it onto a CG body.  This meant we were able to increase the depth-of-field and have the light move around him as he tumbles and turns, making him feel properly connected to the environment.  The baddies are a mix of digi-doubles and real-life wingsuiters roto’d from live-action sky-diving footage and placed in the CG environment.

The 30km canyon is based on Paria Canyon in Utah and built entirely in CG. We designed it with the use of previs, using the layout to help the action beats of the chase. We also updated Redwing to reflect advancements in his evasive flight manoeuvrability and armed him with a weapons carousel that rapidly rotates on command to deploy the right tool for the job.

In addition to the opening fight sequence, we worked on the reveal of Falcon as the new Captain America, using a digi-double as he smashes through the window from above New York City, and adding the digital city in the background.