Chernobyl Visual Effects Breakdowns

Chernobyl Visual Effects Breakdowns

Chernobyl is a 2019 historical drama television miniseries produced by HBO and Sky UK. Created and written by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck, the series revolves around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of April 1986 and the cleanup efforts that followed. It features an ensemble cast led by Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, and Emily Watson.

The five-part series premiered in the United States on May 6, 2019, and concurrently in the United Kingdom on May 7, to critical acclaim. At the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, it received nineteen nominations and won for Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Directing, and Outstanding Writing, while Harris, Skarsgård, and Watson received acting nominations. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards, the series won for Best Miniseries or Television Film and Skarsgård won for Best Supporting Performance in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

Chernobyl Visual Effects by DNEG

DNEG, ‘Chernobyl’ was never about telling the story through gratuitous, scary visuals with the intention to shock. Instead it was to be completely story driven where VFX would provide support for the drama in every shot. Any VFX had to feel and look authentic and ultimately – plausible. While many VFX shots had live action plate integration, there were also many full CG shots which also had to seamlessly match the tone, style and feel of the surrounding drama shots.

Overall the team delivered about 550 shots for the series, designing the reactor #4 building inside and out, developing complex destruction and smoke simulations, creating CG vehicles like cars and helicopters, animating crowd, etc.

Chernobyl Visual Effects by Axis Studios

Axis Studios’ 2D team worked alongside Sister Pictures for the five-part dramatic series, Chernobyl. Televised on Sky Atlantic, the series chronicles the story of the 1986 nuclear power plant explosion in the Ukrainian SSR.

Described as “TV that doesn’t just get you thinking, it stops you sleeping,” Chernobyl became IMDB’s highest-rated show after just three episodes.

For more information, please visit at Chernobyl