Short Film / Practical + Visual Effects

The Split

I BUILT THE WORLD ON SET, THEN FINISHED IT IN POST.

Special Effects Supervisor • Visual & Practical Effects • Screen Design & Compositing

Film
A Sisters Kent film / 2024
My role
Special Effects Supervisor / Visual & Practical Effects
Additional work
Screen design / compositing / title treatment design
Also appearing
Burt Rutherford as Kyle

An indie sci-fi short needed to feel strange without losing its physical world.

I served as a one-person effects department, building the weather, designing the Macintosh imagery and rebuilding every screen in post. And then there was the doorway portal: a practical-light idea built to leave a little mystery in the frame.

01

Practical atmosphere / On-set build

Build the weather.

I researched the perimeter fog work used on E.T., then built my own fan-driven Tube of Death approach to surround the exterior set. For the low layer, I built the Diffused Output Undercurrent Generator, or DOUG for short, a custom dry-ice cooler that kept the fog crawling across the ground. Inside, I shaped the same world with heavy practical haze.

My role
Special effects supervision / fog-system design / fabrication / on-set atmosphere
Systems built
Tube of Death perimeter fog / DOUG ground-fog rig / interior haze
Behind-the-scenes view of perimeter tubing, practical ground fog, Macintosh, performers and lighting across the forest set.
The working set / three practical systems in one frame
The custom dry-ice ground-fog rig DOUG beside its fan and ducting.
DOUG / custom dry-ice ground-fog rig
Build proof / DOUG to spreading ground fog
Interior atmosphere / on set
Finished outdoor sequence / practical ground fog in frame
02

Doorway portal / Practical illusion + final finish

Did someone say doorway portal?

The portal began with research into the practical doorway effect in the original Beetlejuice. I translated that spark into a concealed green slit, haze and interactive light captured in camera, then carried the illusion through the final image without losing what made it feel physical.

My role
Effect research / portal design / practical light / fog + haze atmosphere
Method
In-camera haze + concealed light / practical foundation + restrained finish
The practical doorway setup filled with haze and concealed green light before the portal effect was finished.
On set / haze + concealed green light
In camera / green slit + interactive light
Final / practical atmosphere carried through
03

Preproduction / Interactive light

Light it before it exists.

I designed the Macintosh imagery before photography, then created a companion light pass that could be projected across the actor’s face on set. The final screen would be rebuilt later, but its light was already physically in the scene.

My role
Screen concept / preproduction animation / interactive-light design
On set
Projected companion light pass
Designed projection / genuine interactive light
04

Screen design / Tracking + compositing

The screen was off.

The Macintosh was dark during photography. I designed, tracked and composited every screen in post, building the glow, distortion and optical integration back through the atmosphere photographed on set.

My role
Screen design / tracking / compositing / optical finish
Final
Every Macintosh screen rebuilt in post
Practical atmosphere + digital screen synthesis

05 / Title treatment

Let the signal name the film.

The title treatment carries the same Macintosh distortion and unstable electronic texture as the screen world.

Title treatment design

The outcome

I built the world on set, then finished it in post.

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