LOL: This ‘Manchester By The Sea’ VFX Reel Is Literally Unbelievable
Manchester by the Seawas nominated for six Oscars and took home two on Sunday night: Best Original Screenplay forKenneth Lonerganand Best Actor forCasey Affleck. But there’s one category in which it was completely overlooked, perhaps because it wastoogood. A behind-the-scenes reel highlights the film’s unbelievable visual effects — and by unbelievable, I mean literally unbelievable. Because this isn’t an actualManchester by the SeaVFX reel, but a Funny or Die video. Watch it below.
It’s a spot-on parody of the VFX reels we see for effects-heavy works likeStar Wars,Game of Thrones, and actual Visual Effects Oscar winnerThe Jungle Book. And it’s not Funny or Die’s first time making this joke — they previously shared the “mind-blowing special effects used onCarol.”
But theManchester by the SeaVFX reel also plays like a winking acknowledgment of the fact that sci-fi and fantasy films aren’t the only ones that rely on computer-generated wizardry to make their worlds come to life. No,Manchester by the Seadidn’t really shoot the boat scene on a gimbal (that’s a behind-the-scenes photo fromLife of Pi), and they definitely didn’t use Vin Diesel’sFast and Furiousmovies to sub in for Casey Affleck’s driving. But you might be surprised to learn how much of what you saw inZodiacorThe Wolf of Wall Streetwere actually CG. Even films that shoot on location, likeAmerican Hustle,will depend on VFX wizardryto make sure the details are just right.
On the flip side, there are also plenty of awe-inspiring visuals that look like they could’ve only been done with CG,but are actually practical. It’s a testament to both approaches that it’s becoming harder and harder to distinguish between the two. A mostly CGManchester by the Sea-like movie may seem like a silly joke right now, butifRogue Oneproved anythingit’s thatThe Congressmight be closer than you think.
