Entirely set in the middle of the ocean, Shallows was our first encounter with Hollywood and one of our team’s fondest memories. We were responsible for around 80 shots, which included the remote island environment, various water effects, as well as the shark animation.

 “This was a truly fun project, a summer flick with a horror twist that for me was also a rite of passage from a lowly VFX junior. I enjoyed working with the shark asset the most, especially since Crater had done some similar assets before, so I could compare what I’ve learned in the time between the two projects.

Overall, Shallows was a great opportunity for the entire team to stop and evaluate how far we had come in the span of a few years, appreciate our progress and identify the next milestone we’ve got our sights on.”

Nikola, senior digital compositor

 

 

“For me, the real challenge came from the artistic side, trying to combine all the separate elements of the shot, working with colors and highlights but also manipulating the water and adding additional water to achieve the necessary level of realism to satisfy high project standards.

Our comping efforts really paid off, and I even dare say that our shots are some of the best in the entire movie! ”

Dragan, digital compositor

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I believe our resilience was what made the most difference on this project, an unwillingness to give up until we have reached complete realism. We were working with pool shots that had quite a bit of background to be replaced, a lot of action and movement in and around the water. The lighting wasn’t always perfect, but the results were expected to be.

Seeing that final shots bear no resemblance to the pool they were actually shot in, and knowing that this was in part thanks to our team, was one of the most satisfying moments of my work here at Crater. ”

Cassandra, VFX production manager