Forever Home: Creating Horror Comedy VFX on a Shoestring Budget

VFX for Indies

Ready to peek behind the curtain of indie filmmaking and visual effects? Your guides for this backstage tour are none other than Sean Oliver and Drew Latham, the masterminds behind the hilarious and spine-tingling horror comedy, Forever Home. Promise us your attention and we’ll reward you with a treasure trove of anecdotes, experiences, and the duo’s description of the creative process—starting from a simple joke about being stuck with ghosts in a haunted house to the execution of a script on a shoestring budget.
Your interest piqued yet? Good! Now, let’s get our hands dirty as we discuss the role of visual effects in indie filmmaking. Sean and Drew dish out wisdom on the significance of meticulous VFX planning, and how their understanding of technical aspects and craft-related terminology supported their creative journey. We'll also unravel the behind-the-scenes machinations that went into creating a perfect glass-shattering shot, and why sound design is akin to a secret weapon that can make your visual effects pop!
Fasten your seatbelts as we venture into the realm of ghostly apparitions. Join us as we explore the labyrinthine process of creating a ghost character—red gloves, green suits, and all. We’ll navigate the challenges of cutting a person out of a shot, and how clean plates were the heroes that came to the team's rescue. From layering multiple clean plates to the impact of camera movements, this episode is a roadmap to creating on-screen magic without breaking the bank. Hear it from the horse's mouth and learn how Sean and Drew spun straw into gold with their debut feature film.
Check out the trailer for Forever Home at https://foreverhomemovie.com/

Hosted by Foxtrot X-Ray’s founder and “chief pixel pusher” Paul DeNigris, who brings to the conversation 25 years of experience in both independent filmmaking and visual effects, as well as 20 years of experience in teaching all aspects of digital filmmaking at the university level.
For episodes, transcripts, and more, visit http://vfxforindies.com
For more information about what Foxtrot X-Ray can do for your film, visit https://foxtrotxray.com

Chapters

1. Forever Home: Creating Horror Comedy VFX on a Shoestring Budget (00:00:00)

2. Introductions (00:00:01)

3. Forever Home Synopsis and Origins (00:03:25)

4. Cutting Your Teeth in Short Films (00:12:31)

5. The VFX of Forever Home (00:19:34)

6. Exploding and Re-Assembling Bottles (00:20:41)

7. What's a Clean Plate? (00:27:01)

8. The Challenges of Ghostly Red Gloves (00:28:58)

9. Ghost Effects and Clean Plates (00:39:47)

10. Faking Timelapse Flower Decay (00:44:23)

11. The Energy Barrier (00:51:29)

12. Using VFX to Tell the Story (01:00:09)

13. Forever Home on the Festival Circuit (01:04:01)

14. Wrapping Up (01:05:14)