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Bluebolt has expertly delivered seamless environment work for the Disney+ Original murder-mystery series Shardlake. Under the direction of VFX Supervisor Henry Badgett, BlueBolt completed 280 VFX shots as the primary vendor for the series. Their expertise was crucial in crafting an immersive “invisible world,” centering on a CG monastery, which serves as the story’s main setting. The creation required establishing both the exterior and interior of Saint Donatus Monastery in the opening scenes while revisiting it extensively throughout the series.

The challenge lay in developing a CG asset flexible enough to accommodate varying filming locations across three different countries, including Kreuzenstein Castle near Vienna and Castelul Corvinilor in Hunedoara, Romania. Ensuring a haunting atmosphere was critical, integrating mist FX elements alongside the diverse plates shot across multiple days and locations. Additionally, BlueBolt enhanced scenes with blood effects, mud details, and a Tudor-era Tower of London DMP.

George Ormond, Executive Producer at The Forge, noted, “The central challenge with Shardlake was creating the world of an English Medieval Monastery when – thanks to Henry VIII – they don’t exist anymore. Our goal was to have it appear imposing, atmospheric, and isolated, situated on wild, desolate coastland. We pieced it together by using Hunedoara Castle in Romania for the external shots of the monastery, while everything beyond the gates was filmed at Kreuzenstein Castle in Austria. Both loomed large in requiring extensive VFX work to integrate them, maintaining a feel of wealthy English religious institutions while placing them within the landscape. The VFX needed to be invisible; we wanted viewers to feel as though they were watching a real-world captured in camera, not a digital creation or fantasy world. I have always been impressed with BlueBolt‘s ability to create period environments – their attention to detail allows them to capture the texture and atmosphere essential for seamless integration with real environments. They act as a second art department, working collaboratively with production through each stage: pre-production, shooting, and post-production. Their critical role on Shardlake helped us meet our vision for the show.”

View the VFX breakdown of BlueBolt‘s work in the video below.

Author: Allan Torp Jensen has worked extensively in visual effects for feature films and television over the past 20 years. Adept in the full VFX pipeline, he has concentrated on compositing for the past 15 years and has held key positions such as Lead Compositor and Compositing Supervisor on various projects. His professional experience includes collaboration with skilled teams at Cinesite, Bluebolt VFX, Automatik VFX in London, and Weta Digital in New Zealand. For the last five years, he has remotely operated at his studio, Torper Studio, working on high-end TV and feature film initiatives.

Persons: Henry Badgett, George Ormond, Allan Torp Jensen
Company Names: Bluebolt, Disney+ , The Forge, Cinesite, Automatik VFX, Weta Digital
Titles: Shardlake

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