Dev Patel’s action thriller Monkey Man is a tale of triumph against adversity, both on and off the screen. Shot in Indonesia during 2020’s lockdowns while navigating a raft of production hurdles and setbacks, the film required significant work in post to achieve the director’s original vision. Taking up this challenge were primary VFX vendor Stage23 whose 40-strong team of specialists delivered over 340 VFX shots for the film.
Stage23’s involvement in Monkey Man began during pre-production, when VFX Supervisor Murray Pope reached out to discuss the project. However, when the global pandemic threw the world into limbo, Stage23’s team had no idea the film would be going ahead.
“We did the bid and were selected to provide VFX but then Covid hit, we weren’t expecting anything to be shot, but Dev and his team managed to pull it off,” explains Stage23’s Creative Director Christian Debney. “Murray was calling from Indonesia giving us updates on the shoot. It’s a miracle they achieved what they did.”
Stage23’s team worked closely with Patel during the post process, helping the director to sculpt and refine his vision from what had been captured in-camera. “Dev’s very hands on, and we did our best to let him play in the sandbox with us,” explains Debney. “His type of filmmaking is old fashioned in a way, in that his approach is to achieve what you’re after in any way possible. We’d solve problems together and we really enjoyed that.”
Over time the amount of VFX handed to Stage23 grew, as Dev realised how much could be added to the film using ‘Invisible CGI’ – work that an audience might not even think about as being an effect. This work particularly contributed to the impact of the fight scenes – many of which were stitched together from various takes and digitally enhanced in post.
Stage23’s contributions to the film spanned the full gamut of VFX, from CGI, to environments, particles, vehicles, crowds, and even creature pipelines, like the film’s CGI monkey.
“The monkey is the work we’re most proud of. Even though it only appears briefly in one dream sequence and some extended shots in the trailer, a lot of people thought the monkey was real. The fact that we can pull that off with such a small team says a lot about what our company can do.”
Christian Debney, Creative Director at Stage23
Vehicles were another key element delivered by Stage23 with the addition of CGI helicopters, as well as a computer generated rickshaw for the film’s chase sequence.
“They did shoot the chase,” explains Debney, “but some parts didn’t feel cinematic. Dev wanted to push the action, he really wanted an old fashioned chase scene with fishtails and lots of burning rubber.”
For these shots, Stage23 rebuilt the film’s rickshaw based of photoscans and reference images, as well as a digital double of Dev based on a scan they had created. After the compositing team meticulously painted out the existing rickshaw from the original footage, Stage23 then got to work creating a more dramatic driving sequence, complete with simulated smoke, debris and lights for added realism.
Many other invisible VFX were deployed throughout the film, with one of the most talked about scenes – the kitchen fight – requiring Stage23 to stitch together footage from 8 different takes into one seamless sequence, alongside the additions of props, fire, and broken glass to complete the action.
Crowds in the film were also supplemented by CGI extras in various scenes, owing in part to the difficulty the original shoot had faced filming during 2020. To accomplish this, Stage23 built a comprehensive crowd system, animating characters using motion capture performances to best blend in with each shot. Costumes for each digital character were created using references of the real costumes used on set, allowing CGI characters to blend in with the existing footage.
With the movie set in India, but shot in Indonesia, Stage23 was also responsible for adding buildings, environments, and entire skylines that would help sell the film’s location. Work included fully CG cityscapes for wide sweeping shots, the addition of houses and windows on top of plate shots, and modifying backlot footage to resemble real streetscapes.
The full process saw Stage23 working on the film for over two years, with only a brief gap while the film’s release was in limbo. “Even towards the end, before Jordan Peel picked it up, we were tinkering with things on the side.” says Debney. “We were invested in the film and we wanted to make sure it was as good as it could get.”
The finished film has proven a great success, currently sitting with an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics calling it “totally brilliant” and “a completely engaging and stylish triumph”.
Watch Studio23’s full VFX breakdown from the project below: