You'll learn how this viral short almost never made it to the public eye, and how ActionVFX elements took the VFX to a new brutal level.
If you are a fan of Marvel's fictional character dubbed The Punisher, you know you're in for a crime-fighting good time. And with it, fans expect astounding visuals, violence, and brutal engagements between the Punisher and criminals.
VFX Producer Christopher Clements, also known as FXitinPost and the VFX wizard behind the viral sensation Star WarsSC 38 Reimagined, and Director and Hollywood Stunt Coordinator Eric Linden give you just that.
You can feel the Punisher's rage and brutality on screen, which is perfectly aligned with Marvel's vigilante character. Watch it below! ActionVFX assets are on full display! Find yourself naturally swinging and fighting alongside Punisher? Us too!
I had the honor of catching up with Clements and Linden! We talked about everything, from the initial vision and how the film was almost shelved to only how ActionVFX elements can pull off the ferocity of the Punisher.
Linden, a stuntman for 15 years, got started by doubling Chris O'Donnell, and progressed through his career and landed on the Daredevil show on Netflix.
"I started doubling Jon Bernthal as the Punisher on Daredevil season two. That went great, and I ended up rolling into being his stunt double in ThePunisher season one."
From there, relying on his successful career thus far and the experiences therein, Linden transitioned into the role of Stunt Coordinator in ThePunisher season two. During this shift, Skull: Punisher Reawakened was born.
"In this transition period, I decided to show them that I was able to do this type of work. So I kind of concepted and came up with the Skull short."
Linden wanted to direct the short so that he could prove to the producers of ThePunisher what he was capable of. Really, this short film was never designed to hit YouTube.
For some of the commenters on the video, one common theme was "it wasn't long enough!" Now you know why. It was built to be a small taste of how Linden could be a tremendous asset to the production he applied for.
To his surprise, he had an interview and was brought on as the official Stunt Coordinator before he could film the short! As you know, he still directed and produced it. The rest is history!
So we just went on with it! I was going to start the job in a month or two, and was like, 'let's go ahead and film this thing.'"
They were able to film and completely wrap production. After doing edits here and there on the VFX and being unhappy with it, with most of his time taken up by his newfound Stunt Coordinator job, the short was shelved for a length of time.
Once the pandemic started, Linden was speaking to Clements about redoing the edits once and for all. From the VFX to the sound design, the complete overhaul was going to happen.
It was so long ago in fact, that the character's outfit seems very similar to techniques to stop the spread of COVID, something we didn't see coming.
"It had been like three years total since I actually filmed that thing, and everybody says 'look at him, he's social distancing and he's wearing a mask'. I actually wore that mask so long ago because I wanted him to look more like an outlaw, or just look more menacing."
At this point in time, the short film began to evolve into what you just watched. Clements reached out to ActionVFX for VFX stock footage to properly showcase what the Punisher was made of.
This isn't the first time we have collaborated with Clements, as you may remember his incredible VFX work on Star Wars SC 38 Reimagined with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.
Clements used a variety of assets to bring the blood and gore of the action shots to life.
"I would say the Blood VFX assets were top notch. Those were the ones that took a lot of the kills that we did to the next level."
There were some simulations for the VFX. In those particular sequences, Clements was able to flesh out the rest of the missing gaps that he felt the effects needed with our elements.
He actually told us to challenge you to go into the video and try to find what was a simulation and what wasn't, due to the versatility of the elements!
Clements wrapped up our conversation by talking about what makes ActionVFX such a vital part of the process in creating stunning stories.
"I think one of the biggest differences between using ActionVFX stock footage and the other packs that are out there is the level of quality... It's a standard I should say that ActionVFX holds all their products to. You go in and you know what to expect. You know you are going to get something that is beautifully keyed, that you can drop into your environment."
We look forward to the future that we have with Linden and Clements. Clements already has a teaser out for his new Star Wars reimagined scene, which will involve Cloud City.
You already know that ActionVFX will be used throughout, and it will all be covered right here for you to watch and read!
