‘The Northman’ VFX Supervisor Angela Barson on “The Combination of Artistic and Technical” i.e. Visual Effects – Production Value

Angela Barson didn’t set out to become a visual effects supervisor when she started out. After getting a job at a software development company that worked with the film industry, she decided to work on the vendor side with the software she helped develop. “I got a job at the BBC as a flame operator,” she says. “The BBC was really good, it was a hotbed of people who were so creative and progressive. It was such a good place to learn and try new techniques and new software.”

After working in the industry for some time, her past association with producer Mark Huffam led to her meeting director Robert Eggers. “When Robert was looking for someone to do the visual effects, [Huffman] put my name first,” says Barson. “I flew to Ireland and met Robert and had an intense meeting.”

The Norman follows Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård), a young Viking prince who undertakes a mission to avenge his father. The story is based on Norse mythology, which resulted in a combination of practical and visual effects to capture some of that mystique. “Many of our ideas and approaches fit together,” she says. “Everything from Robert and Jarin [Blaschke], the DP, for visual effects was all about photorealism. That was her motivation. The whole approach, the whole ethos was, ‘What can we get on camera and if that’s not possible, VFX takes over.’

While some scenes had some strong visual effects, Barson said they always had to be based on something real. “When every shot has a basis in reality … it’s a lot easier to get there in the final product than when you start with a clean slate in CG,” she says.

Certain scenes presented a challenge for Barson and her crew, as Eggers prefers long continuous shots that can be suspended in time for viewing. “A lot of shots are fired The Norman is very long and the last volcano battle was no exception,” she says. “We had to cut it and put it together… Of course we had to add the lava which we shot with interactive LED lighting. There was some smoke, but we added more smoke, lighting and lava.

“We’ve got volcanoes exploding, we’ve done molten lava, we’ve done stormy seas and ships, full CG and environmental work and all that blood and gore and then this mystical stuff like the body dissolving into the blood tree,” says Barson. But those challenges only reminded her of what she loves about being a VFX supervisor. “It’s the combination of artistic and technical and it’s problem solving, and I like problem solving.”