Based on true events, Bell Bottom is set during the 1980s and follows the story of a spy who becomes an unforgettable hero of the era.
ReDefine partnered with the filmmakers to provide a range of visual effects work for the show, collaborating with the director to deliver 1401 shots for key sequences that varied from creating multiple airplane landing, takeoff and midair shots showcasing airports of Delhi, Lahore and Dubai as they would be in the early 1980’s. Another significant part of the scope of work was the sandstorm that arrives in Dubai and the entire climax action sequence that takes place within the sandstorm.
The teams also built several assets in great detail including the Airbus 321 airplane with two variations and charter planes with four variations built to scale using Lidar scans as a base and adding subsequent details in asset build. Another technical challenge was to get the speed and motion of the planes and vehicles right in animation. The teams carefully studied the motion, landings and takeoff behavior of airplanes and helicopters.
Several other assets such as choppers, tanks, ships and miscellaneous public transport vehicles from the 80’s were built to populate environments and add to the realism to the airport.
Deep compositing was used on a few shots of the sandstorm to achieve the right balance of layering, and achieving control in compositing without having to go back to FX. A library of various sand elements was created for the sandstorm climax.