The Strangers: Prey at Night

Project Overview

Outpost delivered over 80 shots for The Strangers: Prey at Night, consisting of gore enhancement, CG vehicle wreckage and a complex flaming truck sequence to bring the scare factor to the much anticipated Strangers sequel.

We worked on a diverse array of sequences that demanded expertise across a large number of techniques including DMP work, CG assets, fire sims, blood enhancement and more.

Outpost VFX Supervisor Nick Hurst worked closely with the film's production crew. "The special effects, pyrotechnics and stunt teams on set were terrific, but certain elements of the film had to be done digitally to protect the safety of the cast and crew," he begins.

"For instance one of the key sequences we worked on involved The Man in the Mask and Christina Hendricks facing off in the burning truck sequence.

"When you shoot fire on set, it visually looks great through the camera but can often be unpredictable, especially when the fire is spread across a truck that is travelling at high speed for multiple shots."

"Also, when you start to do multiple takes for each shot you do start to run into continuity errors. While the practical fire needed to be enhanced it was hugely beneficial to have this as a base, so we could get the visual look right and get our digital fire reacting correctly to the environment.

"To aid us in attaching the fire to the truck we built a low-poly model and 3D tracked the scene, while also geo-tracking the vehicle. This allowed us to place 2D elements and 3D fire sims on the digital vehicle in 3D space, which in turn afforded us much more flexibility by being able to add the fire to wherever it was needed.

"It was a pleasure to work with Johannes to bring this much anticipated sequel back to the big screen. We had a lot of fun."