Recently released The Greatest Showman features 85 visual effects shots created by Montreal-based Rodeo FX. The studio is excited to be part of this very unique film, having helped create its magical world. Set to music by Academy Award winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, The Greatest Showman tells the story of historical character P.T. Barnum, played by Hugh Jackman, and delivers an empowering message of inclusivity and acceptance. Rodeo FX is proud to have contributed to the visual effects that brought this captivating story to life.
Rodeo FX delivered a variety of CG shots for The Greatest Showman, working closely with the film’s production team and on set with director Michael Gracey.
“I had the pleasure of being on set in Brooklyn to supervise shooting over the miniature set,” said VFX Supervisor Martin Lipmann, at Rodeo FX. “Director Michael Gracey wanted the movie to have a very specific look and to show that it was created using miniatures. For The Greatest Showman we aimed for a deliberately unrealistic environment, which was a fun challenge.”
Using plates of the miniaturized cityscape of old Manhattan, the team worked its CG magic to bring the city to life. Rodeo FX created various other CG environments for the film as well as the fire and destruction effects for the climactic scene of the theater burning down.
One of the most challenging shots that Rodeo FX delivered for The Greatest Showman features three young kids running into the circus. The plate for this sequence was shot entirely on green screen, with just the actors in place. Rodeo FX was tagged to build the entire shot in CG, from the reflection of the circus on the puddle and the water effects as the kids run through it, to the environment and, of course, the iconic circus tent.
Produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The Greatest Showman is in theaters now.
About Rodeo FX Founded in 2006, Rodeo FX has grown to more than 400 accomplished artists and professionals with studios in Montreal, Los Angeles, Quebec City and now Munich. The company has delivered award-winning visual effects for over 100 feature films, including Blade Runner 2049, IT, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, The Fate of the Furious, Kong: Skull Island, Arrival, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and the Academy Award®-winning Birdman. In 2017, Rodeo FX won three VES Awards for episode 9 of Game of Thrones Season 6. VES Awards recognized the studio’s VFX work on Game of Thrones (2016) and Birdman (2015). Emmy® honors include three awards for Game of Thrones (2014, 2015, 2016). More recently, Rodeo FX has won an Animago Award in Munich for Best Visual Effects for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as a Hollywood Professional Association Award for Black Sails. For more information, visit rodeofx.com
