Encore Hollywood recently completed work on the Sony/Columbia Pictures action-comedy Zombieland, which stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg.

Encore's team created 16 visual effects shots for the film using an arsenal of Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Inferno and Adobe After Effects. One of the more elaborate film sequences involved a zombie chasing a human through an amusement park.

"The ride goes left and right while it's spinning around at the same time," explains Victor Sanchez, visual effects producer for Encore. "When they shot the plate, they weren't able to get the real ride out of the way, so we went in and rotoscoped the ride out, then painted everything back that you would see if the car wasn't there—including the platform and the background and a little cabin with Christmas lights."

Zombieland visual effects supervisor Paul Linden brought several key visual effects shots to Encore Hollywood. Linden previously worked with the Encore team on several feature films, including Primeval and Sexdrive.

"It's a challenge doing feature work," says Tom Kendall, executive producer of visual effects for Encore Hollywood. "We were fortunate Paul trusted us with this much of the visual effects work for Zombieland. He’s known our 3D artists a long time, so I think a lot of it is about trust. If he brings us something impossible, he knows we figure out a way to make it possible."

Other key scenes Encore Hollywood was charged with creating include building the effects for an extreme ride that climbs 80 feet in the air and then drops straight down.

In another challenging visual effects scene, Woody Harrelson’s character opens a door and three giant rats (all created and composited by Encore's artists) come running out. In other complex shots, Encore’s team performed rig and wire removal on stunt people.

About the Film
Columbia Pictures’ action-comedy Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a big wuss—but when you're afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is an AK-totin’, zombie-slayin’ badass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies. Directed by Ruben Fleischer. Produced by Gavin Polone. Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.