Bringing the action-packed “Fight or Flight” to life with After Effects

Image Source: IMDB.

“Fight or Flight” is an action comedy that follows a mercenary (Josh Hartnett) who tracks down a target on a plane. The mission quickly turns perilous when he learns that he and the target are surrounded by people trying to kill them.

We sat down with Editor Ben Mills to learn about how he used Adobe After Effects to bring the wild visual effects (VFX) of “Fight or Flight” to the big screen — from infusing chaos and carnage into the hard opening to removing logos and reconstructing shots with Content Aware Fill to fully finalizing the VFX for a number of scenes. He also shared his advice for maintaining an efficient After Effects workflow: “Try to keep it simple. There's nothing worse than doing something so complex it becomes difficult to unpick or pass on to someone else.”

Learn more about VFX storytelling from Mills below, and don’t forget to check out “Fight or Flight” which premiered in theaters on May 9th.

How did you first get into editing and VFX design? What drew you to it?

I've always had an interest in VFX and always experimented with After Effects during university. My first real taste of it professionally was on “Kick-Ass 2,” mocking up temp shots and creating more complex VFX in order to help tell the story. This really gave me a huge understanding of how powerful they can be and how necessary they are to the storytelling process, even from a base level.

What was the inspiration behind your VFX work on this film? What were you trying to achieve?

Working with Jim (Director James Madigan), there was a common ground when it came to creating VFX. Jim comes from a VFX background and has a great enthusiasm and passion for getting them right. We'd bounce ideas off each other, send shots back and forth and discuss what needed to be tweaked. From there we'd drop them into the edit and make sure they were servicing the story as intended. We really leaned into the chaos of the movie and made sure they were simple but effective. Jim really was a driving force behind all of these, and that in itself was truly inspiring.

Tell us about a favorite scene or moment from this project and why it stands out to you.

There are a lot of scenes that made me laugh out loud in the cutting room watching the rushes. Not only did Josh Hartnett put in a powerhouse performance both comedically and physically, but some of the moments with other passengers had me on the floor. I really love the hard opening, witnessing what is about to unfold in an almost dreamlike manner. The VFX, the carnage, the chaos, the music, was a seriously fun synthesis of pandemonium and elegance.

What were some specific post-production challenges you faced that were unique to your project? How did you go about solving them?

We cut the entire movie remotely, so we used Salonsync and Evercast to ensure both Jim and I were in sync and had access to everything throughout the post-process — plus, being in different time zones meant some late nights. We were also presented with some tweaks quite late in the process (removing logos, advertisements, etc.), at which point we had minimal VFX resources besides ourselves. Both Jim and I ended up delivering the final VFX shots ourselves for a number of scenes.

What Adobe tools did you use on this project and why did you originally choose them?

On this film, we used After Effects a lot for temp and final VFX work, and it allowed us to show the VFX house exactly what was required. We would even send over our project files so they could unpack them and see exactly how we approached the shots to get them to work. I really love Content Aware Fill in After Effects for simple removals of objects, which really helped me create our Bangkok establishing shot. I then used Photoshop and the Mocha Plugin for After Effects to create and comp back in new custom signage if a billboard had to be repurposed.

We also used Frame.io to deliver cuts, VFX work, etc. to the producers at Thunder Road and our composer, Paul Saunderson. The beauty of Frame.io was that we could add notes to the cuts to directly notify various departments on which areas on the movie needed to be looked at, allowing them to jump straight into those moments.

If you could share one tip about After Effects, what would it be?

Think about your comp and how it should be structured. Try to keep it simple. There's nothing worse than doing something so complex it becomes difficult to unpick or pass on to someone else. If it's thought out well from the start and you understand how the shot needs to come together, it doesn’t get bogged down with too many complicated layers and allows for quicker playback and export from After Effects.

Who is your creative inspiration and why?

Ultimately the reason I wanted to make movies was Edgar Wright, ever since his TV series “Spaced.” I've always loved movies, but his stylistic choices and homages intertwined with comedy really made me want to tell stories in a kinetic, snappy way. I'm also inspired by the people I work with. I buzz off ideas and working with passionate people — drawing from that is incredibly inspiring.

What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers or content creators?

No idea is a bad idea. Try everything. I feel this kind of goes without saying, but you truly don't know if something works until you try it out. Test it. Sometimes the craziest, weirdest, or even worst ideas can bring something special to the table. Whether it's a cut, ADR or VFX related, experimentation is vital to the process.

What’s your favorite thing about your workspace and why?

My setup is built for simplicity and conciseness. It’s nothing overly complex, but fully customized to me and the way I work. I use a stream deck to help shortcut buttons in After Effects which really helps to streamline the editing process. I’ve also got a mic for recording temp voice over and a standing desk to make sure I’m not just sitting all day. Lastly, I prefer a single ultrawide screen which allows for decent real estate all on one monitor. I’ve changed and tweaked my setup over the course of my career, but this one has stuck for a while.