In Josh Safdie's new film, Marty Supreme, VFX supervisor Eran Dinur repeats his collaboration with the director to prioritize invisible effects. Authenticity was key, so green screens were minimized. To manage the workflow, he had a producer in New York and an executive producer in Los Angeles, delegating tasks to focus on the creative and technical aspects.
Shared workflow and an author title 🎬
The companies Folks and El Ranchito were chosen because they shared the same workflow, which streamlined post-production. Folks handled the crowds and El Ranchito handled other shots. The title was handled by The Artery in New York. They opted to film in real locations, such as the Broadway theater district, to later clean up anachronistic elements or add computer-generated trucks. A practical approach that avoided unnecessary artifice.
The phantom ping-pong: shooting without a ball has its risks 🏓
For the ping-pong scenes, the decision was as bold as it was risky: filming without a real ball. Yes, actors hitting the air with rackets, as if they were mimes in an imaginary tennis match. Dinur took the risk, arguing that this way they would have more control in post-production. In other words, the actors did the dirty work so that the computers could later do the magic. Of course, no one warned them that they would look like ballet dancers.