After the Flood 2: Fire, Water and VFX in the Moorlands

The second season of After the Flood is already underway and promises intense sequences. The detective returns to the scene after a forest fire reveals a lifeless body. To recreate the disaster, Vine FX has worked on two major effects: the simulation of a fire sweeping through the moorlands and a flood defense wall. A major technical challenge to bring realism to this British series.

Vast moorland wildfire simulation, flames consuming dry grass and heather while a charred body lies partially exposed, a concrete flood barrier wall under construction in the background with steel reinforcement bars and formwork, smoke billowing into grey sky, particle debris rising, glowing embers drifting, technical VFX breakdown overlay showing heat distortion and fluid simulation grids, cinematic photorealistic style, dramatic orange and grey lighting, ultra-detailed environmental destruction, realistic combustion particles and ash

How Vine FX simulated the fire and the wall without burning the set 🔥

The Vine FX team combined real moorland footage with digital layers of computer-generated fire. For the flood defense wall, they built a 3D model based on real engineering plans and integrated it with simulated water using particles. The challenge was coordinating the lighting and smoke so that both sequences appeared to be filmed in the same location. The result is believable without needing to set a single bush on fire.

The moorlands burn, but the technicians' coffee stays cold ☕

While actors feigned panic in front of a digital fire, the Vine FX technicians sweated over screens to ensure the virtual smoke didn't look like cotton candy. The funniest part is that the flood defense wall looked so real that a neighbor called the town hall asking if they were going to build a real one. Good thing it was only for the series, because with current budgets, it's better that special effects pay for it.