From creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, The Boroughs follows Sam Cooper (Alfred Molina), a grieving newcomer whose monstrous encounter inspires him to join a misfit crew of unlikely heroes. Together, they uncover a dark secret that proves their “golden years” are more dangerous, and they are more formidable, than anyone expects.
As the project’s lead visual effects house, ILM’s work was a combination of creature work, environment work, and effects work, with the largest amount of time dedicated to the mysterious and terrifying creature that the crew encounters.
Described as an “ancient being”, it was crucial for the ILM team to get the movement of the character to feel less spider-like, and feel more like a concept they referred to as “geriatric parkour”. They worked closely with co-creator Jeffrey Addiss, who had a clear vision of how the creature should pull itself around, and referenced footage of rock climbers, studying how they moved their bodyweight and used their arms as counterweights to get around. This helped them translate the creature’s movement to be fully intentional with every hand placement and every pull of the body, taking it from quick, spider-like movements, to slow pulls and holds that would support the weight of the awkwardly shaped body.
ILM’s work on the show was led by Visual Effects Supervisor Steve Ellis, Executive Visual Effects Producer Stefan Drury, and Visual Effects Producer Nick Thompson. The work was led by ILM’s London studio, with additional support from the company’s Mumbai studio.
The Boroughs is now available to watch on Netflix.
Read more about The Boroughs here on ILM.com:
Jeffrey Addiss
Will Matthews
Steve Ellis
Stefan Drury
Nick Thompson