New York housewife Linda Napolitano was living a normal life up until she claimed to be abducted by aliens from her 12th-floor New York apartment in November 1989. The three-part Netflix docuseries The Manhattan Alien Abduction follows her captivating story, with Linda as its main narrator.
As unbelievable as the tale itself sounds, the production team at Story Films wanted the series to explore Linda’s experience. “The premise is less about the paranormal, and more about the belief system surrounding it,” says Dan Vernon, Series Director. “The aim is to focus on people whose lives have been changed by these events.”
Recreating Dreamlike Tech-Noir Sequences
Linda’s alien abduction took place in a groundbreaking era for blockbuster films and the sci-fi genre. The production team took advantage of this by taking inspiration from Kubrick and Spielberg’s in-camera techniques and early-SFX cloud tanks – the process of using water and ink to create cloudlike overlays.
“A large portion of the cloud tank work was applied to the abduction scene,” continues Flett. In this, Linda floats above her apartment block while being beamed up to the spaceship. “We overlaid the textures onto a New York backplate, which was shot by Story Films using a drone.” Linda was recorded in-studio using green and blue screens, which involved on-set wire removal from Hifle and Flett.
Visualising an 80s Spacecraft
With a lot of room to experiment, Lux Aeterna tested multiple iterations of the spaceship during look dev. “UFOlogist Bud Hopkins conducted interviews with various witnesses whose descriptions helped us greatly,” says Flett. “Dan and the production team also wanted the spacecraft to take inspiration from the1996 film Independence Day, so we had plenty of references.”
However, the team only settled on the final image when one eyewitness of Linda’s abduction described the UFO as a ‘classic shape’. Lux Aeterna took this concept and decided to retain its retro feel, but added a contemporary VFX technique to spark interest in modern audiences.
Blockbuster VFX on a Streaming Budget
Creating entire assets from scratch like the spacecraft is no mean feat, especially when working on a streaming project. But the studio managed these expectations by using a cross-CPU render solution and machine learning to assist manual, creative work. “This workflow allowed the team to cut down 60-70% of rendering time,” says Hifle. “We can get quick and efficient results without sacrificing quality.”
Conclusion
The Manhattan Alien Abduction is a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of visual effects in bringing a captivating narrative to life. With a focus on people whose lives have been changed by paranormal events, the series provides a unique perspective on the alien abduction phenomenon.
FAQs
Q: What was the inspiration behind the spaceship design?
A: The design was inspired by a combination of Kubrick and Spielberg’s in-camera techniques, early-SFX cloud tanks, and the 1996 film Independence Day.
Q: How did Lux Aeterna achieve the retro feel for the spaceship?
A: The team retained the classic shape of the spaceship, but added a contemporary VFX technique to spark interest in modern audiences.
Q: How did the production team manage the budget for the VFX work?
A: The team used a cross-CPU render solution and machine learning to assist manual, creative work, allowing them to cut down 60-70% of rendering time.
