How much was practical and how much was CGI

The offspring of Alien: Romulus is one of the most unique horror film creations of the year – but how much of that creation was CGI and how much was practical effects? Until its third act, Alien: Romulus It’s really solid Foreigner film with engaging characters, exciting action sequences and terrifying scares. But in its final act, it reaches another level of awesomeness with the revelation of the Offspring. After pregnant Kay injects herself with Prometheus’ goo and the other survivors return to the ship, she gives birth to a horrific hybrid.

This year’s horror offerings brought off-putting monster designs, like the glittering disco ball demon from Apartment 7Aand unforgettably profane creations, like Monster Elisasue from The substance. Alien: Romulus‘Offspring fall into the latter category; is one of the scariest scenes in the horror genre of the decade so far. Part of what makes Offspring so disturbing is how real it feels; it feels as real and tangible as Cailee Spaeny or David Jonsson. How much of Offspring was a practical effect and how much was created with CGI?

The offspring were created mainly for practical purposes

I was actually there on set with the actors

The Offspring was created almost entirely with practical effects. It would have been easy to create the monster with CGI, but it wouldn’t be as scary or have as much weight on screen. Instead, the special effects team behind Alien: Romulus was committed to bringing Offspring to life using practical methods. Legacy Effects — the studio behind the special effects in blockbusters like avatar, The Avengersand Pacific Rim – created the prosthetics and makeup needed to make Offspring a reality in Alien: Romulus. Was a full-body costume enhanced with additional makeup.

Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez released a shocking behind-the-scenes video from the set (via Comic Features) which shows the Offspring alongside Spaeny between takes. It’s not an actor wearing a green spandex suit with ping-pong balls glued to his face; is the horrible monster seen in the film. In addition to some decorations, The Offspring looked almost exactly the same on set as it did in the actual film. The black eyes, gray skin, and sharp claws are all present in the flesh.

The offspring is played by Robert Bobroczkyi in Alien: Romulus

Bobroczkyi is a former college basketball player who is 7’7″ tall

Offspring wasn’t just an actual practical effect presented on set in all its glory; it was even played by a human actor. This is a franchise tradition that goes back to the beginning; in the original 1979 Foreigner film, the xenomorph was played by Bolaji Badejo. In Alien: Romulusthe xenomorph is played by Trevor Newlin, but the Offspring is played by former Romanian basketball player Robert Bobroczkyi. Bobroczkyi is 2.31 meters tall (seven feet and seven inches)making him one of the tallest people in the world.

Bobroczkyi was born in 2000 and moved to the United States in 2016. He went to the college preparatory school SPIRE Institute and Academy in Geneva, Ohio, and played college basketball at Rochester Christian University in Rochester Hills, Michigan, during 2021- 23. season. In high school, Bobroczkyi wore size 17 shoes and had a 140 cm (57”) inseam. He speaks Romanian, Hungarian, English, Serbian and Italian. Bobroczkyi’s role as the offspring in Alien: Romulus marks his acting debut. To play the role, he wore the full-body prosthetic suit created by Legacy Effects.

How Alien: Romulus Used CGI to Enhance Offspring

The tail was added with CGI (and the mouth appears to have been digitally enhanced)

The Offspring was not a 100% practical invention; some CG effects were also needed to bring the monster to the screen. The only part of the offspring that Legacy Effects was unable to create was its tail. His practical prosthetic suit has it all – the engineer’s bald head, the soulless black eyes, the bloodthirsty claws – but left out the tail. The tail had to be added later with CGI. The Offspring’s mouth also appears to have been digitally enhanced with CGI effects. The costume had a mouth, but it appears to have been airbrushed.

For the most part, practical methods are much more effective than CGI. But in the case of the Offspring’s sinister smile, CGI may have been the better option. Smiling through a prosthetic mask may not feel entirely organic. By using CGI to enhance Offspring’s smile, he slips into the uncanny valley and looks a little inhuman, which works beautifully. by the terror of the scene. What makes the human-xenomorph hybrid so scary is that he has human qualities but doesn’t look human – and the valley’s eerie smile really sells it.

Alien: The Practical Offspring of Romulus Returns the Franchise to Its Roots

The Alien franchise was built on practical effects

Álvarez and his team were keen to use as many practical effects as possible in Alien: Romulus from the beginning (through The Hollywood Reporter). The special effects artists Álvarez brought on board to work with Romulo worked on James Cameron Aliens in the mid-1980s. At that time, they were all in their 20s, working with the great Stan Winston. Now, says Álvarez, they are all “at the top of your game.”They used puppets and animatronics to bring all the creatures to life. Álvarez despises green screen filmmaking, so he insisted on using practical sets and monsters.

Álvarez clarified that “I’m not an anti-CG guy” — he created his own CGI effects for his debut short, Panic attack! – but it all depends on what works best for a given scene, and in Alien: RomulusMost of the time, what worked best were practical techniques. “When it comes to face-to-face meetings,”Álvarez said: “nothing beats the real thing.“This has been the spirit of Foreigner franchise from the beginning. Ridley Scott and the legendary HR Giger used practical effects to bring the xenomorph, the Nostromo and LV-426 to life in the original film.

As the franchise progressed, it increasingly abandoned practical effects in favor of CGI. In 2017 Alien: Alliancethe crew of the titular ship is terrorized by entirely CG xenomorphs. The monsters still look scary, because they follow Giger’s iconic designs, but because they’re not actually there, the audience doesn’t feel the immediate threat of a tangible presence. After some light, CGI-heavy sequences, it’s a nice return to the franchise that The Offspring was created with mostly practical effects in Alien: Romulus.

Source: Comic Features, The Hollywood Reporter