LOS ANGELES — Look Effects (www.lookfx.com) recently produced visual effects for Grudge Match, the new Warner Bros. feature starring Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone. Directed by Peter Segal, Grudge Match tells the story of two aging boxing rivals who are coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout, 30 years after their last match.
Because the fight sequences were shot in an empty New Orleans arena, Look’s primary job was to create the crowd of 10,000 boxing fans. VFX supervisor Everett Burrell says the team had just one day on the set to work with 300 extras. The entire crowd was created using real people. There were no digital extras. Extras were repositioned throughout the arena, shot and composited to create the large crowd.