Conference The State of VFX VFX for Episodic
ON SITE Meidinger-Saal Tuesday, April 25, 14:30

Breaking down the VFX Wall with KLEO

Video on demand

Want to savor that thrilling spy-feeling you had when watching KLEO with Jella Haase? The conception and world building of authentic but not necessarily historically accurate locations in 1980’s Berlin, Spain and Chile will be illuminated by Pascal Bußmann and Matthias Backmann (LAVAlabs). Together they will explain how they realised around 450 VFX shots within a year, from pre-production to the final shot.

In the first season of this Netflix Series we see the former GDR assassin "Kleo" on her vendetta. Looking for answers about her imprisonment around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, she is constantly on the move while killing people in the most creative ways. Matthias Backmann and Pascal Bußmann will show you how they turned german offsite sets into sunny Chile, Spain or the other way around. Kleo´s perspective of the early nineties shows this world as it felt during that time period and not how it would be historically correct: From the famous Berlin wall to an U.F.O. coming from "Sirius B", LAVAlabs helped to show the sets and characters from a new perspective. And similar to Kleo's precise assassination planning, creating the VFX needed detailed preparation, focussed on-set supervision and efficient work to deliver the final shot.

Matthias Backmann, Compositing Supervisor, LAVAlabs

Matthias Backmann started as a Media Designer over 15 years ago and switched into VFX after studying at the ifs international filmschool in Cologne. He worked as a freelance compositor for companies like Framestore, Rise FX and Pixomondo in the EU and Canada. At LAVAlabs, working in different roles in Compositing, Editorial and Pipeline enabled him to become a Compositing Supervisor on multiple projects.

Pascal Bußmann, VFX Supervisor, LAVAlabs

Pascal Bußmann has started his media career in the broadcasting industry and found his path to vfx as part of PICTORION das werk's 3D department. For LAVAlabs he developed the pipeline for its digital intermediate department and was in charge as a VFX Supervisor on several projects. With more than ten years of on-set supervision experience, he was involved in planning and implementation of complex vfx tasks for Film and Episodic.