Conference
The State of VFX
VFX for Features
ON SITE
König-Karl-Halle
Tuesday, May 06, 12:30
Sinners: Where Soul Meets Spectacle - VFX Grounded in Celluloid Truth
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is a haunting supernatural tale set in the 1930’s Jim Crow-era Mississippi Delta, following twin brothers—both played by Michael B. Jordan—as they return home to eventually confront something far darker than their past. Shot entirely on 65mm film using the same IMAX cameras and lenses as “Oppenheimer”, the film is as technically ambitious as it is emotionally grounded. Rooted in the rich, mournful soul of Blues music, Sinners weaves sound and image together in unexpected ways.
This session dives into the collaborative artistry behind Sinners—from Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s groundbreaking work as the first woman (and woman of color) to shoulder the weight—literally—of IMAX cameras on a feature film, to the seamless blend of practical and digital makeup effects. With over 1,000 visual effects shots, the film is a testament to what’s possible when analog filmmaking meets cutting-edge digital craft.
Joining VFX Supervisor Michael Ralla are Mike Fontaine, SFX makeup supervisor, and Espen Nordahl, VFX supervisor at Storm Studios. Together, they’ll explore how the team blurred the lines between prosthetics and pixels to craft the film’s eerie, grounded visuals—showcasing what happens when you shoot with the epic scale of IMAX, but build the world with Coogler's heart and soul.
Dipl.Ing (FH) Michael Ralla, VFX Supervisor, Warner Bros. Discovery
Michael Ralla is the VFX Supervisor for Warner Bros. on Ryan Coogler’s latest film Sinners. With over 20 years in the industry, he has contributed to 50+ feature films, including major Oscar-winning blockbusters.
An engineering graduate of HdM's Audiovisual Media Program in Stuttgart, he began his career at Scanline in Munich before traversing the globe, gaining experience at top studios like Animal Logic (Sydney), Framestore (London), MPC (Vancouver), Digital Domain (Los Angeles), and ILM (San Francisco).
He’s earned a VES Award, a D&AD Yellow Pencil, and a Silver Clio, among other wins and countless nominations, collaborating with acclaimed directors such as Marc Forster, Mel Gibson, and Spike Jonze.
Michael lives in Manhattan Beach, CA, with his wife and two kids, and spends his free time surfing, skating, snowboarding, playing music, and photographing life around him.
Mike Fontaine, SFX Make-up Artist
Mike Fontaine is a special effects makeup artist and filmmaker based in NYC. A protégé of the legendary Dick Smith (The Exorcist, The Godfather), Mike began his training at age 9 and continued under Smith’s mentorship into adulthood.
He earned an Oscar nomination for The Batman, a Guild Award for Coming 2 America, and an Emmy nomination for Boardwalk Empire. His 40+ film credits include The Wolf of Wall Street, The Place Beyond the Pines, and the upcoming Marty Supreme with Josh Safdie and Timothée Chalamet.
He recently won a Guild Award for HBO’s The Penguin.
Mike served as Prosthetic Makeup Designer on Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, leading a 25-person team to create over 80 effects. As a director, his genre-focused short films have screened at Sitges, Screamfest, Strasbourg, and beyond.
Espen Nordahl, Head of VFX, Storm Studios
Espen Nordahl is Head of VFX at Storm Studios in Oslo, Norway.
Espen’s career began at Storm in 2005 as a render wrangler. Since then, he has touched most parts of production as a rotoscoper, compositor, CG generalist and pipeline developer. After a few years abroad at Image Engine, MPC and Wētā working in lighting, lookdev and shader writing, he returned to Storm in 2013 as Head of CG.
Now, as Head of VFX, Espen oversees all aspects of our production at Storm. His VFX Supervisor credits include; The Electric State, Sinners, The Last of Us, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Star Trek, Morbius, Watchmen, Invasion & The Old Man.