The Dig

Director - Simon Stone

140+ Shots | 2D FX | Costume enhancement | Set dressing | Matte painting | Object removal | Flare removal

An adaptation of John Preston’s book The Dig, tells the story of one of the most famous archaeological digs in modern British history – the discovery of the Anglo-Saxon burial ship at Sutton Hoo in 1939.

Invisible Arts completed over 140 VFX shots for The Dig. Work included set dressing and removing modern objects to place the film in the 1930s. Digital enhancement of mud when Basil gets accidentally buried was a complex task solved in a novel way which avoided the need for 3D involvement which would have been far too costly, compositing techniques was also used to add mud to clothing in surrounding shots. Crew, gear and reflection removals were required throughout as well as adding camera bulb flash effects, and enhancing autumnal trees to look like summer.