Ingenuity Provides Face Replacements, More For 'The Sympathizer'

Ingenuity Studios brought visual effects magic to The Sympathizer, HBO’s series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. In total, Ingenuity Studios delivered 212 shots spanning all seven episodes of the series. This work included set extensions, realistic explosions, CG creatures and digital face replacements for three of Robert Downey Jr.’s characters. All of that was among other work performed in close collaboration with production-side VFX supervisor Chad Wanstreet.

The Ingenuity Studios team set the stage through realistic set extensions of Saigon, Vietnam, in 1975, just after the end of the Vietnam War. Right out of the gate, the team delivered a massive theater explosion at the beginning of the first episode. Through additional set extensions, the studio also took viewers to 1975 Hollywood in Episode 2, including the liquor store that The General owns. This episode also features CG creepy-crawlies, flies, rats and ethereal cigarette smoke.

The Ingenuity Studios team delivered two key shots with three painstaking CG face replacements for three of Robert Downey Jr.’s four main characters in Episode 3. Doing this allowed all four characters to be in the same room (the private lounge of the steakhouse) in a continuous shot. Ingenuity also delivered fireworks, smoke hanging in the air, split screens and a transition from the lounge’s bamboo wallpaper to a flashback scene for the Captain.