Highest 2 Lowest (VFX)
Highest 2 Lowest Visual Effects: Before & After
Spike Lee’s latest “Joint” comes to theaters in the U.S. this Friday, August 15, after a wildly successful screening at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where Denzel Washington was presented with a Palme d’or d’honneur, a special award to recognize lifetime achievement in cinema.
The Apple/A24 film is an new twist on Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 masterpiece, “High and Low,” and brings the talents of Lee, Washington, and Jeffrey Wright to create a unique and timely tale of our own times.
BFD's Randy Balsmeyer was the VFX Supervisor for the production, working with the Director, Cinematographer, and Production Designer through prep and production, and overseeing the VFX work in post. The Final compositing work was done by three principal vendors: Phosphene, Baked FX, and Fuse FX. It was Balsmeyer's job to oversee over 800 VFX shots that went into the film. This clip of Before & Afters shows the elements that were shot, and the final results side-by-side.
Randy has worked with Lee on more than twenty films, beginning with his second film, “School Daze,” in 1987.
“In the end, Lee has taken “High and Low” to new highs, delivering a soul-searching genre movie that entertains while also sounding the alarm about where the culture could be headed.”
— Peter Debruge, Variety