ABSTRACT
A wedding shot in New York was transformed into a Caribbean beach; a Brooklyn tennis court was converted into a desert prison; and actors shot on a green screen stage were transported to a pier in Italy. The visual effects were hidden, never trying to grab attention for themselves. They were merely used as a tool to achieve a simple goal: to save production a considerable amount of money by shooting everything in New York. It was a clever decision by Scorsese and production VFX supervisor Robert Legato to harness the power of visual effects, not for creating the extraordinary but for helping out with ordinary. If the readers look at visual effects simply as a filmmaking tool, they can be used in a wide range of scenarios to help filmmaking process. Budget is one area where VFX can make a big impact. The possibility to change, modify, or enhance locations in post helps reduce costs, time, and bureaucratic complications.
