Rising Sun Pictures was brought on board Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to create Blackbeard’s flaming, smoking beard. Legend speaks of Blackbeard twining fuse wire into his beard to light cannons in battle and that is this idea that Director Rob Marshall wanted to portray when the famous pirate was introduced. RSP was provided with stereoscopic plates and presented a number of conceptual frames to Visual Effects Supervisor Charlie Gibson ranging from over-the-top sparks to more subtle treatments of glows and smoke. The final look that was selected is ephemeral, so as to not overpower Blackbeard’s performance. It was created in Houdini with a combination of glowing embers and smoke passes that were simulated for each shot.
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