
Peter Weir’s The Way Back tells the incredible story of three men who escape from a Siberian gulag during World War II and travel 4000 miles on foot to freedom in India. Rising Sun Pictures delivered 200 VFX shots for the film (all in 4K), many of which centered on transforming landscapes in Bulgaria and Morocco (where the film was shot) into recognizable environments in the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas. Key shots include a shepherd’s hut in the Himalayas, which was a purely CG shot with a snow storm and 6K matte painting. Artists added a path, modeled after BBC documentary footage. Artists also recreated the Potala Palace, a Tibetan landmark set in a large basin amongst high valleys. Researchers found a high altitude image of the city from around 1940 as reference.
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