Black Mirror - Crocodile  

MPC collaborated with Director John Hillcoat and Show Producer Russell Mclean to create the VFX for season 4, episode 3 of the anthology series Black Mirror – Crocodile.  

The VFX team led by VFX Supervisor Marcus Dryden, delivered over 200 shots at 4k. 

The main work involved creating the look of the ‘recaller’ and enhancing the ‘recaller’ chip skin interface device. 

The ‘recaller’ is a memory device which recalls memories, and on set, the actors used a prop device created by Art Director Joel Collins. The ‘memories’ were shot digitally and then scanned to 16mm film. MPC composited the ‘memories’ into the ‘recaller’ adding internal light interaction and lens distortion. The aim was to mimic the light and feel of a 1970s Kaiser Diascop 1 Professional Slide Viewer.  

The ‘recaller’ was central to the narrative so an extensive look dev process was conducted to capture the correct feel and effect. In addition to the inserts, there were various buttons that were enhanced in VFX to give more interactivity to the device. 

The ‘recaller chip’ was enhanced by adding light patterns, blinking light effects and glows to clearly communicate that the device was working, processing and extracting information.  

Other work included:  

Environment enhancement - Environment FX - snow /smoke - DMP - environment enhancement - Car crash - enhancement  -Broken leg - enhancement  - Blood augmentation – enhancement  -Screen comps – TVs, phones, car screens 

Director: John Hillcoat
DOP: Lol Crawley