The VFX of Dredd 

Love Dredd. It's a great film and good analysis.

Movies like Dredd and District 9 were well-made products despite not having huge budgets because they were made by competent artists.

Having been reading Judge Dredd for 40-odd years, this was a breath of fresh air after the Stallone version. Of course it helped that Urban was also a Dredd fan - he refused to take the helmet off.

This is one of the best comic book adaptations of all time. It's so underrated in the sea of marvel and DC fiascos, but seriously this was the way to do this particular story. And Karl Urban is forever Dredd... Amazing film.

I think that the same pressures that the Marvel VFX teams are under is the reason that filmmakers don't put this much thought into VFX very often. There's an old saying I learned in the games industry that I think applies across the board in all fields: "We don't have time to do it right, but we do have time to do it again." When facing budget constraints, the first thing that ends up on the chopping block is the time to think things through and experiment. Time is the most expensive resource in productions, and time is what it takes to plan out effects, most especially these kinds of integrated live-action plus CG effects. Marvel has increasingly cut out this kind of careful pre-planning. They film everything against green screen with minimal sets, so they can change the entire film on a whim, even as it's being shot. And all the labor of that change gets shunted onto the VFX team, because no one appreciates that what they do takes just as much time as anything else. And when the team is forced to cut corners, they get blamed for the film's bad, lazy, unconvincing effects, perpetuating the myth that what they do isn't the real art of filmmaking, even though these kinds of films are absolutely dependent on CGI. As you point out so well, Dredd's effects are based on real places, real objects, real sets that are subject to the limits of reality, which limits what they do with the CG. And that limitation is exactly why these effects are so effective. These are real shots with real cameras of real places, not CG cameras zooming weightlessly along digital bezier curves through weightless cities. The point of view was always from a human place. Even in the sky, the shots were like views from an airplane window, not God's rollercoaster. The megablocks were carefully imagined to feel believable, as were the costumes, the guns, and the carnage. While blockbuster films begin from a place of trying to put the impossible onscreen. Now there's a tool that can do this with ease, the impossible doesn't impress anymore. Back in the early days of Marvel, Iron Man spent 25 minutes of screen time selling us on the reality of Tony's suit. By the end, we believed it completely. Joss Whedon made a point of showing the Helicarrier as something real, floating on the ocean, before taking it into the sky. That whole film ramped up the impossible very carefully, so when it reached its effects-laden conclusion, we had been led their step by step. But I remember the moment, in Iron Man 2, when Tony's suit is stripped away in a split second, revealing a tuxedo underneath, and I could feel the franchise's commitment to earning their suspension of disbelief wavering. By Iron Man 3, when characters where leaping in and out of suits on a whim, or suits were flying through the air in pieces like toys, it was painfully clear they no longer cared. Whether or not we could see the strings, it was all too obvious we were watching a puppet show. You don't need to see the strings if the puppeteer doesn't bother to make the puppet's movement feel natural. No matter how believably Tony's suit is rendered, when it gets wiped off the screen like a fingerprint on a mirror, it feels like it was never really there in the first place. We stop believing. Hollywood is still stuck on the idea that audiences want to see the impossible. We do, but we also want to believe it. What made Dredd so good is that we believe its world completely. It has texture, weight, consequences. They did that not by throwing money at the effects, but by taking the time to plan how those effects would integrate into the set, and the story. VFX artists ARE filmmakers. They should always be a part of the process from the beginning. But in order for that to happen, the filmmakers need to know what they want, and commit. They can try making some half-baked mess and hoping the VFX team will turn it into Hollywood magic, but that's how you get cut-rate magic, a bad puppet show trying to sell itself on the expensive puppets.

I always thought that the glittery, bright, sparkly, "I'm high" slow-mo effect was just amazing and beautiful to watch. It's my fave part of this really cool film.

Brilliant breakdown. Really do hope they make a continuation with Urban , really loved the look of this film and it's pretty faithful rendition of the comics.

I love this film. I'll never forget wanting to go see this and being unable to find a 2D showing. I didn't know it was marketed, at the time, as Dredd 3D and it was ONLY in 3D. For those that don't know, this dropped when everything was having 3D shoved into it. It got really annoying, really fast because so many films CLEARLY had last minute 3D shoved into it. So, I said "fine", paid the higher price ticket and went and saw it alone in a theater that wasn't very full. It blew me away. It was SO GOOD. The soundtrack, the pacing, acting, stunts, effects AND THE 3D. The fact that they ONLY used 3D during the drug scenes and ONLY did slow motion during it as well, was perfect and the drug being called "slo-mo" was perfect. I cannot give this movie enough praise. I watch it several times a year.

I didn't know so much CGI was involved in the making of this classic, nor that they had budget issues... It's criminal that the movie didn't do as well as I hoped, and tbh; I didn't know of the movie's existence a few years later after it's initial release... Thanks for the video!

As you alluded, the most important contributing factor was the story. It was simple, easy to understand, and allowed us to connect to the movie on a human level. There was nothing unbelievable. No spaceships, no aliens or monsters (that weren't human ones) no stupid sci-fi weapons. Just people in situations where they behaved EXACTLY as we, the audience, know that people would respond and react to. It wasn't just the city or VFX that were grounded in reality, but more importantly, the characters too. Dredd is possibly the most criminally overlooked movie I've ever seen, its nigh on perfect.

Hard to believe this film is 10 years old now. Holds up fantastic due to the thoughtful way they executed VFX, plus such a great story, obviously. Wish they had made a sequel.

I was so happy to find a Blu-ray copy of this movie at my local BookOff. It’s a shame that there wasn’t a sequel or R-rated animated series :(

Best way to put this, the CGI team treated this movie similar to how videogames set up their production, trying to get the most of the few assets you have. Love it

I wish we were lucky enough to get more movies like this nowadays

I think what made this movie so great were the specially developed high speed Phantom Flex cameras for the slo-mo effect

I love this movie and I honestly didn't realize it was so low budget. I think they did a great job of getting higher quality through better planning.

Damn, brother, this video is so great, i'm rewatching the film tonight, because of you.

It's quality work CGY! Thank you so much for your detailed research! Your content has real depth! Can't wait to watch more.

Why we never got a sequel?? Everyone loved this film.

Awesone analysis. Glad RU-vid is recommending quality channels from time to time now!

Greeting from Japan. I started studying VFX and I have been focusing on what software to use. But you taught me something more important as a VFX artist! Thank you so muc!

Glad you (mostly) didn’t give away any spoilers. Dredd is must see for any action fan 🎬

Pretoria is the Captial City of South Africa... Johannesburg is a husk of its former self, left to rot and whither away as the CBD has left the city and moved north to Sandton, which is a farcry of what Johannesburg city has become. Sad to see.

Also the script itself, I think. It looks like we expect, and it all also plays out as we expect. It's the Dredd we've been reading since childhood, nothing more, nothing less. For me, it was just perfect showcase of a day in Dredd's life.

Donnie Darko, Dredd, Hardcore Henry, Pitch Black. 4 amazing films done on a budget.

Dredd using Johannesburg as the basis for Megacity One kind of reminds me of Equilibrium (another action movie which looks way higher-budget than it is), which I think I remember hearing literally filmed in Germany among old Nazi architecture to fit the vibes of its totalitarian dystopia.

Absolutely staggering that a film this good didn't do well at the box office.

Love Dredd. Great movie. Alex Garland seems to deliberately write screenplays with these aspects in mind. A lot of these principles are used again in 'Men'. Great video.

Thank you for this. Dredd is one of my favorite movies as I've been reading Dredd since the 80s. This movie was absolutely fantastic for the very reasons you laid out (and so many more).

Watched sober, then on LSD. Was AMAZING both times!!!!

Great video mate! I can tell you as a vfx / animation artist myself, its always a treat to work on a project that has a solid vision from day one. The mass produced big budget super hero films really suffer from their reluctance to commit to a vision. You really can feel the difference when compared with something like Dredd or a Denis Villeneuve project.

Nice work sir. I was always massively impressed by Dredd, it came across to me as an art piece as much as anything which is what makes it so special.

Had no idea Dredd was made on such a low budget. The 3D version was awesome too.

I hope they take these 6 pillars and bless us with a nice and tight budgeted sequel

I watched Dread in 3D on a TV that perfected the format and it was amazing with all this sparkly bits etc. So cool!

One of my favorite films. You definitely gave it the proper effects analysis it deserved!

Interesting break down. Dredd is my favourite movie, glad to see it's also excellently well made. I just wish it had done well at the cinema, then maybe we would have had more of the same.

One of my favorite films of all time! Obvisouly it has flaws and isn't perect, but it's so incredebly entertaining!

Fantastic breakdown and a masterpiece of a movie. Still hoping for a sequel.

Limitation is the mother of creativity.

i didn't want to watch this movie when it came out because it thought it was going to be a ridiculous nostalgic cash grab that was gutted of any visual value. your description has set me on a path to watch it. thank you

Thank you for this video! Great work! It was hard to explain myself why this film is so good.

This video is actually what convinced me to finally watch Dredd. And I’m glad I did, since it’s really good. And knowing how all that was done really added to the experience.

Dredd is so underrated! Awesome movie with great visuals!!

The writers were also really smart by limiting the locations and timeframe of the story, and advertising the film as "a day in the life of Judge Dredd." Contrast that with the Stallone movie, which tried to show as much of the _2000 AD_ world as it could, and suffered for it.

7:35 He's on his own without any magic to save him except for his clairvoyant partner.

"Theres a lot of slow motion. The film was running up to eighty minutes under. The only way to stretch it out was with slow motion. And we tried to keep the slow motion away from the dialogue as much as possible. Anything without dialogue was considered for slow motion.” -Alex Garland

One of my favorites! I am a level designer and specialize in a specific style of model making called modular design. In short terms, it is really similar to what the video is about. So, here is a simple example: Why make 10 walls that are all of a same type, dimensions and material? Simple answer, you do not, you make one model for a specific wall, copy it a bunch of times and then add decals on the walls to make them look different (Decal is basically a photo with a transparent background, It can be dirt, graffiti, surface imperfections and similar, you just stick it on a wall and there you go, all the walls are now different). You just plan out all the walls, pillars, floors and doors in the geometrical way where they always fit and you are pretty much done. So, for the example of the movie look at the scene from 14:04 of this video. A few things to notice: Ac units are the same model, all the railing as well, all the columns, main body of the wall (excluding the windows), all the floors, ledges and similar. All the graffiti are decals, all the windows separate textures. This scene basically has around 10 3D models, a couple of decals and around 20 textures. For someone on my level (upper middle level approaching senior ) it would take a day or so to make this modular scene from 0 with most of time being spent on actually taking photos to make into textures, touching them up and preparing materials for decals. Modeling is around 3 hours of work. After that is done, you can basically print it out as much as you need! All you need to do is make some small changes in lights and details and that is pretty much it... It is one of the most practical ways to make a level, especially in the procedural level generation, it basically works based on the methods I described.

I absolutely LOVE this channel. Thank you for all the education!

I love when you timed your speech to the gunshots. Nice touch 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

This makes me want to watch Dredd and that's what a good analysis video should do.

Best I can say of Dredd's digital effects: they never caught my attention. That's possibly the best action movie I have ever seen.

It’s hands downs the best dystopian city I’ve every seen on film in my fifty plus years.

I had a subscription of 2000AD from prog 1 when I was a kid.

This is one the ONLY 3D films that I actually enjoyed in-theater. The Slo-Mo scenes were stupidly beautiful! Anyone who saw it in 3D can probably attest to it's awesomeness! Sad that it will never have the chance to be viewed that way again :(...

The Dredd behind the scenes was awesome !

I think one reason that post-production effects get pushed to the back in big blockbuster movies is the expense of A-list actors. The presence of a big-name star adds a great deal of pressure to shooting schedules: you have to get the shot while they are there. If you've flown a whole crew and cast out to a remote or expensive location, keeping them there (or flying people back and forth) is a big deal. Access to some of these actors is on very tight windows because they'll be off somewhere else for another shot, another film, re-shoots, or the promotional circus. Post-production effects are seen as something that comes later - "fix it in post". Another issue are the constant rewrites that large productions seem to be cursed with. A smaller project like Dredd can be ultra-focussed, because it's not related to other productions in a bigger story (MCU, DCEU, SW are especially subject to this). The film can be planned much more tightly from the beginning, and the considerations of FX shots built in rather than constantly pushed into the future. You see this in other small-mid budget films: look at how well the $40 million was spent on Sunshine, or even something a little more expensive (but still cheap by modern standards) like The Matrix.

"According to the latest available statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in 2019 there were an estimated 7.7 million reported property crimes and 1.2 million reported violent crimes in the US. This translates to an average of about 21,096 reported crimes per day, or roughly 14,155 property crimes and 3,288 violent crimes reported each day." - This means that adjusted for population, Mega-City One has a 70% lower crime rate then the US of A.

These could all be used to describe Mad Max: Fury Road as well. Both great films!

I feel the same way about Leigh Wannels work on upgrade and invisible man.

Excellent Analysis on Budget! Well done! Looking forward for more such analysis. Great job! ❤

Great video. I appreciated the clear breakdown and explanation!

00:58 I don't know if that was a dig at the Sylvester Stalone Dredd but that's how I took it. Bravo lol.

Very grateful this popped up in my feed.

Wonderful review. You pointed out so many things that contribUted to the experience of watching Dredd! One of the best looking movies I've ever seen.

I saw this in a theater right after Indiana Jones 4. Such a breath of fresh air

Totally underated needs a sequel

Love this video essay. The main ingredient was that it was grounded. I never said great cgi. So underrated.

I agree to some extent about She-Hulk. Certain shots were jolting. But I thought there was also some really nicely done moments too.

Playing off Shu-Hulk vfx like it had the budget of Endgame is....something....

Love this video.... thanks for making a great video based on a great movie. Dredd was so fun to watch, not sure why they didn't release a sequel...? Thanks again. :)

This franchise really really needs John wick treatment u don't know how much i loved this movie

I had the chance to work with Anthony Dod Mantle on another project, he is an amazing DOP.

I feel like Urban could be the next Batman for the DCU. I mean look at him in this movie!

Fascinating analysis, love this film and really enjoyed your District 9 breakdown too, another fave of mine. Have you done The Chronicles of Riddick? Some gold in there, especially the weapons.

Dredd was a great film! I dont understand why there wasnt a sequel!

Had a rewatch due to your video and *OMG* did that movie *age well* 🤗 Still better than most of the millionsandmillions 💰 of $$ mainstream stuff 💸.

Two videos watched, i had to sub. Thanks for the great content

I have to agree that the writing really allowed the actors to shine. For example, look at Domhnall Gleeson. He plays the pathetic and sympathetic computer expert, and we really empathize with and feel the suffering of his character. He was also General Hux in the new Star Wars movies. And there, he is a bland, boring and stupid character, despite a vastly bigger budget. Another example is Karl Urban as Dredd. Almost no one would connect him with Dr. McCoy in the new Star Trek movies. And although he does a competent job there, he is a far less compelling and powerful figure, even with the benefit of having his face visible (and, again, a bigger budget). Great writing, acting and direction made a huge difference in this movie.

One of the best 3D movies too.

This movie was so good, I really wish we could get some more made, more dread

This movie has earned itself a spot among the greats like Robocop , Predator, and Starship Troopers.

Thanks for the great video!

Karl > Sly as Dredd. Karl didn't let his ego get in the way and kept his helmet on. Both are awesome actors, the perfect mix of humor, violent potential, and seriousness.

this was also the beauty of the latest Mortal Kombat film. Loads of practical effects, with digital enhancements. I was lucky to be involved in it and see some of the filming first hand - It translates so well to the screen!

I recommend watching The Raid if you liked Dredd. Both are very similar and both great action films.

Neill Blompkamp studio also made great VFX work

Great video. Nicely crafted...

fantastic video dude

One word: Talent

Brilliant stuff I love Dredd Well said

I see a very awful trend in modern movies, that treat CGI and VFX houses as "fix my shit up, fam" slaves and keep them completely seperate from everything until it's time for them to turn those greenscreen shots into Thanos doing a fortnite dance. Dredd felt so extremely cohesive and smooth and natural. The best VFX is when you don't even notice it, because it's so immersive and so well implemented, it doesn't take you out of the experience even the tiniest bit.

I always felt Karl Urban got robbed of his chance to helm (no pun intended) a major franchise when this gem failed at the box office. But in some ways I'm glad its become a cult classic instead and we got to see Urban move on to other iconic roles instead of being trapped in what would've likely been a gradually devolving series as Hollywood tends to do when the blood of success enters the water. Thank you for bringing light once again to this movie and the creative minds that brought it into being.

8:25 - Just because there wasn't any blood, it doesn't make the given SW scene 'non-violent'. P.S. - For the most part (save for certain areas), Human bodies are not over-pressurized sacks overfilled with blood, ready to violently burst out and squirt out whenever the skin gets breached. P.P.S. - Otherwise, great essay! 👍

i really like this film, especially the smoke effects of the drug they use, really nice lighting. i worked for eighteen hours a day, for three weeks on the stallone dredd, for 24 frames of animation on screen, the map on hershey's bike. funny old world vfx.

If I remember correctly the restroom scene where Dredd was being cornered, Dredd's pov and the other judge's pov had different lightings which made me curious.

Another reason why Dredd is awesome.

great clip!!!

On the point of working together with cgi artists from the very beginning - i hope you might cover Angelina Jolie in Maleficent. Whatever the opinion on the movie itself she always looked amazing bc she consulted with the cgi from the moment they started filming

I wonder given the success of the John Wick films. Which I think is in part due to audience fatigue with overuse of CGI for action sequences. That if Dread were released today it would be a bigger success than it was. It is a good old action film no over complicated plot. Good pacing. And while not a perfect one to one adaptation of the comic(nothing ever could be as some things just don’t cross mediums well. What works in a comic/graphic novel doesn’t necessarily work in live action. I have the same issue with most live action anime adaptations) but like all good adaptations it does honour the essence of the original as much as it can. The original Blade with Snipes is in the same vein. Now I think about it. Ah I miss older movies. I recently rewatched Big Trouble In Little China for the nth time. Great film and another example of what can be done on a small budget with the right team.