Rodeo FX had to find a clever yet imperceptible way to “duplicate” Jake Gyllenhaal, so that he would be talking to his doppelganger and even be physically interacting with him. A crew from Rodeo, the sole VFX studio involved in the project, was present on set to assist Villeneuve for the shooting of these very technical scenes.
The company also delivered matte painting work to enhance Toronto’s skyline, and an exciting car sequence also benefited from a digital treatment. Rodeo FX used a combination of a real and a CG spider to impersonate that intriguing creature. To that end, the studio adopted a pet tarantula and put it under the spotlight for a few shooting sessions.
The main challenge on Enemy was to create seamless effects using mostly live and photo-realistic imagery.
“We are really proud of our second collaboration with Denis Villeneuve,” said Rodeo FX president Sébastien Moreau. “We developed a great relationship while working together on Incendies, and we were longing for another occasion to participate in one of Denis’ projects. Denis Villeneuve is an extremely talented director with a remarkable artistic sensibility, and this is why he’s having such incredible success this year with Prisoners and Enemy.”
Based on The Double by Nobel Laureate José Saramago, Enemy features Gyllenhaal, a college professor, who gets spooked when he watches a movie and realizes the actor looks exactly like him.
Enemy premiered in the special presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and will open in March 2014 across Canada. The film has 10 nominations at the upcoming Canadian Screen Awards, including best visual effects.
