+44 (0)7968 613040 or +44 (0)7968 613030 info@elementsfx.co.uk
Produced by: Brett Thomas,
Written by: Alice Osman,
Director: Wash Westmoreland
DOP: James Rhodes
Production Designer: Carys Beard
Art Director: James Cross
Netlfix’s romance hit Heartstopper has always stayed rooted in grounded realism focusing on storytelling and heartwarming sequences, and its final chapter, Heartstopper Forever, is no exception. While not an effects-heavy show, our team was brought in to bring essential atmospherics and winter weather to the screen, creating immersive scenes right through the peak of a summer heatwave.
To keep the production on budget; for precalls, reset time and clean up to be kept to a minimum, we liaised closely with the VFX team to focus our practical effects where they mattered most. Instead of dressing the entire street, we concentrated on the foreground, falling snow, and lower third of the frame. This gave actors authentic physical snow to interact with while leaving wide extensions to digital post-production. To achieve the look, we deployed a krendel machine for the paper snow distribution, laid snow fleece in deeper background for realistic ground coverage and used Snowboy falling snow machines to give the air a little more life.
Beyond the winter sequences, our crew remained on standby for the show’s autumn scenes to generate natural wind and foliage movement. Using our assortment of heavy-duty wind machines, we blew real leaves into frame and created subtle gusts to capture dynamic, seasonal atmospherics on cue.
