Working with directors David Fincher and Romain Chassaing, London VFX studio 1920 transform dystopian live-action into the proverbial rat race with CG rodent head replacements and crucial environment work in this spot for Xbox thru Droga5.

The fabulously atmospheric footage was shot by cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, a trusted collaborator of Fincher’s with credits on Fight Club, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl.

Ross Culligan, joint head of production at 1920: “Bringing the inhabitants of Rat City to life demanded a fusion of creature VFX techniques and nuanced character animation. The creative challenge lay in crafting performances that felt emotionally resonant while remaining grounded in authentic rodent anatomy and behavior.

“At the heart of this process was a custom-built CG rig engineered to accommodate an extensive range of facial expressions—essential for driving the story. While the character designs honored the anatomical accuracy of real rats, subtle refinements were introduced to ensure each individual felt distinct.
 

“Every detail was executed to avoid slipping into cartoon stylization, preserving a fine line between human-like emotion and biological authenticity.”

 
“Adjustments like elongated snouts, slightly oversized eyebrows, and smaller, beadier eyes struck the perfect balance between realism and personality. Every detail was executed to avoid slipping into cartoon stylization, preserving a fine line between human-like emotion and biological authenticity.

“The compositing process for the CG rat heads revolved around the removal of the in-camera practical heads that were to be replaced with digital counterparts. Multiple clean plates were captured during the shoot, however, with no motion control available on set, clean plate integration presented unique challenges.

“Many of these clean plates required meticulous reconstruction. The team began by camera tracking each shot, ensuring precise match-movement. Clean plates were then projected onto cards or custom-built geometry, allowing them to be slotted back into the scenes. This manual approach ensured the live-action environment remained intact even as the rat heads were removed.

“Beyond character integration, the compositing team handled the expansive establishing street scene, the climactic cityscape, and various window exteriors throughout the film. Additional tasks involved screen replacements, insertion of door numbers, office signage, and other minor but vital details.

“To take on projects like this, our processes had to be structured to deal with huge amounts of data and be able to build, animate and render them in an iterative way. Houdini, Solaris, and Karma XPU allowed us to use usd to author, instance and layer the models, animation and groom.”

Watch the making-of reel:
 

 
 

 
Client: Xbox

Agency: Droga5 New York
ECD: Tres Colacion, Giancarlo Rodas
CD: Joseph Russomano, Temnete Sebhatu
Producer: Connor Haga

Production: RESET
Director: Romain Chassaing
Co-director: David Fincher
DOP: Jeff Cronenweth
EP: Jen Beitler
Producer : Ash Lockmun
Production Manager: Ivanina Burneva

Production Service: B2Y
Producer: Simeon Vasilev
Production Manager: Ivanina Burneva

Production Service: Anarchy
SFX: Dannielle Boyne, Hannah Cooper, Oliva Loughton

Post/VFX: 1920
CD: Ludo Fealy
VFX Supervisors: Ryan Hadfield, Chris King, Jorge Montiel Meurer, Chris Gill
VFX Artists: Adam Gramlick, Ahmed Ugas, Alejandro Marzo, Alex Rumsey, Andrea Umberto Origlia, Andreas Georgiou, David Rencsenyi, Eva Bennet, Joe Baker, Juan Francisco Saravi Migliore, Klaudia Skalska, Lewys Rhodes, Lucas Warren, Mattias Lullini, Miles Tomalin, Monika Lesiecka, Robert Lilley, Ross Gilbert, Sergio García Castro, Taylor Webber, Tom Cowlishaw, Joe Baker
Matte Painter: Jordan Haynes, Carlos Neito, Grant Bonser
Colorist: Kai Van Beers
DMP Artist: Jordan Haynes, Carlos Neito, Grant Bonser
VFX Producer: Ross Culligan
VFX Co-Ordinator: Lena Almeida

Edit: Cut + Run
Editor: Paul Watts
Edit Assistant: Roman Kuznets, Eli Beck-Gifford
EP: Ellese Shell
Head of Production: Marcia Wigley

Music: APM Music

Sound: WAVE Studios
Sound Designer: Aaron Reynolds
Sound Producer: Eleni Giannopoulos
EP: Vicky Ferraro