Yellow Brick Road

In the trailer for Creative Assembly's upcoming game "Total War: Pharaoh" we meet a rather unlikely game cinematic hero: a scarab beetle. How did Goodbye Kansas come up with that idea and how was the trailer produced? Director Bengt-Anton Runsten, Senior Producer Calum Hart and Executive Creative Producer Jan Cafourek take us behind the scenes of the production, a story that includes boiling dead insects, scanning sun-dried soil and visual inspiration from 3000 old hieroglyphs.

Welcome to a world where fairies and mythical creatures walk the foggy streets of the late 1800s. In episode 69, Yellow Brick Road's Nils Lagergren sits down with Executive Producer Matilda Olsson, VFX Supervisor Joel Lindman and Animation guru Staffan Linder to talk about Goodbye Kansas' VFX production for season 2 of Prime Video's Carnival Row. How do you make Orlando Bloom fight a giant troll, how do you mocap a flying fairy and how do you transform a human into a wolf?

In episode #68 of Yellow Brick Road we take a closer look at the character trailers that Goodbye Kansas produced for Bethesda's and Arkane Studios' brand new game Redfall. Director Emnet Mulugeta, Art Director Tom Waldton and Illustrator Karl Johnson discuss the creative approach to partly work with a 2D Comic book style, how it feels to revisit characters you haven't worked with for a while and the importance of team spirit in a production.

The announcement trailer for Arkane Austin and Bethesda Softworks new game Redfall was released in 2021. Yellow Brick Road's Nils Lagergren sat down with Goodbye Kansas' Executive Producer Jörgen Lilja, director Emnet Mulugeta and VFX Supervisor Henrik Eklundh to discuss the production of that trailer – and now when the game is released we're happy to share that conversation with you! So buckle up for some vampire hunting CG adventures!

Follow us behind the scenes of the VFX production for the third and final season of the great post-apocalyptic series “See”. VFX Supervisor Felipe Borges and Senior FX Artist Martin Widö explains how to create huge battle scenes using digital extras and what ingredients do you need to cook a perfect CG explosion.

In episode 65 we dive into Tom Clancy's world of espionage and action, when Goodbye Kansas VFX Supervisor Jim Parsons and Compositing Lead Olov Samuelsson takes us behind the scenes of the VFX work for season 3 of the Amazon hit series “Tom Clancys's Jack Ryan”. And follow us down Yellow Brick Road as we retrace the footsteps of on-screen Jack Ryans through the last decades, from Alec Baldwin in “Hunt for Red October” to John Krasinski. Have the old movies stood the test of time?

An efficient pipeline is always important when you produce CG productions and VFX. In episode #64 of ”Yellow Brick Road” we dive into the world of pipeline development – and USD. Pipeline Technical Director Dan Englesson and CG Supervisor Alexis Andersson share insights from the development of Goodbye Kansas Studios new USD pipeline. Why is USD superior to older systems and what are the challenges when you update pipelines?

Follow us out on the high seas, as director Emnet Mulugeta and VFX Supervisor Henrik Eklundh share stories from the production of the trailer for Ubisoft's game “Skull & Bones”, produced by Goodbye Kansas Studios.

This week we discuss the coolest space bounty hunters of them all: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and Faye Valentine in the classic anime series Cowboy Bebop - recently adapted as a live action series on Netflix. Goodbye Kansas Lighting Lead Ivor da Silva talks about his passion for anime in general – and Cowboy Bebop in particular. And what kind of VFX did Goodbye Kansas Studios deliver for the Netflix series?

Let's talk real time production! In episode 61 of Yellow Brick Road, Realtime Artists Tim Hermes and Henrik Melsom discuss Unreal Engine 5, how game engines are changing the VFX industry and how Unreal Engine and its peers are used in the Goodbye Kansas Studios production pipeline. Also: what's the difference between working on the development of a game and the production of a game cinematic?

How is it to work with Visual Effects and what career options are there in the VFX business? How important is a creative company culture and how has the pandemic and working from home affected the team spirit for VFX-artists? In episode #60 of our podcast “Yellow Brick Road” VFX Producer David Enbom and Compositing Artist Hannah Myllyoja answer questions from VFX students and discuss company culture, creativity and how to keep the passion for the craft alive.

In episode #59 of Yellow Brick Road we skydive into the world of Battle Royale style games. Director Emnet Mulugeta and VFX Supervisor Felipe Borges takes us behind the scenes of the production of the new cinematic trailer for Krafton's popular game PUBG Battlegrounds. How was the trailer produced, where did they find their visual inspiration and how did they manage to produce this trailer in just four months?

Welcome to the world of teenage espionage. In episode #58 we meet VFX Supervisor Jim Parsons and CG Supervisor James Sutton, discussing Amazon's teen spy series "Alex Rider" and the various visual effects Goodbye Kansas Studios created for season one and two, including a “killer drone” and a bunch of dead Aztec warriors. Also: how does Ray Harryhausen inspire modern VFX, is Hitchcock's “The Lady Vanishes” the best spy movie ever and why on earth did Ken Russel get to direct Michael Caines third outing as Harry Palmer?

In episode #57 of our podcast Yellow Brick Road we meet VFX producer Paula Pope and VFX Supervisor Ditch Doy, discussing the various effects that Goodbye Kansas delivered for season 2 of Netflix's supernatural horror series “Locke & Key”. Prepare for faceless living mannequins and "romantic fire effects". Also: why is it so scary with masks and is it true that we lose our urge to get scared as we grow older?

Follow us to the Capture Department at Goodbye Kansas HQ in Stockholm. In episode 56 of our podcast "Yellow Brick Road" we meet Capture veteran Chris Jestico, who shares stories from his career - including the Virtual Production of Steven Spielberg's "Ready Player One" - and talks about the many fascinating services provided by the Goodbye Kansas Capture Department, including 3D Scanning and Performance Capture.

How can you use VFX to depict hallucinations and what's a "glitter engine"? In episode 55 of Yellow Brick Road we meet VFX Supervisor Jason M Halverson, who takes us behind the scenes of Goodbye Kansas' VFX work for Amazon's ballet film "Birds of Paradise".

How was the VFX in BBC's submarine thriller “Vigil” created? VFX Supervisor Jim Parsons and VFX producer Desirée Rydén from Goodbye Kansas Studios takes us behind the scenes of the VFX production of this year's biggest BBC drama hit series.

In episode #53 we visit the foggy streets of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 19th century London and meet thousands of aggressive digital birds! VFX Supervisor Jim Parsons, FX Supervisor Filip Orrby and Animation Supervisor Staffan Linder discuss the various Visual Effects created by Goodbye Kansas Studios for Netflix's “The Irregulars”. What were their favourite shots and how was it to create Visual Effects in the middle of a pandemic lockdown?

How do you create a digital animal? In episode #52 of Yellow Brick Road, we discuss modeling, rigging and CFX with Senior Character Artist Magnus Eriksson, Rigging TD Stephanie Holder and Lead Character FX TD Ludvig Eliasson from Goodbye Kansas Studios. How was the stag in “A Discovery of Witches” made, how do you create a digital muscle system and why are birds more complicated to rig than other animals?

How do you create a CG locust swarm and what insect movies do we love the most? Line Producer Alexander Darnell, CG Supervisor Hannes Drossel and Senior Compositing artist Karl Rydhe talk about the locust effects in Outlander Season 5 and discuss their favourite insect movies. (recorded in april 2020)

With the Covid pandemic roaming the world, many of us will spend the holidays in lockdown, at home in our private quarantine stations. A perfect opportunity to watch great series and movies. Join Yellow Brick Road’s Harrison Ryder, Matilda Olsson and Nils Lagergren as they talk about their favourite series to binge watch during the strange pandemic holiday season of 2020.

Director Emnet Mulugeta, Art Director Gustaf Holmsten and Executive Producer Jan Cafourek discuss the Goodbye Kansas production of the release trailer for Ubisoft’s great game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. How do you plan a production like this, where do you find inspiration and how do you create a connection between the viewer and the main character?

Retro-futuristic artist Simon Stålenhag, songwriter/producer Jens “Duvchi” Duvsjö and Goodbye Kansas VFX supervisor Staffan Linder discuss the production of Stålenhag’s directorial debut: the music video for Duvchi’s latest single “Geronimo”. What’s the story behind the song, what was the vision behind the video and how did Goodbye Kansas create the visual effects for this mesmerizing “visual extension” of the song.

As the Corona virus pandemic continues to terrorize the world, films like “Contagion” and “Outbreak” are more popular than ever. The movie history is filled with films about plagues and pandemics and in episode #47, Yellow Brick Road’s Nils Lagergren, Matilda Olsson and Harrison Ryder discuss some favourites from this infectious genre.

The VFX industry is a very international one and many of the artists at Goodbye Kansas Studios in Stockholm have moved here from abroad. In ep 46, we meet three of them: Bidding Producer Julia Ferguson, Pipeline Developer Stephen Hada and Tiffany Johansson from the Frontdesk team. What are the best (and worst) things about working and living in Sweden, what exactly is “fika” and why is company culture so important?

In episode #45, Yellow Brick Road’s Nils Lagergren meets Daniel Bystedt (Senior Character Artist & Head of Modeling Department at Goodbye Kansas) to discuss his career, tutorials and why the Blender software has become such a big part of his work as an artist.

In episode #44 the Yellow Brick Road leads straight to Hell, as Senior Animator Staffan Linder and CG Supervisor Hannes Drossel share their stories from Goodbye Kansas’ VFX production for the latest Hellboy film. How do you cope working with effects that include people getting impaled and torn apart by nightmarish demons? And is it true that some CG artists look at cute kitten clips on youtube to wind down after a working day filled with blood and gore? We also talk about other demons in popular culture, including the classic beast in “Curse of the demon” (1957) and Krampus, the hoofed goat demon who might turn up on your doorstep around Christmas if you’re on Santa’s “naughty list”…

How do you marry Motion Capture and FX to create a commercial about crash test data and car safety - inspired by modern dance? In episode #43 of our podcast Yellow Brick Road we meet two members of the Goodbye Kansas team that created the visual effects and imagery for the multi-awarded campaign “Volvo: The E.V.A. Initiative”: VFX Producer Linda Öhlund and FX guru Filip Orrby. How was the film made, how do you go about to find the right look for a film like this and how does it feel to be part of such a successful campaign?

How does it feel to animate a returning character for a commercial, is it like meeting an old friend? What kind of animation style is the most rewarding one to work with, and how do you make a plain egg express feelings? In episode #42 of our podcast Yellow Brick Road, we discuss a bunch of characters from different commercials. Senior Animator & Animation Director Rickard Engqvist and Supervising Animator & Head of Keyframe Animation Raoul Cacciamani walk down memory lane and talk about characters like the Freddy (“spokeschameleon” for Müller Milch’s Froop), Frank the Sheep (“spokessheep” for Swedish telecom brand Tele2), Vinnie (“spokeshorse” for ATG), the oddball Brilleland eyeballs and the German oldtimer Kleine Hunger (spokesperson for Müller Milch) Also: the toe fungus film that made it to Superball and a trip around the world in an animated puppet world for flygresor.se.

The mission was to show the pre-history of the Persian Gulf in 16K full CG films, involving extinct animals, underwater sceneries and even the cosmic Big Bang that started it all. The result can be seen projected on the huge gallery walls of the brand new National Museum of Qatar in Doha and in episode 41 of our podcast Yellow Brick Road we meet three key members of the Goodbye Kansas team that made it happen: VFX Producer Rebeca Cervantes, VFX Supervisor Filip Orrby and Compositing artist Hannah Myllyoja.

Everybody is talking about "Real-Time VFX" these days. But what is it and how can it be used? In episode 40 of Yellow Brick Road we meet Goodbye Kansas Head of Real-Time Anton Palmqvist to learn more about the reality behind this buzzword and how it already is changing our industry.

With over 55 million views online, the E3 trailer for CD Projekt Red’s "Cyberpunk 2077" is one of the most successful game trailers of all time. In episode #39 of Yellow Brick Road we meet three members of the Goodbye Kansas team that produced the trailer: director Fredrik Löfberg, Art Director Mikael Widegren and Lead Character Artist Jonas Skoog.

This week the Yellow Brick Road leads to Sherwood Forest! Robin Hood has been roaming cinema screens since 1908. Yellow Brick Road’s Nils Lagergren and Executive Producers Matilda Olsson and Anton Söderhäll discuss their favourites from these 111 years of outlaws wearing green tights. Why is the legend of Robin Hood so successful? What ingredients must a good Robin Hood film include? How did they solve arrow shots before the age of CG? And is it actually possible to shoot arrows as fast as Taron Eggerton in the latest Robin Hood film?

This week is question time at Yellow Brick Road. Senior Concept & Character Artist Jonas Törnqvist and Department Coordinator Adam Vadi Dris from Goodbye Kansas Studios in Stockholm answer some of the questions we’ve received from listeners and VFX students. What’s the hardest thing about creating Digital Humans, how do you create a great student showreel and how do you evolve and keep your passion as a VFX artist?

Welcome to the world of the great Netflix series "A Series of Unfortunate Events" as Yellow Brick Road’s Nils Lagergren discuss the art of eagle animation with Lead Animator and Supervisor Christina Sidoti. How were the eagle shots in season 3 created? How do you make a CG bird fly in a convincing way and why do we love the world of “Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events” so much?

Goodbye Kansas cineasts Sandra Frisell and Harrison Ryder list their top 10 romantic film favorites. Also: can a horror film be romantic, how can VFX be used for romantic effect and are there any romantic games out there?

VFX Supervisor Andreas Cronström and CG Supervisor Joakim Olsson talk about their work on the hit series “The Walking Dead”, including the “Walkerfall” effects of episode 905 and the gruesome Grinder sequence in episode 810. Also: memories from the shoot in Atlanta, do walkers have nicknames and do you ever get used to watching horrible reference videos?

Ho-ho-hoo! In episode 33, Yellow Brick Road’s Nils Lagergren is joined by Christmas film connoisseurs Matilda Olsson and Anton Söderhäll in search of the best and worst Christmas films through the years. Prepare for good and bad Santas, guilty pleasures and unmissable classics. And a lot of Christmas spirit!

Conan the Barbarian is back on Yellow Brick Road! Director Emnet Mulugeta, Art Director Gustaf Holmsten and Technical Director Simon Rainerson takes us behind the scenes of the production of the epic announcement trailer for Funcom’s brand new strategy game “Conan Unconquered”. How was the trailer made, what films inspired the look and how do you create – and command - an army of 28.000 digital solders?

In the launch trailer for Starbreeze’s game ”Overkill’s The Walking Dead” we meet the four main characters of the game on one of their missions, a night raid into an enemy camp surrounded by undead walkers. In ep#31 of Yellow Brick Road Director Fred Löfberg and Art Director Mikael Widegren takes us behind the scenes. How was the trailer made, and how does it feel now when the fifth and last trailer for the game is released, roughly two years after the start of this massive trailer project?

Cartoons are more than just funny animated short films, sometimes they can inspire kids to grow up to become animators themselves. Follow Lead Animator and Supervisor Christina Sidoti and Senior Animator & Director Richard Engqvist for a stroll down memory lane as they discuss the cartoons that shaped their childhood and evoked their love for animation. Is it possible to watch too much cartoons and how will today’s unlimited access to animated entertainment affect the future of the kids that grow up today?

The VFX industry of today is very much a digital industry, but how did all that start? VFX Supervisor Filip Orrby and CG Supervisor Joakim Olsson takes us for a walk down Yellow Brick Road in search of the origins of the softwares we use today. How did the pioneers create the early digital effects in the late 1900s, what softwares did they use and which films were the milestones in this evolution?

Fredrikstad Animation Festival in Norway is one of the oldest Animation Festivals in the Nordics. Producer Johan Edström and Senior Animator Jonas Forsman talks about this year’s edition and list their favorite films. Jonas also talks about his animated short “Robot and the Whale”. Is it hard to produce animated films in the Nordics and how do you go about to get funding?

Yellow Brick Road’s Nils Lagergren ventures into the shadows with horror film cineasts Anton Söderhäll and Samuel Tyskling. What horror films are their favorites, what makes a film scary and why do we love to be scared? We revisit classics like “The Exorcist”, “Halloween, “The Thing”, “Silent Hill” and “The Blair Witch Project”. And dive into recent scary ones like Aronofsky’s “Mother” and the blood soaked revenge of Nicholas Cage in “Mandy”.

This week we roll out the red carpet on the Yellow Brick Road and take a closer look at the upcoming 29th Stockholm International Film Festival. Three devoted cineasts from Goodbye Kansas – Harrison Ryder, Sandra Frisell and Denys Holovyanko - talk about this year’s line up and list their favorites.

In episode #25 we meet Compositing Supervisor Jim Parsons from Goodbye Kansas Studios in London and talk about the VFX work on the TV series “A Discovery of Witches”. How do you convey “vampire speed” without making it look silly, why have vampires started to drink wine and how has the portrayal of vampires and witches evolved through the years?

In episode #24 we discuss the VFX work on Oscar winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s new film “Never Look Away”. VFX Supervisor Ben White and Art Director & Environment Supervisor Raf Morant from Goodbye Kansas Studios in London talk about how they recreated the massive WW2 bombings of Dresden for the film, how to convey a creative vision through VFX and how destruction VFX techniques have evolved through the years.

Did you know that every 10th person in the world has played a Swedish computer game? This week it’s all about gaming in Yellow Brick Road, as we talk about the new Game Exposition “Play Beyond Play” at the Swedish National Museum of Science & Technology in Stockholm. Per Strömbäck from the Swedish trade association for video game companies and Sebastian Flavet from National Museum of Science & Technology discuss how Sweden could get so good at creating great games. Has Ingmar Bergman something to do with it? And are museums and computer games actually more closely related than for example movies and games?

In episode 22 we dive into the wonderful world of Kaijus, gigantic monsters wrecking havoc in countless films filled with plenty of VFX and both amazing and silly creatures of really great size. Movie buffs Matilda Olsson and Denys Holovyanko discuss Godzilla, Mothra, Hedorah and all their friends, enemies and followers. What Kaiju films are the best – and worst. And why do we love that genre so much?

Meet some mean and green goblins and ogres as we talk about the production of the game trailer for the German game ”Warlords of Aternum”. Director Rickard Engqvist and VFX Supervisor Henrik Eklundh share memories from the production.

In episode #20 we visit the Nordsken Festival of Games, Culture & Creativity in Skellefteå. We meet the legendary game veteran Fred Malmberg, the godfather of RPG in Sweden, creator of classic games like Mutant and Dragons & Demons and step-father of Conan the Barbarian. We also meet VFX Artists Joakim Olsson and Denys Holovyanko, talking about the VR Experiences at the Goodbye Kansas booth, including a very special mutant duck and a hammer-throwing Norse god.