Crafty Apes cooks up some tasty VFX for The Menu

Under the leadership of VFX Supervisor Marc Smith, Crafty Apes handled a significant portion of the visual effects for The Menu, contributing to over 300 shots in the film. Their work was primarily focused on enhancing the environment and maintaining continuity throughout the movie, especially concerning the restaurant's interior and exterior scenes.

One of their major tasks was to create the restaurant's setting, ensuring it felt like a seamless part of the coastal island where the story takes place. For the exterior shots, Crafty Apes extended the CG environment to include elements like the restaurant's roof and chimneys, integrating these with the actual footage shot on location in Savannah, Georgia. They also adjusted the environment to create the illusion of isolation by digitally separating the island from the mainland.

Inside the restaurant, a key challenge was managing the time-of-day changes visible through the windows. Crafty Apes used bluescreen techniques and array footage captured at different times of the day to composite realistic ocean views and sky changes, matching the progression from daylight to dusk as the movie unfolds. This meticulous attention to detail was crucial to maintaining the film's immersive atmosphere.

In addition to environmental work, Crafty Apes was responsible for several other VFX tasks, including subtle gore enhancements and complex shots like the close-up of Chef Slowik's hand dropping coal, which was entirely created using CG elements and composited footage.
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