We’re proud to share the official VFX breakdown of the episode that got us a nomination at the VES Awards, presented by the Visual Effects Society
@veslosangeles - one of the most respected honors in the global visual effects industry.
@buf_vfx @mpcvfx_fr @mathematic.tv
Overall supervision: Jao M’Changama
@Jao_eka @bisou.tv
Breakdown edited by the show VFX Editor: Tim Binmoeller
@wabi_sabi_yu
The nomination recognizes the work on the premiere episode, “Costa da Morte,” from Season 3 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which continues the world-renowned saga of The Walking Dead, now spanning more than fifteen years. After two seasons set in France, we opened this new chapter with Daryl and Carol emerging from the now-out-of-order Channel Tunnel, linking Paris to London.
One of the biggest challenges of this season was to recreate a post-apocalyptic London—while shooting entirely in Spain. In the opening of episode 301, we follow our characters from Aylesford Bridge to Westminster, before they sail away under Tower Bridge.
To achieve photorealism, we had to transform the bright Spanish light into a moodier, overgrown London — free from pollution, greener and strangely peaceful, inspired by the “Venice dolphins” imagery of the lockdown period. The sailing scenes were shot in a water tank in Alicante, surrounded by a fully 3D Tower Bridge environment, where we added zombie crowds wandering across the deserted structure. Westminster was filmed on a parking lot near Madrid, augmented digitally with a frozen Big Ben clock, shipwrecks on the Thames, and lush vegetation taking over the riverbanks.
Throughout this English excursion, the challenge was to balance authenticity — guided by our British director’s eye for London’s real geography — with the fresh perspective of our American characters discovering the city for the first time. The visual effects needed to support the story without ever becoming its focus, helping make this journey not just about the ruins of a city, but about finding one’s way back home.
Watch the full breakdown now.
#VESAwards #thewalkingdead #normanreedus #daryldixon #la
