The creators of the series “3 Body Problem,” David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo, wanted to make a unique entrance for the characters Jin Cheng and Thomas Wade. However, they felt that something was missing in the scene. To find inspiration, they turned to the sci-fi series “Severance.”
Benioff mentioned that they were influenced by the elevator scenes in “Severance,” particularly the camera effect used. They wanted to create a similar effect where the characters’ eyes merged and then separated again.
During a discussion with Variety, the cast and crew, including visual effects producer Steve Kullback and co-director Minkie Spiro, talked about the challenges they faced in bringing the extraterrestrial thriller to life. One of the challenges was dealing with the reflective headgear used in the virtual world of “3 Body Problem.”
Kullback explained that they had to shoot a tiled image of every square inch of the sets to create a photograph that could be reprojected onto the headsets. This was necessary to remove the reflections of the crew and equipment in the environment.
Another challenging sequence was the “you are bugs” moment, where a giant eyeball is projected into the sky to announce the arrival of the interstellar invaders. Benioff mentioned that they considered various options to show the aliens’ superiority, eventually settling on the eye.
Despite the challenges, the team is confident about the future of “3 Body Problem” and believe they can bring the story to a satisfying conclusion by the end of the series. They have the necessary resources and hours to achieve their vision.
The full conversation can be viewed above, and “Making a Scene” is presented by HBO.