As VFX Co-Supervisor, Bastien Chauvet played a central role in shaping the film’s visual identity, helping translate the unique tone of this horror-comedy into a cohesive and expressive visual language.
In this interview, he shares insights into the creative and technical challenges behind the 541 VFX shots produced for Cold Storage, the collaborative workflow between teams in Paris and Bangalore, and the artistic decisions that brought the film’s unsettling world to life in close partnership with production, including StudioCanal and the filmmakers.
Can you give us your overall view of the VFX work on Cold Storage?
Cold Storage stands out not just for its scale, but for the incredible diversity of VFX work: set extensions, atmospheric effects, digital makeup, rolling shots, gore effects, full-CG macro sequences, mutant vegetation, creatures, and explosions. The project truly involved every department.
This variety meant we produced a massive amount of assets and templates to support the film’s creative needs. Each sequence brought its own challenges and required close collaboration across MPC teams to bring the director’s vision to life.
How was supervision structured on a project of this size?
The initial workload was too large for a single supervisor, especially since MPC was the sole vendor on the project. Unlike many large productions today, the work was not split between multiple studios. On projects with 800, 1000, or even 2000 shots, you often see a general supervisor with sequence supervisors or co-supervision. For this project, we opted for co-supervision.
I personally focused on digital makeup sequences and invested heavily in preparing and directing major sequences, including the cockroach, the lab, the explosion, and the RatKings. Finishing and deliveries were handled by Nikolas d’Andrade, my co-supervisor on the project.
How did you coordinate with StudioCanal, production, and the directors?
We had one or two meetings per week with all creative and production teams. The trickiest part was finding a direction that satisfied everyone. Cold Storage is a horror-comedy that evokes many childhood memories, so visions varied: some imagined an 80s aesthetic, others not; some wanted gore, others a more grotesque style. The film walks a fine line between humor, gore, grotesque, and social satire, and we had to visually balance all of that. David Koepp, as writer and producer, was our primary reference. Since this was an adaptation of his own book, it was his world.
With 431 people involved at MPC, how were teams organized?
Paris supervised the project and delivered the majority of shots. Bangalore worked on matchmove, roto, cleans, assets, and creatures, such as the RatKing rats. They also handled entire compositing sequences, including car and airport scenes. It was essential to integrate everyone into the team. Bangalore did an outstanding job. I especially want to thank Adrien Daugy, Joris Vanbierviet, and Rudy Cretenet for linking the departments – and Superviseur Prep/Roto Kishore Boloor, and Lead Comp Ramkumar.
Organization was fairly classic: 3D departments started with asset creation to enable early animation. In parallel, work began on the final explosion sequence. Even though it was only three shots in the first cut, it was already massive. FX teams focused on developing the Fungus, finding ways to animate it easily according to the creative team’s needs. Compositing, supervised by Niranjan Sivagurunathan and led by Sébastien Podsiadlo, Erwan Andrieux, and Sébastien Regert, began with autonomous shots like atmospheric effects or digital makeup, covering a wide range of VFX types.
Creatively and technically, what were the main focuses of the VFX work?
The Fungus was the star and main creative focus of the film. Making a fungus or plant feel menacing is difficult. David Koepp wanted it to have a personality without a face, so everything relied on animation and visuals.
We experimented with more or less mutant or alien approaches, giving it a lifecycle and species-specific behavior: What does it seek? How does it spread? Does it grow uniformly? Can it project new “branches”? – the blob was a major inspiration.
Benjamin Saurine’s team developed a procedural system to animate the Fungus with precision. In terms of time and complexity, the final explosion sequence and macro-visions were the heaviest. Badre Bouziar, lighting supervisor played a crucial role on it. The explosion, co-directed by Tristan Février (environments) and Arnaud Dodane (simulations), initially had three drone shots, but the climax expanded to ten shots, including CG car inserts and close-ups of destruction. Previs for the explosion was developed in Unreal by Ersan Musa, enabling real-time interactive sessions with the clients. While this provided an immediate and intuitive way to explore the sequence creatively, it also highlighted the difference between real-time visualization and the significantly longer processing time required for final high-quality renders. Macro-visions were narratively crucial, showing the Fungus infiltrating matter and contaminating hosts. This required shifting from human to macro/microscopic scale, maintaining coherence, and visually signaling the Fungus’ presence, often through consistent color design. The style evolved from intentionally large, 80s-inspired virtual sets to a more modern, fluid camera approach.
Were there specific challenges with creatures, environments, or organic effects like the Fungus?
Creature concepts, developed by Vivien “Looky” Chauvet and Elora Meunier during filming, were initially “zombified” animals. Early SFX puppets were enhanced with breathing, blinking, or movements impossible on set, eventually replaced by 3D models.
Once concepts were approved, our asset team, led by Philippe Zozor, André Monterro (LookDev), and Marine Sisnaki (rigging), developed the zombie cat, cockroach, deer, and digital doubles. Animation, led by Samy Fecih with Benjamin Perrera and Alaric Mahu, brought these creatures to life.
Except for the final sequence, Christophe “Tchook” Courgeau’s team, supervised by Alexia and Jessica Ferry, managed environments: set extensions, Fungus additions, transforming the location into a military base, and a 20-year timelapse at the film’s start. Choregraphy was crucial to convey information while maintaining the strobe effect inherent to timelapse. As the shot evolved into a crane move, asset resolution had to be increased, adding detail to preserve immersion.
A memorable shot?
Often, the most memorable shots are the simplest but capture the film’s spirit. I particularly remember the lab sequences where characters first discover the Fungus and later see the same room completely infested. Both are dark, with intermittent red light, conveying the strangeness and threat felt by the characters. I also love “inside” explosion shots—brief, clever combinations of simulations, stock footage, and matte painting that feel alive and dynamic.
Final word?
We hired several juniors—Emma, Virginie, Antoine, Julien, Elora—who gained their first experience on the project. In a period when hiring slowed due to industry crises, it was vital to continue offering opportunities and training. We also aimed for a gender-balanced team; our RIG department was nearly 100% female, helping ensure future leadership roles aren’t male-dominated. Progress isn’t just technological.
I want to thank production teams, whose behind-the-scenes work keeps everything from collapsing. They not only manage schedules and client relations but also support the artists, acting as a crucial link with management. Special thanks to Fanny Bilani and Alice Neichols, who started the project with me, and Reda Seddar and Zoé Karadi, whom I could particularly rely on throughout the journey.
