Falling Skies returns this Sunday and the revolution has begun. The new season promises to bring in a much broader story and plot that expands the universe of Falling Skies far beyond the 2nd mass. A mole exists in Charleston and it’s costing them lives, so they must hurry to discover who it is. Checkout this revolution video or the new season of Falling Skies.
We recently visited Zoic Studios, the Visual Effects company behind the skitters, mechs and other CGI work on Falling Skies. While the Volm and some of the skitters are practical puppet suits worn by actors, there are still CGI versions that must be created and as part of that work, TNT and Zoic have come up with some unique and cool viral marketing ads with rules on how to save your human ass (see at the bottom of the page). These survival tip videos help bring the fans into the fold and feel like they are apart of the resistance. It also creates interaction and discussion with the fan base.
The team at Zoic and Falling Skies also hired a killer team to create viral marketing videos which included a cleaver contact lens commercial and a look behind the skitters. Played during the recent marathon, the contact lens commercial had many people fooled right up until the moment the eye worm came out. It’s a great ad and here is a peak of it below.
Added to the array of new videos and marketing, we have a few exclusive new photos to share with you from Zoic and TNT of the pre-visual work done to combine live action shots with CGI. Zoic is behind some of the most popular series on TV right now and in the past including Once Upon A Time, Battlestar Galactica and so much more. In this first visual effects shot we get a view of a group of skitters coming out of a mine shift in the season 3 opening sequence “On Thin Ice”. The photo shows the actual set piece and the CGI separated, with the finished product on the bottom.
Not all the skitters are CGI though. When close up shots are done with one on one sequences, like close-ups of Ben shoving a knife into a skitter, those are actual suits worn by an actor who is controlling the skitter. Many new pieces of alien tech are introduced at the start of season 3 but none more fierce than the Mega Mechs. Like the overlords, these are purely CGI and actors must pretend when shooting scenes with them that they are there, even though its nothing more than a stick with a tennis ball on it.
In the shot below we see Maggie shooting at a Mega Mech that is damaged but still deadly. We get to see how the live action shot with a person is combined with CGI add-ins after the fact. The end result is an epic battle to destroy and unstoppable deadly machine.
The final shot we have is from the same first hour of the Falling Skies season 3 premiere but we cannot tell you what it is. We can only tell you that as awesome as the entire scene looks, it is in fact not there. As you can see from the visual effects shot Weaver and Tom are standing on a platform looking at nothing but blue screen. The end result is an epic cavern looking down at a weapon or device under construction and from the looks of it, its alien in nature.
The mythology surrounding the Espheni and the new aliens the Volm is complex and not something that can be explained right away. Part of the season 3 premiere job is to set up an arc for that mythology by giving us new alien tech to play with and they don’t disappoint.
First up is our first look of the new de-harnessing machine provided by the Volm to humans. This device is said to safely remove the harness from the kids completely and without any side effects. So far what the Volm have told them is true, but one has to wonder if in fact there may be some underlying side effect or reason the Volm are giving us so much technology so fast. It remains to be seen just what effect this new machine will have in the war against the Espheni.
We know what happens to kids who have been harnessed too long and have it removed the old manual way, look no further than Ben and Denny. Although both had the harness removed, they were connected too long and the spikes remained, continuing to transform them and change them in ways that humans just don’t understand yet. While the benefits include super strength, agility and stamina, the human body can only take so much before it takes a toll. Just look at our friend below to see just what happens with enough time under the influence of the harness.
Many humans don’t trust anything alien, be it the Volm, rebel skitters or the ‘razorbacks’ (kids with spikes). In order to prevent a riot or mistaken identity, the rebel skitters working with Ben and an elite team of fighting super humans must distinguish themselves from normal skitters. War paint has been added to their faces in order to tell the difference between rebel and normal skitter. We wouldn’t want another Karen/Ben incident. Karen is no fool though and if the rebels can infiltrate the Espheni ranks, then the Espheni can send spies into Charleston. So who is our mole?
Be sure to checkout all our new photos released today showing a unique view of the harness removal device and a harnessed kid. Also checkout our interviews with cast members about the new season.
- Interview with Noah Wyle
- Interview with Doug Jones and Remi Aubuchon
- Interview with Maxim Knight
- Interview with Connor Jessup
- Interview with Sarah Carter
- Interview with Remi Aubuchon – Season 3 Secrets Part 1
- Interview with Remi Aubuchon – Season 3 Secrets Part 2
- Falling Skies Season 3 Spoiler Round Up
Rules For Saving Your Human Ass.
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