The Cambridge-based studio returns as sole vendor on the ITV crime drama, delivering 336 shots and 94 sequences combining fire simulation, Gaussian splatting, and invisible effects to support the series’ expanded environmental scope.
Vine FX has completed visual effects work as the sole vendor on Season 2 of After the Flood, employing a hybrid workflow combining fire simulation, terrain reconstruction, and invisible effects to deliver 336 shots and 94 sequences spanning all six episodes.
The ITV crime thriller, produced by Quay Street Productions, returns one year after the catastrophic flooding of Waterside, with DI Jo Marshall investigating a new case set against simmering moorland fires and renewed flood risk, expanding the show’s environmental scope and visual demands.
“There was a real spirit of creativity on set, especially as we had established a great relationship with Director Azhur Saleem and the QSP team on Season 1,” said Michael Illingworth, Executive VFX Supervisor. “Azhur trusted us to explore bold ideas, and we were able to take on much more ambitious shots as the collaboration evolved during filming.”
“Being part of those early recces meant that the team and I could offer direct insights on what was captured on set, which made a huge difference for our work, such as the Gaussian Splatting, later in the pipeline,” he added.
For the season’s opening episode, the team developed extensive moorland fire sequences filmed on protected terrain where practical burns were restricted. “A lot of our initial work was the big fire sequence in Episode One,” said Kaitlyn Beattie, Executive Producer. “It was filmed in a protected area, so they couldn’t actually burn anything on it. Our job was to build upon the smoke captured on set, using a combination of 3D and 2D techniques and close collaboration among departments to bring everything together.”
“We gathered reference photography and studied how grass and smoke behave, which is very different from structural fires,” said VFX Supervisor Alesja Surubkina. “Using custom fire simulation systems, procedural controls, and wildfire references, the team created varied fire behavior across scales without repetition.”
CG Supervisor Tim Kilgour added, “The fires had to feel natural at every scale, from wide open landscapes to closer medium shots, without repetition. We couldn’t rely on a single asset repeated across shots, it had to feel random and organically develop over time.”
A key technical focus for the season’s climax involved reconstructing a low cliff edge into a more dramatic environment using hybrid workflows. The team combined drone-captured photography with Gaussian splats, generating volumetric scene representations built from spatially solved image data rather than traditional mesh geometry.
“We start with photography and solve for camera positions, which gives us a spatial understanding of the scene,” said Research and Development Engineer Peter Noble. “From that, we train Gaussian splats, points that carry colour and can vary in shape and density, to reconstruct the environment.”
“The splats form a highly realistic base because they directly represent what was captured in the real world,” he continued. “But the tools are still evolving, so when stitching different areas together or resolving gaps and edges, we relied on CG and compositing to smooth those transitions and maintain continuity across the environment.”
“We saw real progression on this show from earlier experimentation to a production-ready workflow,” said CG Lead Jake Newton. “The hybrid approach brought together the strengths of each technique we had at hand.”
Simon Carr, VFX Supervisor and Creative Director, described how beyond large-scale simulations, Vine FX delivered extensive invisible effects including photographic inserts, continuity fixes, and performance enhancements. There were a large number of shots involving photographic inserts, incident boards, CCTV frames, and scenes that hadn’t yet been filmed.
“For performance work, the team applied face-tracking techniques to integrate subtle details such as blood, sweat, and injuries while maintaining focus on actors’ performances,” he said. “With this type of work, it’s always about supporting the story, not drawing attention to the VFX.”
Water simulation also played a role in maintaining continuity with the first season, including a detailed shot of a flood wall constructed after earlier events. What was nominally a small shot - adding a flood wall and water - was given detailed treatment to appear real and consequential.
All six episodes of After the Flood Season 2 are currently streaming on ITV.
Source: Vine FX
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
