Production VFX Supervisor Hnedel Maximore and Production VFX Producer Brook Noska discuss the noir-first philosophy, dual black-and-white and color workflow, invisible visual effects, and 1930s New York worldbuilding behind Prime Video’s hit series starring Nicolas Cage.
Spider-Noir has swung onto Prime Video as something far more unusual than a conventional superhero series. Based on the Marvel comic “Spider-Man Noir,” the eight-episode live-action drama follows Ben Reilly, an aging and down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York who is forced to confront his past as the city’s only superhero.
Harry Bradbeer (Fleabag, Killing Eve) directs and executive produces the first two episodes. Oren Uziel (The Lost City, 22 Jump Street) and Steve Lightfoot (Marvel’s The Punisher, Shantaram) serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. Uziel and Lightfoot developed the series with the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse team of Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal. Lord and Miller executive produce for their shingle Lord Miller along with Aditya Sood and Dan Shear. Pascal also serves as an executive producer via Pascal Pictures. Spider-Noir is produced by Sony Pictures Television exclusively for MGM+ and Prime Video.
Hnedel Maximore serves as the production visual effects supervisor for Amazon Studios; Brook Noska serves as the production visual effects producer. VFX studios include Alchemy 24, Barnstorm VFX, Cinesite, CoSA VFX, Gentle Giant Studios, ILM, Ingenuity Studios, and Version Zero.
Starring Nicolas Cage and available in both black-and-white and color versions, the series was conceived from the outset as an experiment in blending classic film noir with comic-book mythology. For Uziel, that fusion became the foundation for nearly every creative decision. “Spider-Noir is a world at the intersection of two genres that have nothing and everything in common,” he said. “The unexpected pairing of comic-book and noir is what gave this show its beating heart: What if Humphrey Bogart, as Rick, Sam Spade, or Philip Marlowe, just happened to be Spider-Man? From there, it became the driving force of almost every creative and aesthetic choice made during the production of the show.”
That noir-first approach resonated immediately with Maximore, who pursued the project as soon as it was greenlit.
“When I heard that this project was moving ahead, I immediately asked my VFX executives at Amazon to please consider me for it,” he told AWN. “I wake up one morning, and I see an NDA and scripts in my inbox. I read them and immediately started putting together a pitch deck for my interview with the showrunners because this project was so unique. Spider-Man is the crown jewel for Sony, and you don’t always get second chances with projects of this size. I wanted to put my best foot forward and make it clear how I saw the show. I started revisiting classic noir films from the show’s bible and also looking at more contemporary work like Perry Mason to understand how a modern neo-noir approach could translate to a superhero series.”
That approach became a guiding perspective for the entire production.
“From the very beginning, our showrunner always said the quick tagline for this show is: Think Humphrey Bogart or Philip Marlowe,” Maximore said. “It’s a noir detective story with some spider abilities. But it’s a noir story first. His spider abilities just happen to be part of who he is. That approach and tone were always at the forefront. The production office, including VFX, was filled with reference imagery from films such as The Third Man, Double Indemnity, and Casablanca. The visual language was ingrained from the beginning.”
Building Two Versions of the Same Series
The resulting series stars Cage as Ben Reilly alongside Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston, and Brendan Gleeson, with a guest cast including Lukas Haas, Cameron Britton, Cary Christopher, Michael Kostroff, Scott MacArthur, Joe Massingill, Whitney Rice, Amanda Schull, Andrew Caldwell, Amy Aquino, Andrew Robinson, and Kai Caster.
A major challenge was building the series to work in both black-and-white and color. The team had to ensure neither version felt secondary; the filmmakers built the entire show around the concept that both experiences should stand on their own.
Uziel noted, “When faced with the question of color vs. black-and-white, that same core philosophy led us to the solution: What if instead of choosing black-and-white film or color, we could create a print of both? How would that affect our lighting? How would it affect production design? Costumes? By settling on our dual delivery intention early in the prep process, we were able to craft two bespoke formats for the series and open up a vividly creative world that we are excited to introduce to fans and newcomers alike. One, a black-and-white that embraced the chiaroscuro lighting of classic noir and the original comic, and the other, a color palette that combined the vibrancy of Technicolor and the boldness of the modern comic book world.”
According to Maximore, the decision evolved rapidly after production began.
“It was always meant to be black-and-white,” he revealed. “When I started, I was told it would be black-and-white, which from a visual effects standpoint meant we would shoot in color but deliver in black-and-white. Within the first week of production, we were told we were officially doing a dual delivery. Nic Cage and the producers pushed the idea that we didn’t have to commit to one format. We could explore both, and the studio embraced it.”
The production even explored shooting natively in monochrome before concluding that the practical realities of visual effects would create unnecessary complications.
“We went through an exercise of exploring whether we should shoot in black-and-white,” Maximore said. “We looked at colorization workflows and realized we were trying to reinvent the wheel. Shooting in black-and-white would create unnecessary complexity for visual effects, requiring more roto work and more difficult keying. Ultimately, we decided to shoot in color and deliver both black-and-white and color versions.”
Recreating 1930s New York
That decision influenced everything from cinematography and costume design to post-production workflows. Editorial reportedly worked primarily in black-and-white, while visual effects vendors generated multiple review versions of every shot.
“Our vendors delivered three versions of every shot: a raw version, a black-and-white version, and a color version,” Noska said. “We reviewed all three. We would examine the raw image first, then the color version, then the black-and-white version to ensure details held up in both. Ultimately, we delivered one final EXR to the colorist, who built separate black-and-white and color timelines from the same final visual effects shot.”
The complexity was only part of the visual effects load. Across eight episodes, the production generated roughly 3,250 visual effects shots, many of which were designed to remain invisible.
“There’s a ton of invisible effects,” Maximore said. “Every time you see New York outside a window or down a street, that’s us recreating 1930s New York from historical references through digital matte paintings and full 3D set extensions. Then you add the complexity of Spider-Man swinging through the city, defining how an older, middle-aged hero moves, and creating unique looks for each villain based on grounded experimentation and origin concepts.”
Although the production filmed primarily in Los Angeles using studio backlots and select downtown locations, most of the series places viewers inside a rebuilt version of 1930s Manhattan. Using historical references, matte paintings, digital environments, and set extensions, the team replaced modern Los Angeles with 1930s New York.
Designing an Older Spider-Man
“The most exciting part of the visual effects in this show is that it’s not a huge, in-your-face superhero spectacle,” Noska said. “Our visual effects support the story. Spider-Man doesn’t even want to be Spider-Man. A lot of our work was helping create 1930s New York, integrating noir aesthetics, and supporting every department’s vision. We spent enormous amounts of time testing colors. Like, the color red looks great in color, but it looks really mushy gray in black-and-white. So, what if we add more greens to it? Okay, now it looks more like a deeper red. We really like that. And it looks like a deeper black in black-and-white.”
She added, “So, we were able to really get our paintbrushes out and Bob Ross the hell out of it, just get crazy. Because we had to make everything work equally well in both versions.”
The same thinking carried over to Spider-Man’s movement and character. This Spider-Man is older, worn down, and carrying the weight of years spent fighting battles he no longer wants to fight.
“One of the biggest challenges was maintaining balance,” Maximore said. “We had to preserve the noir tone while also supporting a middle-aged Spider-Man who doesn’t really want to do this anymore. Even his web design reflects that personality. We explored many concepts before settling on a combination of an orb-weaver web and a cobweb. We added stray strands and silver highlights, almost like gray hair, because as people age, they get gray hair, so we imagined an aging Spider-Man might have aging webs as well.”
That reluctance is built into the show’s premise. Ben Reilly is not a young hero chasing adventure. He is a private investigator burdened by his past, trying to navigate a city filled with corruption, danger, and unresolved personal history.
Noska said Nicolas Cage immediately understood the distinction.
“Working alongside Nicolas Cage was both an honor and a responsibility,” Noska said. “How many people get to work alongside a powerhouse like Nic Cage? We wanted to make sure everyone understood exactly what we were doing and why. He completely understood the character. This isn’t a youthful superhero. He’s not Tom Holland. He’s not a gymnast by day. He’s a guy who enjoys an old-fashioned and a cigarette. Our job was to amplify that personality. We were able to use practical techniques and traditional filmmaking approaches wherever possible because they served the character and story.”
Testing Every Creative Choice
The team also had time before principal photography began to test how the dual-format approach would work in practice. Rather than waiting until production was underway, the filmmakers spent months evaluating how costumes, makeup, set decoration, paint colors, and lighting would translate across both presentations.
“Before we even started shooting, we were given time to experiment,” Maximore said. “We shot a mini noir-inspired film on the Sony lot using wardrobe options, paint swatches, and production design elements. Every department head was invited to the color bay to see how their choices translated into both black-and-white and color presentations. Hair, makeup, costumes, the art department—everyone was able to adjust their decisions months before principal photography began.”
The testing also brought the departments into the same room early. Costume designers, cinematographers, production designers, hair and makeup artists, visual effects artists, editorial teams and color scientists all got to see how their choices impacted the final images.
The same practical-and-digital balance applied to atmosphere. While noir imagery often depends on smoke, haze, and shafts of light, the production deliberately combined practical and digital techniques rather than relying solely on visual effects.
“A lot of the atmosphere was done practically,” Maximore said. “Our special effects department filled sets with practical atmosphere, and we were very careful that it remained consistent and controlled. When you’re looking at close-up performances, much of that atmosphere is real. In large city views, bridge sequences, or major visual effects shots, the atmosphere becomes a combination of practical elements and digital effects.”
Much of the work was meant to disappear into the mood, performances, and storytelling. The visual effects were there to support the other departments, not call attention to themselves.
Invisible Effects and Collaborative Filmmaking
“No one has really done a dual-delivery series like this before,” Noska said. “That was certainly challenging, but it was also a gift. We approached every aspect of the project with the mindset that audiences should watch both versions because each offers a different experience while telling the same story.”
Uziel described the finished series in similar terms.
“I truly believe the end result was worth the immense amount of labor that our entire crew poured into the experiment: two shows that are exactly the same, but offer viewers two unique journeys,” he noted. “We are excited for you to immerse yourself in a world that was so richly and lovingly realized by our amazing cast, led by Nicolas Cage.”
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
