‘Outer Banks’ VFX Supervisor Reveals the Magic Behind El Dorado in Season 3
In season 3 of Outer Banks, the search for the missing treasure continues. The $400 million from the Royal Merchant is a lost cause. By the season 3 finale, so is the Cross of Santo Domingo. Now, John B. (Chase Stokes), his father (Charles Halston), and the Pogues are in search of El Dorado.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet spoke with Outer Banks VFX Supervisor Art Codron, who talked about creating the El Dorado caves in season 3. Find out more about the filming location of those scenes and what it took to create the “City of Gold.”
El Dorado: ‘Outer Banks’ goes back to the Caribbean
John B., Big John Rutledge, and the Pogues head to Venezuela in the season 3 finale of Outer Banks. Because this is Outer Banks, they aren’t the only ones searching for El Dorado. Carlos Singh (Andy McQueen), whose ancestors were part of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1913 expedition in search of the city, is hot on their trail.
After deciphering the Gnomon of Solana, Big John, John B., and Sarah (Madelyn Cline) head into the caves. Because Big John is hurt, Sarah and John B. must go without him. They navigate through caverns of phosphorescent light and stalagmites of all shapes and sizes.
‘Outer Banks’ Season 3 filmed in an ‘extremely dramatic’ cave in Barbados
Many aspects of Outer Banks are fantastical. Speaking with Codron, we had to ask how much went into creating El Dorado. “The actors were shot in the physical set in [Barbados], South America, which was quite dramatic by itself,” Codron tells us via email. “This cave was extremely dramatic before we even did anything! The change was rather striking after we added everything.”
He added: “The general shape was the same. But so many new elements were added to tell the story. I think it is pretty safe to say that viewers will wonder, ‘Where did they shoot this?'”
El Dorado came to life through composition and computer-generated work
The cave John B. and Sarah have to venture through has many caverns, sudden drops, glowing light, and more. Codron and his team had to create a lot of the elements seen in the El Dorado caves. They relied on composition and computer-generated work to incorporate carpenter walls, gold paint, giant chunks of gold, and a flickering light that emulates a flare.
“Client-side VFX Supervisor Larry Detwiler provided us with extensive designs done by the art department, mapping out the extensive enhancements needed to make it the El Dorado cave as described in the script. We kept most of the existing rock formations and augmented them as needed.” Codron made 3D CGI sculptures of the idols on the walls. He also created the large gold “tree” John B. and Sarah discover (seen above).
Some practical effects brought the El Dorado caves to life too
“The art department design also called for gold veins throughout the cave in all shots,” Codron explained. “Accomplished via Nuke compositing software and smart vectors.” To achieve this, they used 2D matte paintings to help items blend with the practical cave.
“We are only limited by the writer’s imagination,” Codron adds. “This show has such a vast palette of visual effects it is really fun to work on and see the positive reaction of its large fanbase.”
Stream Outer Banks on Netflix.
