Union VFX delivered 234 shots for ‘How to Make a Killing’, the black comedy directed by John Patton Ford and starring Glen Powell. The film follows Beckett Redfellow, a man disowned at birth by his wealthy family, as he stops at nothing to reclaim the inheritance he believes is rightfully his. 

Working with A24 and StudioCanal Union's contribution was overseen by VFX Supervisor Simon Hughes & VFX Producer Sean Power, working with Maria Peralta-Ramos & Dean Koonjul for DFX.

A significant portion of Union's work centred on establishing the film's environments. The team subtly extended the Redfellow Mansion to give the family's estate a more imposing scale, and created a cobblestone street set extension to broaden the film's period-inflected exterior locations. 

To firmly centre the story in New York City, Union produced digital matte paintings depicting the city in both day and night, along with painted environments for the family mausoleum; a location central to the film.

Union also created a CG helicopter and added rotating blades outside the mansion's windows.

The film's centrepiece action sequence is a chaotic shootout which required Union to maintain continuity across a barrage of practical and digital chaos comprising an exploding couch, a shattering chandelier, an arrow wound to the neck, gore effects, and splintered wood scattered throughout the room. 

Elsewhere in the film, Union created a trophy broken with a sword, along with rain and atmospheric effects used to enhance mood and tone across multiple scenes.

'How to Make a Killing' is streaming now.