Luma Pictures joined forces with Netflix for the riveting action-thriller Heart of Stone, starring Gal Gadot. The film follows the journey of an intelligence operative battling to stop a hacker's attempt to seize a coveted and dangerous weapon held by a covert global peacekeeping agency.

Guided by Director Tom Harper and Production Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Breakspear, Luma's team, led by VFX Supervisor Farhad Mohasseb, was called upon to bring the thrilling Lisbon car chase sequence to life. In the sequence, Gal Gadot's character, Rachel Stone, engages in a heart-pounding chase through the historic, cobble-stone streets of Lisbon. She drives a van through the incredibly narrow street as she’s chased by numerous cars firing guns at her. “Luma's contribution encompassed seamlessly extended sets, blazing cars, explosions, and an array of full CG shots, featuring everything from CG vans and trams to SUVs, and a digital crowd,” says Farhad.

At one moment in the chase, Gadot’s character narrowly evades an old tram car, while the villains end up crashing into it and setting it ablaze. “The collision between the tram and the SUV consisted of about 15 shots. To achieve this, we crafted and animated CG models for the trams, SUV, BMW, van, and Mercedes, along with various fx elements such as smoke, sparks, and fire”, says Farhad. 

There are many invisible vfx shots within the sequence, but a notable one that stands out is a beat where the chasing vehicles, led by a BMW, race down a narrow street. 

With camera movement evident in the studio take, it was apparent that the street shot also needed to exhibit this motion. To match the car's angle and movement on set without any sliding or drifting, we reconstructed the street block using proxy geometry. By reprojecting the road onto overlapping frames and addressing disparities through painting, we maintained depth and alignment while enabling camera movement. We seamlessly reintegrated the original chasing cars, including the BMW, using a hybrid CG and practical elements workflow. This approach enabled us to preserve the BMW’s details, while seamlessly incorporating street lights, gun flashes, enhanced headlights, and even ensured realistic tire deformations and suspension responses to road irregularities.

"It was a fantastic experience working alongside both Mark and JC, with a shared emphasis on leveraging visual effects to enhance the storytelling. The creative journey flowed smoothly, and Mark consistently welcomed novel ideas and alternative approaches for tackling challenging shots or sequences. The robust in-house team on the client side proved invaluable, enabling us to focus our efforts on the intricacies of the more complex shots", recalls Farhad.