To bring to life the period drama based off the original writings of Bruce Lee, showrunner and Executive Producer Jonathan Tropper, Executive Producer Justin Lin, and Executive Producer Shannon Lee teamed up with Emmy-winning visual effects company Zoic Studios on Cinemax’s new action drama series “Warrior.” The series debuted on Cinemax on April 5, 2019, at 10 pm.
The series is set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the aftermath of the Civil War, telling the story of a young martial arts prodigy, newly arrived from China, who finds himself caught up in the bloody Chinatown Tong wars.
Zoic VFX Supervisor Nathan Overstrom worked closely with the on-set VFX team, leading Zoic’s in-house artists in their NYC studio to craft up to 60+ shots for each of the season’s 10 episodes. Careful to maintain the integrity of the meticulously curated period set design and world-class fight choreography, the visual effects further immerses viewers into the visceral, action-packed landscape of “Warrior.” Effects included a significant amount of stylized gore and blood work, sweeping set extensions, digital doubles and cleanup.
The Zoic team worked carefully to accentuate the stunning in-camera visuals and stunts without taking away from the carefully crafted visual composition and period narrative. The gore was informed by the approach Zoic has continued to perfect over their 17-year tenure through award-winning work on such top series as “True Blood,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Walking Dead,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Hemlock Grove,” “Santa Clarita Diet” and more. Honing in on the gore effects as a mechanism for plot building, the blood-soaked VFX moments serve as a visual manifestation of the turf war at play.
Zoic Co-Founder/Partner and director Loni Peristere (“American Horror Story,” “Banshee,” “A Series of Unfortunate Events”) helmed four of the 10 episodes for Season 1 and began working with the Zoic team early in the previs process. His existing creative shorthand with the Zoic team allowed them to maximize their creative efforts towards a continually refining their creative and technical approach for every VFX shot.
The project marks a continued collaboration with Tropper, with Zoic having worked closely with the accomplished showrunner on three seasons of the Emmy-winning action series “Banshee.”