fxpodcast #249: Iron Man 3 – Erik Nash, DD

This week we talk to Digital Domain’s visual effects supervisor Erik Nash about the blockbuster Iron Man 3 from director Shane Black.

Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach seems to know no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a quest to find those responsible.

DD created approximately 300 shots total, of which approx. 250 ended up in the movie, under the production VFX supervisor Chris Townsend. Chris was also VFX supervisor on Captain America: The First Avenger
(among many other films).

Each of the Iron Man suits in the movie stems from Digital Domain’s design work. DD did the creative development for 14 ‘foundation’ suits, creating the complete assets for those suits that Weta and other VFX companies used in shots, and assets that other shops were able to combine to create additional original-looking suits.

Weta was the lead house on the film and worked primarily on the ending third act. See our written Iron Man 3 story for more details also published Monday May 6th.