“The Penguin” is an Emmy-nominated, HBO Original that follows Oswald “Oz” Cobb, aka the Penguin, as he makes a play to seize the reins of the crime world in Gotham. Starring Cristin Milioti and a completely transformed Colin Farrell, this gritty, gripping series brings audiences deeper into unexplored corners of the Batman universe.
VFX Editor Erin Sullivan worked closely with the series editors, directors and VFX artists to craft one of the most detailed representations of Gotham yet. She specifically relied on Premiere Pro and After Effects for all her creative world-building – from organizing 360° footage of Manhattan to turn into the series’ crime-stricken backdrop, to bringing surreal dream sequences to life.
Read on for more details on Sullivan’s intricate VFX workflow, and don’t forget to check out the series – streaming now on HBO Max.
How did you first get into VFX editing? What drew you to it?
VFX editing is somewhat of a niche trade. Even within the industry, I’m not sure many people fully understand what the role entails. Because the editor and director shape the film, the story can change daily, so the VFX editor has to track those changes closely to ensure the visual effects align accurately with the evolving cut. It’s a complex and collaborative process.
I enjoy the challenge of the puzzle. I love working with the directing and editing teams on early VFX concepts, and then translating those ideas and timelines to the VFX supervisor and artists around the world. On a large production, there’s a lot at stake in terms of schedule and budget, so I love environments where everyone on the team is fully invested in the small details.
What was the inspiration behind your VFX work on this series? What were you trying to achieve?
I was inspired by the showrunner, Lauren LeFranc. She crafted a dark and beautiful show that inspired everyone to deliver their best work, yet it was still a pleasant place to come to every day. That’s a hard balance to strike. She and Johnny Han, the VFX Supervisor, really focused on the nuance and detail of the story within each VFX shot, and I think that commitment resonated with everyone. We all jumped at the opportunity to contribute.
What Adobe tools did you use on this project and why did you originally choose them?
During pre-production, I frequently traveled between the edit suite in Manhattan and our production stages in the Bronx. The flexibility of Adobe’s media management tools was essential. It allowed me to simply grab a drive and go.
I used Premiere Pro to review our GoPro 360° footage from the driving scouts around Manhattan. Our VFX On-Set Supervisor, Alexandre Prod’homme, mounted the camera to a car to scout the city for environments that would become Gotham. I organized the footage into timelines and edited to the beat of the scripts, adding text with dialogue so the directors and assistant directors could get a true sense of timing for the scene. It was especially helpful that Premiere Pro allows you to toggle between the flat VR view and the 360° view, giving the director a better sense of how the GoPro 360° footage might translate to the big screen.
Later in the shooting schedule, while we were filming on the virtual production stage with the Penguin’s Maserati, I’d be off to the side with my laptop and hard drive, tracking everything in Premiere. I followed along in real time, scrubbing through the playback footage and exporting adjustments in real time.
Describe your favorite piece or component of the project. How did it come together?
We had the opportunity to create movement content for playback in Victor’s PTSD nightmare in Episode 3, and I used Adobe Creative Cloud to bring it all together. We built a lightbox on the stage in the Bronx and filmed a segment with six dancers, and I edited the footage in Premiere Pro. I love working with the dance content in Premiere because its tools feel much more fluid than other platforms, especially when editing movement and music. I especially liked using Dynamic Link, which eliminates intermediate rendering between Premiere and After Effects.
Once the rhythm was locked in the dance scene, I collected the media and sent the project file to our VFX artist, Takashi Takeoka, and he refined and brought it to final. Johnny would often mock-up ideas with footage then collect the media and send his After Effects files to the artists. It’s a great way to demo a blueprint of intention with all the layers and keyframes intact.
What were some specific challenges you faced? How did you go about solving them?
I always joke that if anyone outside the edit room heard the conversations that go into post-production, it would be embarrassing, just because of the sheer level of minutiae we care about so passionately. Delivering a film is so complex; everyone on the team has to believe that every frame and pixel matters, or the whole thing falls apart.
At the end of the day, you have to remember, it’s all make-believe, so you go home. I think work-life balance is overlooked in VFX and post-production, but it shouldn’t be. The work is better when the people creating it are healthy and rested and happy.
If you could share one tip about any or multiple Adobe tools you used, what would it be?
The Premiere Pro nest tool will always be my favorite thing. I’ll make a really long montage then drop a 2000% speed, and I find it so satisfying.
What’s the toughest thing you’ve had to face in your career and how did you overcome it?
I’m not sure there’s one singular moment that stands out as the toughest. I don’t know if it’s been grit or sheer delusion that’s got me to this current day. Working in this city is definitely hard.
Especially given the current state of the industry; it’s challenging to feel a sense of long-term stability in a space that’s constantly shifting. But, I’ve held onto the belief that whether you’re a writer, actor, or VFX artist, you have to believe in your own timeline. The goalpost is always moving. Everyone’s path is shaped by relative backgrounds, resources, and privilege, so comparison is rarely helpful.
What advice do you have for people aspiring to get into the VFX space?
Start with the fine arts. Draw, paint, and study the fundamentals. Those skills will shape the way you see the world and that’s the foundation for everything in visual storytelling.