Apple TV+’s Severance isn’t just a story about splitting work and life; it’s a masterclass in visual effects. Despite looking clean and simple, the show's pared-back offices are layered with hidden effects. The Emmy-winning series relies on ILM and Mango FX to make its surreal offices, landscapes, and jaw-dropping sequences feel completely real.
Visual effects technology has come a long way. Today, the challenge isn’t just creating something that looks cool; it’s making it indistinguishable from reality. Even tiny mistakes can pull viewers out of the story, so precision is everything. For Severance, that meant blending CGI and practical locations flawlessly, using the best 3D modelling software, whether it was an everyday office or a disorienting hallway that defies logic.
VFX work started in season one with early tests on select shots, long before anyone knew how the show would land. By season two, the complexity skyrocketed. The team produced over 3,000 VFX shots, enough to make five feature films in the time it normally takes to complete one.
Some shots were composites of ten separate elements, with three different studios each handling parts of the same shot. Coordination at this scale was possible thanks to Flow Production Tracking, keeping every studio and department in sync.
Software choices were crucial. Autodesk Flame was able to handle the speed and scalability required to process thousands of shots across multiple studios. 3ds Max added environmental touches, such as snow, icebergs, and other details, that grounded surreal locations, like Newfoundland, Canada, in a believable reality.
Fresh off eight Emmys at the 77th ceremony, Severance is celebrated for its haunting story. Behind the scenes, though, its success came from collaboration and workflow integration. ILM and Mango VFX worked hand in hand to deliver some of the series’ most memorable sequences, using Flame, 3ds Max, and Flow Production Tracking to turn high-concept ideas into fully realized, immersive worlds.
An exclusive video segment shows (above) exactly how the teams brought Severance’s strange but believable world to life, shot by shot.
