The Real Charlie Chaplin  A Feature documentrary film

Credits

Directors - Peter Middleton and James Spinney

Production Company - Passion Pictures and Archer’s Mark

VFX Design, Post-Production - Yasuyuki Otsuki

As a VFX designer for this feature documentary, I was responsible for key post-production elements, including motion design, compositing, and upscaling low-quality footage.

From the award-winning directors behind Notes on Blindness comes a contemporary take on cinema’s most iconic figure. In an innovative blend of newly-unearthed audio recordings, dramatic reconstructions, and personal archives, the film traces Charlie Chaplin’s meteoric rise from the slums of Victorian London to the heights of Hollywood superstardom, before his scandalous fall from grace.

Initial Rostrum effect test

The film features numerous scanned photographs and stills. Rather than using them in their original form, the filmmakers enhanced them with subtle, analog effects that feel tactile and unobtrusive—such as a rostrum camera effect. (A rostrum camera is a specialized camera used in television production and filmmaking to animate still images or objects.)

Prologue

Along with the rostrum effect, subtle touches like flicker, lens effects, and film grain enhance the analog feel.

The Little Man, The Little Fellow, The Tramp

He Can’t talk

I incorporated film burn effects, dirt, scratches, and filmy artifacts into the sequence. I also added judder transitions to achieve a more dynamic and stylized look.

FBI

Throughout the film, we feature numerous sequences incorporating scanned photographs and documents. Below is an example that demonstrates this consistent visual style.

Name tag Animation

VFX Compositing

Here are several examples of compositing shots I created:

End Credits

Trailer Graphics