Bestseller Boy features a number of dreamlike scenes that were created in VFX.
In one of these scenes, we see the two main characters driving a motorbike on top of a rooftop terrace and flying off into the night sky above Amsterdam.
To create this effect we combined a drone shot of the rooftop terrace and a camera-coordinated studio shot of the actors on a rigged motorbike. The motorbike was replaced with a cg version of it to ensure that the wheels are turning. We also extended the existing pool and balcony to create a longer runway. Added smoke from the exhaust gives it the final touch.
library scene
We see a young Momo losing himself in a book in the library. The bookshelves and floor of the library in this shot were extended to create a super long corridor. The environment was remapped onto geometry and a camera movement was added in post since the actual library didn’t allow for this movement to be made.
In this scene Evelien falls from a rooftop, crash landing on a parked car. The actress was suspended on wires and actually dropped down the side of the building for several meters, landing safely on a pile of cardboard boxes. The wires were removed in post and multiple plates were combined to create the illusion that Evelien falls onto the parked car.
In a moment of confusion all Momo can see is Evelien. Each person’s face in the festival audience is replaced with that of Evelien.
Several plates of the actress were shot and used to replace the faces one by one.
To make it look like the actors are actually flying the airplane, the shots were filmed twice. For each take the actual pilot switched seats, having one of the actors sit next to him as a copilot. Combining these plates looks like the actors are flying together.
This contemporary comedy drama is inspired by the eponymous best-selling novel and the real life of rising literary star Mano Bouzamour, and his struggles as a Dutch-Moroccan millennial navigating two cultures, overnight success and identity in Amsterdam.
