For 'Schneider vs Bax' we treated almost 300 shots, removing elements such as electricity poles, houses and distinctive flora from the landscape surrounding the main location of the film, the house of Bax. The result is an almost surreal reed landscape, that causes the focus to shift even more to the story and characters. The desolate setting is reminiscent of old western movies.
To achieve this result, the vfx team divided the natural environment in the film into the four compass points, and for each direction determined what the landscape should look like. A team of eight compositors then split into four groups, with each subgroup responsible for cleaning up the landscape from their paricular perspective.
We also worked on other scenes, such as the scene where Bax shoots a thumb of a hand.
Schneider vs. Bax was nominated for the Dutch Film Festival Awards 2015 (the 'Golden Calves'), a.o. for 'Best Film', 'Best Director', 'Best Cinematography', and 'Best Editing'.
During the annual NVX VFX Awards at the Dutch Film Festival, the film received a Special Mention.
Schneider, a hit man, gets a call from Mertens on the morning of his birthday. He has a rush job for Schneider who refuses it, because it is his birthday and he has promised Lucy, his wife, to help her with the preparations for the dinner party. Mertens insists that it is an important matter. When they meet in Mertens’ office, Schneider is told that the target is Ramon Bax, a writer. He lives alone in a secluded place. “It’s an easy job. With a little luck you’re back home before noon.” Reluctantly Schneider accepts the assignment, but what seems to be a simple job turns out to be more than expected.
