Visual Effects Case Study: 7 Days: Blood Moons Trailer

An actor jams a dull wooden board under the chin of an actor in zombie makeup

VFX by Foxtrot X-Ray: A survivor impales a zombie under the chin with a sharpened wooden board as blood flies everywhere

A zombie is impaled through the chin with a digitally-extended board in 7 Days: Blood Moons. Move the slider to toggle between before and after.

Project Type

Game Trailer

Production Company

Fictive Media

Director

Mark Bristol

Gun VFX

“Foxtrot X-Ray was a tremendous partner in creating the 7 Days to Die: Blood Moons live-action trailer. Laura Skowronski Nattam was an organized and dedicated VFX producer who delivered a precise bid in preproduction. During production, she kept Fictive Media informed, on schedule, and on budget. Owner and VFX maestro, Paul DeNigris was passionate about the project and his team put every penny into the quality of the final product. I highly recommend their team and I greatly look forward to to working with them again.”

— Mark Bristol, producer/director

Foxtrot X-Ray collaborated with Fictive Media, providing visual effects support for their work on the game trailer for the zombie survival game 7 Days: Blood Moons. Foxtrot X-Ray’s Laura Skowronski Nattam served as both VFX Producer and On-Set VFX Supervisor, working with the Austin, TX-based Fictive Media team during their 2-day shoot on the virtual production stage at Stray Vista Studios. Stray Vista oversaw all the in-camera VFX (ICVFX) including the Unreal Engine world for the post-apocalyptic desert environment. Foxtrot X-Ray stepped in during post to provide muzzle flashes, blood splatter, zombie possession FX such as glowing eyes and the cursed glow raining down from above, the layered wide shot comp of the zombie horde, the rising of the blood moon through the heat waves, and the animated logo treatment at the end. One shot (seen above) also involved replacing a stunt-safe prop with a CG-rendered sharpened wooden stake upon which one of the zombies is impaled.

Using VFX to create gunfire is an effective way to maintain safety during production. To learn more about firearms safety on film sets, listen to Paul DeNigris discuss firearms and VFX with multiple filmmakers on the VFX for Indies podcast.

Other projects featuring similar effects by Foxtrot X-Ray include The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, KillHer, and What is Buried Must Remain. See more about our expertise with Horror VFX!

To discuss how Foxtrot X-Ray can create intense, high-action VFX for your projects, schedule a meeting with our team of professionals today.

Check out the full trailer and some of our VFX shots below.