STARNO contributed specialized Matte Painting and digital environment work to the critically acclaimed miniseries Alias Grace. Based on the award-winning novel by Margaret Atwood, the production required a meticulous level of historical accuracy to recreate 19th-century Upper Canada.
The core of our mission involved a complex historical reconstitution across several key sequences. This included digital cleanups and the architectural reconstruction of period-accurate environments that were essential to ground the narrative in its mid-1800s setting. From rural landscapes to urban textures, every detail was crafted to match the show’s high production standards and cinematic look.
The exceptional quality of the visual effects on this series was recognized industry-wide; the team was notably nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards. This intricate world-building was executed by Frédéric St-Arnaud, acting as a Matte Painting Freelancer for the VFX studio Rocket Science.
Based on the true story of Grace Marks, Alias Grace follows a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who is convicted of the brutal murders of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery, in 1843.
While Grace is sentenced to life in prison, she becomes a cause célèbre, with many questioning whether she was actually involved in the murders or if she was an unwitting accessory. The story unfolds as a psychiatrist, Dr. Simon Jordan, arrives to interview Grace to determine if she should be pardoned on the grounds of insanity, leading the audience through a haunting exploration of memory, social class, and the female experience in the Victorian era.
STARNO TEAM:Frédéric St-Arnaud
Rocket Science VFX
Netflix / CBC Miniseries – 2017