Paul Santagada on mixing beauty and horror with VFX on Netflix’s Ratched

Paul Santagada discusses creating VFX for Netflix’s Ratched

FuseFX’s Paul Santagada has created visual effects for some of our favorite television series. His latest VFX work can be found on Netflix’s Ratched.

One of the first things you’ll notice about Ratched is its unsettling combination of gorgeous scenery and horrific medical procedures. That overall look was a team effort, with no small amount of input from the visual effects department.

In an exclusive interview, we chatted with Paul Santagada about his work as Visual Effects Supervisor for Ratched and touched on some of his other projects. The conversation ranged from just how much VFX contributed to the series’s ’40s aesthetic, to the constant battle between the beautiful and grotesque and how some of the best effects are sometimes those you don’t notice.

Paul Santagada on creating the great and the terrible with VFX for Ratched

HR: First of all, congratulations on being a part of Ratched. I thoroughly enjoyed it. What attracted you to this series, and what would you want our readers to know about it on a general scale?

Paul Santagada: Thanks so much, glad you liked it. Really proud of the show and all the work that went into it. The setting and the intensity of the show really drew me in from the first script. The important things to know going in are that it’s the origin story of Mildred Ratched, the iconic antagonist of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Don’t worry if you’ve never seen or read that though; it’s a suspenseful original story that’s great on its own as well.

Hidden Remote: When previewing the episodes, I was stricken by the contrast between the beautiful scenery and the disturbing nature of what was actually going on. Could you talk a little bit about how VFX played a role in each side of the show’s look?

Paul Santagada: Most of the visual effects work on the show was cranking up both those beautiful and disturbing elements in equal measure. Often we were tasked with augmenting and overclocking the practical work to a point where it’s either one of the most beautiful, or most unsettling things you’ve ever seen. That work extended from everything to creating the geothermal pools around the psychiatric hospital, to certain medical implements, executions, field hospitals of the Pacific theatre, hydrotherapy tubs, all sorts of aspects to complement this wild image of post-war Northern California.

HR: The puppet show in Episode 6 was particularly fascinating…and equal parts horrifying. How, if at all, did effects enhance that piece of the story?

Paul Santagada: Very little, actually. Maybe removed a little bit of rigging? Just about everything you’re seeing there is the work of the amazing puppeteers and fabricators, as it was shot under Jessica Yu’s direction. Was a real treat to see the puppeteers in action, it’s such an incredible performing art.

HR: Did you have any trouble in balancing this 1940s aesthetic with the desire to use all the modern tools at your disposal?

Paul Santagada: It’s easy to run with the look of the show when it’s presented with such a clear vision from Ryan, Ian, and the show’s writers and directors. All departments really contributed to the aesthetic. Judy Becker, the Production Designer, and the entire Art Department did incredible work fleshing out the feeling of the show as this lush, felted nightmare.

To keep the spirit of the time period alive, the camera department worked to keep the camera moves very restrained and isometric as if we were working with the massive Technicolor cameras of the day, which had very limited mobility. Similarly, with regard to the effects, we always opted to have a special effects element in-camera to work from and augment, be it steam, blood, fire, whatever rather than create it from whole cloth.

HR: Looking at some of your other credits, like The Vampire Diaries and Game of Thrones, the typical viewer might find those to be more effects-heavy than Ratched. What would you say in terms of how this project was different than those, as well as what, if anything, might be surprisingly similar?

Paul Santagada: Happy to hear that didn’t seem all that effects-heavy, means we really did our jobs! As far as similarities, there are always hundreds of invisible effects shots that exist to seamlessly lift the narrative into something special. But like you mentioned earlier, the twin tasks of making the show achingly beautiful and unsettling at the same time was really unique to this particular project, and hope it has a powerful effect on the audience.

HR: Are there any particular effects in Ratched that stand out as some of your favorites to create? Anything you’re really hoping viewers will notice?

Paul Santagada: A lot of times we hope they don’t notice! It’s hard to deny some of the big showcase effects though. For instance, the army field camp flashback was really exciting to create.

The acid trip and all the more violent scenes are always great exercises in getting an audience to suspend disbelief. A lot of the credit for making the set pieces really sing goes to our Compositing Supervisors on the project, Jason Gottlieb and Heather Baker. They really went above and beyond to make sure both the visible and invisible effects work was impeccable.

HR: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about your work, on this series, or any other?

Paul Santagada: If you enjoy Ratched, check out the series Hollywood, in case you missed it, also on Netflix. Very different style and palette, with a very different vibe, but it shared a lot of crew with Ratched, and is also a period imagining of post-war California.

HR: Looking forward, do you have any other upcoming projects you’re excited to share with our readers?

Paul Santagada: Be on the lookout for The Boys in the Band! It’s a feature that’ll be out on Netflix at the end of September. Incredible adaptation of the Broadway revival, with the same cast and revival.

Don’t miss Paul Santagada’s work in Ratched, now streaming on Netflix!