Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Go behind the scenes of Netflix's hit documentary series The Dinosaurs to see how Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) brought 170 million years of prehistoric life to the screen. Backed by extensive scientific research, the series — produced by Silverback Films (Our Planet, Life on Our Planet) and executive produced by Steven Spielberg — recreates a vast range of dinosaurs and environments across its four episodes.
ILM artist Andreas Feix breaks down several key sequences to show how Katana and Nuke were essential to the pipeline, helping the team focus on the documentary filmmakers' creative vision while delivering photorealistic creatures and set pieces.
Watch The Dinosaurs, streaming now on Netflix.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction & Speaker Background
00:32 The Dinosaurs Trailer
02:38 Overview & Production Scope
04:02 Unique Challenges of Documentary VFX
05:10 On-Set Reference, LiDAR & Practical Props
07:09 Plate Integration & Lighting Philosophy
09:09 Full CG Environments & FX Simulations
10:38 Case Study: Hațeg Island Sequence
12:55 Hatzegopteryx Design & Keratin Shading
15:42 Magyarosaurus Paleoart & Procedural Dirt
17:36 Multi-Shot Lighting Pipeline in Katana
21:00 USD Workflow: Houdini Solaris to Katana
22:33 Shadow Passes & Render Optimizations
23:46 Solving Depth of Field Artifacts
25:32 Creative Lighting for the Cave Sequence
29:56 Nuke Compositing Workflows & Templates
32:12 The Fog Box: Procedural Atmospheric FX
35:20 Realistic Light Scattering & Exponential Blur
37:57 Procedural 3D Bug Particles in Nuke
41:15 Team Credits, Q&A & Wrap-Up
🔗 Helpful Links:
Download the Nuke 17.1 free trial today: foundry.com/products/nuke-family/try-nuke
Download the Katana 9.0 free trial today: foundry.com/products/katana/try-katana
Follow Foundry:
instagram.com/foundryteam
linkedin.com/company/foundryteam
Go behind the scenes with the artists, studios, and tech shaping the future of VFX and animation: foundry.com/insights
About Us:
Foundry creates award-winning creative software so global studios can turn incredible ideas into reality.
Subscribe to our channel and get the latest news, tutorials, webinars and updates from the Foundry team.
Go behind the scenes of Netflix's hit documentary series The Dinosaurs to see how Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) brought 170 million years of prehistoric life to the screen. Backed by extensive scientific research, the series — produced by Silverback Films (Our Planet, Life on Our Planet) and executive produced by Steven Spielberg — recreates a vast range of dinosaurs and environments across its four episodes.
ILM artist Andreas Feix breaks down several key sequences to show how Katana and Nuke were essential to the pipeline, helping the team focus on the documentary filmmakers' creative vision while delivering photorealistic creatures and set pieces.
Watch The Dinosaurs, streaming now on Netflix.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction & Speaker Background
00:32 The Dinosaurs Trailer
02:38 Overview & Production Scope
04:02 Unique Challenges of Documentary VFX
05:10 On-Set Reference, LiDAR & Practical Props
07:09 Plate Integration & Lighting Philosophy
09:09 Full CG Environments & FX Simulations
10:38 Case Study: Hațeg Island Sequence
12:55 Hatzegopteryx Design & Keratin Shading
15:42 Magyarosaurus Paleoart & Procedural Dirt
17:36 Multi-Shot Lighting Pipeline in Katana
21:00 USD Workflow: Houdini Solaris to Katana
22:33 Shadow Passes & Render Optimizations
23:46 Solving Depth of Field Artifacts
25:32 Creative Lighting for the Cave Sequence
29:56 Nuke Compositing Workflows & Templates
32:12 The Fog Box: Procedural Atmospheric FX
35:20 Realistic Light Scattering & Exponential Blur
37:57 Procedural 3D Bug Particles in Nuke
41:15 Team Credits, Q&A & Wrap-Up
🔗 Helpful Links:
Download the Nuke 17.1 free trial today: foundry.com/products/nuke-family/try-nuke
Download the Katana 9.0 free trial today: foundry.com/products/katana/try-katana
Follow Foundry:
instagram.com/foundryteam
linkedin.com/company/foundryteam
Go behind the scenes with the artists, studios, and tech shaping the future of VFX and animation: foundry.com/insights
About Us:
Foundry creates award-winning creative software so global studios can turn incredible ideas into reality.
Subscribe to our channel and get the latest news, tutorials, webinars and updates from the Foundry team.
