Netflix series KAOS, a contemporary retelling of Greek mythology, features the wonderfully weird, three-headed dog Fotis, based on Cerberus, watchdog for the Underworld. Although Fotis is a working dog, he has a special bond with his handler Caeneus, who regards him with great affection.
Early Development 2020
Discussions about Fotis began back in the 2020 lockdown, when Cinesite was tasked with proving that it was possible to create a three-headed mythical creature, which would simultaneously feel realistic and believable to the viewer as a dog. One of Cinesite’s team members had a dog called Mimmi, a German shorthaired pointer of a similar size to Fotis. A physical stuffie was built at an early stage, to help with planning camera moves and positioning.
Mimmi was filmed in a London park and that footage was carefully studied by the team; although Mimmi would be entirely replaced with a CG version, her original performance needed to be closely referenced and her body adapted to bear Fotis’ additional heads and weight.
Head of Assets and Visual Development Madeleine reveals how underpinning the dog’s design in real anatomy was central towards achieving the aims of believability and realism. “One of the most important considerations was maintaining a realistic anatomy, one which was biologically viable for a three-headed dog,” she confirms. “Fotis needed to maintain a sense of appeal, so he would still have the uncanniness of the Underworld, but not lose that sense of familiarity that you get from a real dog.”
Meticulous anatomical research through text books, x-rays and scans even involved consulting with a veterinarian to work out how three sets of cervical vertebrae might realistically fuse into a canine skeleton. Maddie continues, “We needed to broaden the shoulders to allow space for the three necks. We also determined that it would be necessary to adjust the weight and pull the centre of balance back onto the front forelimbs to accommodate the additional load of the heads.”
Cinesite’s fully-rendered, animated test, which was created as a proof of concept to the pre-production team.
Filming, 2022-2023
Full production on the series began in 2022, ending in 2023, some time after the test had been delivered. Production VFX supervisor was Neil Riley, with support from Cinesite’s Senior VFX supervisor Max Dennison. Using the same method as Cinesite’s earlier test, the approach was to film scenes with a real dog, which would later be entirely replaced with a CG version. A Lidar scan was provided to the team for the dog, in addition to texture reference. This was used to carefully adjust the original model to accurately match the dog used on set.
The dog filmed in situ provided eyelines, positions and movement reference, but of course it only had one head. In some instances, Misia Butler (Caeneus) would perform to one of the additional (invisible) heads, so the animators needed to match his performance. Butler did a very good job of anticipating the position of the additional heads, which greatly benefited the animation later. Meticulous tracking was necessary to retain the nuances of the real dog’s body performance. What had been filmed was fantastic reference; the VFX team knew exactly how the dog should look, how light would fall on him, shadows, specular highlights on the fur and the waxy sheen that many short-haired dogs have.
Senior VFX Supervisor Max Dennison notes that, “Subtle details like the ears were so important to get right. They’re velvety, quite heavy and fleshy, but they move in a distinctive wobbly, fluid way, rolling softly over the dogs’ heads and necks. There are some shots where the creature FX and animators achieved that lovely sense of weight really well and the groom and lighting team’s work on the velvety sheen looks great.”
Animation – Performance
Early on, decisions needed to be made about how autonomous each dog’s behaviour might be, and how the decisions and movement of one might affect the other heads. Head of Animation Neil Glasbey was clear that there should not be one dominant dog, nor should specific characteristics be assigned to each. It was important not to imbue the creature with its own narrative, which should always be with his handler, Caeneus. Fotis’ performance was more like three siblings; this was a simple approach, but it did not lead to a lack of character or personality.
In one scene, Caeneus is having one last intimate moment with Fotis before he is taken away. It’s poignant and the performances of all of Fotis’ heads needed to convincingly portray personality and connection.
Max describes how, “In one shot, Caeneus is standing stroking one of Fotis’ heads, whilst the others look eagerly towards him, each seeking their own turn at affection. In another shot in the same sequence, we wanted to show that Fotis is aware that something frightening is about to happen, so his tail is tucked under his body. One dog is sniffing the ground, while another is looking behind him, trying to work out what might be going on. It’s an important moment for Caeneus, and Fotis’ performance needed to convincingly support the emotion and carry the scene. I’m proud that our work helped achieve that.”
