The Serpent

The Serpent is a crime drama miniseries developed by Mammoth Screen for BBC One and Netflix. The story of how the conman and murderer Charles Sobhraj, played by Tahar Rahim, was eventually caught and imprisoned. Posing as a gem dealer, Sobhraj and his girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc, played by Jenna Coleman, traversed Asia in 1975 and 1976, committing a spree of crimes along the 'Hippie Trail'. Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg investigates the disappearance of a young couple and soon catches up with Interpol's most wanted man.

The Serpent is a crime drama miniseries developed by Mammoth Screen for BBC One and Netflix. The story of how the conman and murderer Charles Sobhraj, played by Tahar Rahim, was eventually caught and imprisoned. Posing as a gem dealer, Sobhraj and his girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc, played by Jenna Coleman, traversed Asia in 1975 and 1976, committing a spree of crimes along the 'Hippie Trail'. Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg investigates the disappearance of a young couple and soon catches up with Interpol's most wanted man.

The Chilling Authenticity of Vine FX's Work For BBC's The Serpent

Vine FX are proud to announce their delivery of 500 shots for The Serpent, BBC One’s new eight-part mini series. Filmed in Thailand and the UK, The Serpent takes inspiration from real-life events of infamous French fraudster and serial killer Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim). 

In a BBC interview, Lead Director Tom Shankland recalls how camp-fire stories were shared of a Frenchman, rumored to be at the heart of multiple disappearances of fellow travelers. Meticulous research was conducted in order to remain truthful and respectful to the recent historical past. Writer Richard Warlow scripted the series with Toby Finlay and it was co-directed by Hans Herbots.

As main vendor, Vine FX was involved in the project, produced by Stephen Smallwood, since early 2019. It’s their second collaboration after completing the critically acclaimed Patrick Melrose. Michael Illingworth, VFX supervisor, expressed his delight at working alongside Stephen, “He has such dedication for the projects that he undertakes and we worked closely with Paul Testar from Mammoth Screen to deliver results that exceeded Stephen’s expectations.”

The pandemic had a direct impact on the international show, with cast and crew retreating from Thailand just eight days before filming was scheduled to end. Alternative UK based locations had to be secured in order to finish the final shots and show VFX Supervisor, Michael Illingworth assisted The Serpent team in recces throughout England to find suitable locations. Wrest Park Mansion (English Heritage) and Tring were in turn selected, with final days of filming scheduled, the production was back up and running.

Vine FX were tasked to combine elements with on-set locations as a base to create authentic DMP set extensions - transporting the characters straight into the iconic streets of Paris, Kathmandu, Karachi, vast mountainous landscapes and historical temples. In addition, vehicles with green screen windows were used to authenticate landscapes, signifying the characters journey across borders and the passage of time. Head of 2D at Vine FX, Ezequiel Villanueva supervised the delivery of this project, “It was a 2D heavy show and our initial workload increased by a third as the scope of filming adapted with Covid19. Historical accuracy was paramount throughout, and there was a particular focus on creating authentic locations and documentation such as the recreation of newspaper headlines to include our characters in real historical events, and the integration of documentary archive footage to the overall storyline”. 

Vine FX
Michael Illingworth
Matt McKinney
Ezequiel Villanueva

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