On March 3, DGA members in Los Angeles’ DGA Theater Two learned how practical effects, visual effects and stunts were used to bring to the screen the true story of the emergency evacuation of 400,000 Allied soldiers off the beaches of Northern France during a panel discussion with members of the directorial, SFX and VFX teams from Christopher Nolan’s DGA Award-nominated feature, Dunkirk.
The day began with a welcome from AD/UPM VFX/Digital Technology Committee Chair Susan Zwerman (Vamps), who spoke a few words about the work of the Committee before introducing the panel that featured Dunkirk's UPM David Witz, 1st AD Nilo Otero, 2nd AD Eric Lasko, VFX Supervisor Andrew Jackson, SFX Supervisor Scott Fisher and VFX Producer Mike Chambers who participated via a video connection.
Following a screening of clips from the feature, the panelists engaged in a conversation moderated by Zwerman that revealed how they put all the pieces together to bring to life Nolan's vision of a critical point during WWII. Further illustrated by slides from the various sequences, the discussion also covered subjects such as: were changes made to accommodate VFX and how involved was Nolan with the overall approach, how the SFX and VFX worked together to find practical in-camera solutions to keep VFX to a minimum, the issues of staging background with 1,200 extras and the challenges of filming with IMAX cameras on actual film instead of a digital medium.
The seminar concluded with a Q&A session where the panelists answered questions from the audience.
About the Panelists:
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 UPM David Witz
Witz is a Unit Production Manager and Producer who has worked with many notable Directors including Christopher Nolan, J.J. Abrams, David Fincher, Steven Spielberg and Guillermo del Toro and others on a diverse range of projects including Star Trek, Gone Girl, Moneyball, War of the Worlds, Mission: Impossible III, Ghostbusters (2016), Due Date and Escape from L.A. He is currently in production as the UPM and Co-Producer on David F. Sandberg’s DC superhero film Shazam! Witz joined the DGA in 1994.
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 1st AD Nilo Otero
A DGA member since 1985, Otero has worked as an Assistant Director on a number of high profile projects including: Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, Inception and The Dark Knight; Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond; Shane Black's The Nice Guys; and Jonathan Mostow’s Surrogates. Currently in post-production on Vlad Marsavin's Wonderwell, Otero jokes that the best thing about the job is having famous people ask you for permission to go to the bathroom.
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 2nd AD Eric Lasko
Lasko’s credits include George Clooney's Suburbicon, Ben Affleck's Live by Night, Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln and Paul Thomas Anderson's DGA Award-nominated feature, There Will Be Blood; as well as episodes of Westworld, Hope & Faith and Rita Rocks. Currently in production on the series Sharp Objects, Lasko has been a DGA member since 2004 and on the set of Dunkirk, the French ADs called him “Robocop with a heart.”
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 VFX Supervisor Andrew Jackson
After training as a model maker, Jackson started his own architectural and industrial design prototyping company in Sydney, Australia expanded his business to include practical special effects for film and television in 1988 and later developed film concepts and worked as a VFX Supervisor at Animal Logic and DrD Studios. His credits include serving as the 3D Lead on Zack Snyder’s 300, Assistant VFX Supervisor on Andy Tennant’s Fool’s Gold, VFX Supervisor on Alex Proyas’ Knowing and VFX Supervisor on George Miller’s DGA Award-nominated film Mad Max: Fury Road. Jackson is currently a VFX supervisor at Dneg’s London office.
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 VFX Producer Mike Chambers
Mike Chambers is a freelance Visual Effects Producer and Consultant, specializing in large-scale feature film productions. He is currently engaged on a project for Warner Bros., and last worked on Dunkirk, his third collaboration with esteemed Director Christopher Nolan. Chambers has contributed to the visual effects efforts on many Academy and BAFTA award-winning films, and he has personally won three Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards for Best Visual Effects on The Day After Tomorrow, Inception and most recently, Dunkirk. He was also nominated for his work on I Am Legend. Mike has been a member of the VES since 1997. He has served on their Board of Directors for many years and is currently serving his fourth term as Chair of the organization. He is also a member of both the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
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 SFX Supervisor Scott Fisher
Fisher is a special effects supervisor who has worked in the industry for over 30 years. His early credits include working with his father Thomas Fisher on classic special effects movies like Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall, Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans and James Cameron’s DGA Award-winning feature Titanic. His big break came on Christopher Nolan’s Inception, which gave Fisher the opportunity to show his ability to produce large-scale special effects work in an industry leaning more towards CGI. He has since built a reputation working with VFX supervisors and directors to find the blend between CGI and physical effects on films including Nolan’s Interstellar and The Dark Knight Rises, David Ayer’s Bright and Suicide Squad, and Andrew Stanton’s John Carter.
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About the Moderator
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 VFX/Digital Technology Committee, Chair Susan Zwerman
A DGA member since 1980, Zwerman’s VFX producer credits include Amy Heckerling's Vamps, Andrew Davis' The Guardian and Frank Coraci’s Around the World in 80 Days. She currently serves as the VFX Studio Executive Producer at Exceptional Minds Studio, a non-profit vocational school and studio that prepares young adults on the autism spectrum for careers in digital animation and visual effects with credits including Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi and James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In addition to serving as Chair of the Western AD/UPM Council’s VFX/Digital Technology Committee, Zwerman has also served the Guild as a member of the Negotiations Committee and been elected to various Council positions including Secretary/Treasurer, Second Vice Chair and First Vice Chair. She has also served multiple times as a delegate to the DGA Biennial Convention. In 2013, Susan was the recipient of the DGA Frank Capra Achievement Award for recognition of her career achievement and service to the industry and to the Guild.
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About the Committee:
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The VFX/Digital Technology Committee evaluates technical craft innovations and new management systems and their relationship to the production process, and keeps members well versed and up-to-date on the technologies of the 21st Century via periodic special events. The Committee is chaired by UPM Susan Zwerman and co-chaired by UPM Brian Frankish. The Committee’s members are: Dustin Bernard, D. Scott Easton, Rick Feder, T. Seamus George, Billy Greenfield, Mark Hansson, Jules Kovisars, Cleve Landsberg, Larry Lerner, Steve Molen, Jennifer Phillips, John Rago, Brandon Riley, David Sanger, and Jonathan Zimmerman.
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