BlueBolt was the lead VFX studio for The Great season 3, having created VFX for the preceding two seasons of MRC/Hulu’s hit satirical comedy drama series - based loosely on the life of Catherine The Great, Empress of all Russia and starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. 

BlueBolt delivered 369 VFX shots for season three; recreating 18th century Russia with crowd duplication in key settings, squib hits, and muzzle flashes, in addition to CG butterflies and a comet.

The focus of BlueBolt’s work was the creation of a full CG icy lake environment which takes centre stage for season three’s most dramatic story moments, accounting for 185 shots across two pivotal episodes.

BlueBolt extended a single practical snowy riverbank and ice surface - shot at St Clere’s estate, Kent, UK during the summer - into a wide, expansive, frozen lake and woodland, which needed to be seen from both sides in multiple shots. In addition, evolving from the original brief, David and the team were tasked with creating a CG horse and a character digi-double to provide credible dramatic action when a character and horse suddenly fall through the surface of the ice. In addition, they enhanced underwater shots showing the horse and rider in the aftermath of the fall and reprised underwater shots in a later episode where another character swims below the ice to search for the lost rider and horse.

The Great can be streamed on Hulu and Lionsgate+ via Amazon Prime in the UK.