The Moment Virtual Becomes Real... 'Tron: Ares' VFX Innovation [Slate]

Real LED Bike Races Through Vancouver
3D Printing Concept Introduced, Police Car Sliced in Half
"Starting from Reality, Expanding into Fantasy"

Movie stills from "Tron: Ares"

Disney's sci-fi franchise "Tron" has returned after 15 years with "Tron: Ares." Although it has not made as much of an impact as its predecessors, receiving criticism for a shallow and predictable storyline, it is technically a worthy successor in the series.

Director Steven Lisberger's "Tron" (1982) revolutionized the depiction of digital worlds through extensive use of computer graphics (CG). Joseph Kosinski's "Tron: Legacy" (2010) was also praised for elevating cyber aesthetics to a new level.

This new film stands out for its methodology. Visual effects (VFX) supervisor David Seager worked with five companies, including ILM, to complete over 2,000 special effects shots, all while adhering to one guiding principle: to film as much as possible in real-world settings.

The biggest challenge was how to portray digital programs such as Ares (Jared Leto) and Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith) appearing in the real world. After a year of research, Seager introduced the concept of 3D printing. In previous films, the light cycle-a motorcycle made of light-would suddenly appear, which felt highly unrealistic. Seager applied the mechanical process of 3D printing, where a laser forms a frame and the vehicle is printed within it.

Movie stills from "Tron: Ares"

On the Vancouver set, the team modified an electric Harley-Davidson to create a real-life light cycle. LED lights were installed so that the bike would glow while in motion. The stunt team rode through the streets every night. Director Joachim Ronning said, "We shot overnight in Vancouver for six weeks straight."

The actors playing digital programs, including Leto and Turner-Smith, wore costumes embedded with LEDs. Seager explained, "By filming on real streets, we could naturally capture the reflections, refractions, and even the moisture on the pavement."

The film's highlight is a scene where a police car is sliced in half by a light ribbon. This was not achieved with CG either. The special effects team cut six police cars in half and reassembled them for filming. Explosives placed in the center of the vehicles were detonated to split them, and the scene was captured by multiple cameras on a bridge at night. ILM then added the effect of a barrier of light passing through. Director Ronning said, "We could have done everything with CG, but I felt it was our duty to at least try things for real for the audience."

The digital world known as "the Grid" was also realized as a physical set. Some spaces were constructed with red lines to emphasize a surreal atmosphere. Seager recalled, "It was the reddest room I've ever encountered," adding, "Most people didn't believe it was a set photo and not a painting."

Movie stills from "Tron: Ares"

Not every scene strictly adhered to the laws of physics. Seager said, "The light ribbon is something far greater than what current technology can achieve. I kept wondering, 'What would this be made of in reality?' while treating it as realistically as possible." He added, "We started from reality and expanded into fantasy. It was important to find the limits in terms of cost-effectiveness, practicality, and where to draw the line."

Simply by making technology itself part of the narrative, "Tron: Ares" has established its own significance. Original creator Lisberger commented, "When something new emerges, it always seems ahead of its time, but reality eventually catches up. 'Ares' is a metaphor for how new technology is passing through our reality."

If the 1982 original imagined the 'birth of the digital world,' this new film experiments with the 'realization of digital.' Techniques such as 3D printing materialization, the physical creation of LED bikes, and set construction have already become a hot topic among Hollywood blockbuster studios. Even if the narrative is weak, the VFX production methods showcased here demonstrate the potential to become the next industry standard.