Weathering the storm: VFX pipelines for extreme weather

Creating extreme weather on screen isn’t just about big visual moments. It’s also about the story behind them, how it makes viewers feel, and how the real eyewitnesses’ emotions are conveyed. For Lux Aeterna, the process involves careful planning with the wider team, extensive research, and striking the correct balance between reality and spectacle.

Whether it’s archive footage or high-speed prop shoots, the focus is on blending technical skill with powerful storytelling. These natural disaster recreations fill the screen, drive the story forward, raise the stakes, and keep the human experience front and center.

Building the story

One of the most critical stages of VFX takes place before the work even begins – closely collaborating alongside the production team to get a full understanding of what’s required. By setting goals and highlighting capabilities early on, the team at Lux Aeterna can shape a strong brief, leading to a smooth process with visually striking results. 

“There are so many ways we can create extreme weather,” says Emma Kolasinska, Executive Producer at Lux Aeterna. “We can be hyperreal, creating assets down to the finest detail, or very stylised — it completely depends on the project and the team behind it. For the Netflix documentary The Twister: Caught in the Storm, director Alexandra Lacey wanted to show a tornado from the teenagers who witnessed it, and that gave us a clear idea of where to go next.”

Strategic meetings and prompts like this give the team a better idea of how the natural disaster will be portrayed, the stylistic guidelines, and what work can be done to create a convincing and captivating experience for the viewers. 

Lacey’s brief resulted in a mixture of techniques. Lux Aeterna created a slow-motion tornado filmed from inside the eye to replicate how the witnesses experienced the disaster, using careful compositing and a high-speed prop shoot. This included contextually relevant props, including sneakers and a high school exit sign, to reflect the teenage perspective.

Working with real data

VFX enables the creation of visuals that can’t possibly be filmed by a human, like the tornado. It adds a powerful layer to the creative, serving as a storytelling tool alongside archive footage and eyewitness accounts. Still, it's crucial to remain rooted in truth, especially when portraying something real, destructive, and emotionally charged.

In National Geographic’s Tsunami: A Race Against Time, Lux Aeterna was brought on to visualise the 2004 disaster through scientifically backed research. Using 37 billion data points, the team produced the most accurate map graphics to date, drawing on information from scientists, survivors, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to align their GFX with the real event.

“Our work isn’t created to deceive — it complements the original footage,” explains Paul Silcox, VFX Director at Lux Aeterna. “We want to make things as lifelike as possible for the audience’s viewing experience, but back it up with scientific data. That way, it became more than just a graphic, but a vessel for the programme’s narrative.”This meticulous, data-driven approach also informs the studio’s motion graphics work, such as in Red Bull’s Ice Waterfalls. Lux Aeterna built a CG globe map to illustrate the expedition team’s journey, using real data points to deliver a visually striking yet informative layer to the core content. 

Balancing aesthetic and truth

In factual film and TV, VFX is more than a spectacle — it supports the narrative and helps audiences connect with the emotions experienced by those who lived through the events.

“Storytelling doesn’t end in the writing process,” concludes Kolasinska. “VFX teams help to shape the emotions the audience feels, adding an extra layer to the main content and bringing more depth to the feelings of the scene. 

This fusion of technical precision and emotional storytelling results in compelling, lifelike portrayals of extreme weather. Combined with close collaboration between directors, scientists, and creatives, the team ensures their work remains grounded, powerful, and true to the events it represents.