DNEG - From snow-covered landscapes to digital dams and CG waterfalls, our Episodic crew was thrilled to craft the Alaskan wilderness to provide the perfect backdrop for this gripping series. Uncover how they did it now!

Jon Bokenkamp’s ‘The Last Frontier’ takes us into the Alaskan wilderness, following a U.S Marshal in charge of a plane prison transport that goes dreadfully wrong. When the plane crashes, he must face violent inmates and a relentless environment. DNEG delivered photoreal environments and vehicles across several episodes, bringing the story’s remote, snow-covered Alaskan setting to life. The team transformed a summer landscape into a frozen highway and created a fully CG car crash with detailed simulations and seamless integration. As well as the thrilling finale featuring a complex sequence in which a sound-stage set was replaced with a digital dam, perched above a CG waterfall and an ice-covered reservoir lake, surrounded by snow-covered mountains. Digital doubles and face replacements enhanced action-heavy shots while preserving the actors’ performances in action-packed stunts. Our work combined Unreal Engine for fast, interactive environment building with DNEG’s Helix pipeline for FX simulations and digi-double work. ‘The Last Frontier’ challenged our team to deliver a high-stakes Alaskan environment that heightens tension and extends the visual impact of this gripping thriller.