Partnering with Bad Wolf and Sky Studios, Axis flexed our VFX skills for Season 2 of Sky’s immensely popular drama, A Discovery Of Witches. Based on the ‘All Souls’ trilogy by Deborah Harkness, the show follows historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire Matthew Clairmont as they encounter a mysterious manuscript which returns them to a world of magic. 

The first season, released in 2018, pulled in two million viewers and was quickly renewed for two more seasons. 

Our team combined our expertise in FX, animation and environments to recreate a historically accurate CG Elizabethan London, which acts as the dramatic landscape of the hit series. The Axis team delivered 100 shots for 10 episodes, which included working throughout the challenges of the COVID pandemic.

No detail was spared in actualising the 16th century backdrop, from street furniture to horse bridles, Axis meticulously researched everything. Street level city shots were created using a Leica BLK 360 laser scanner on a physical set which scanned the entire construction of streets, buildings and courtyards, informing pre-vis and shot perspectives. Adding atmospheric flair, our Lighting and Rendering departments crafted the moody city scenes of Elizabethan London from dawn to dusk. 

Creating ADoW’s Elizabethan London was a case of realising the client's narrative vision with the authentic historical world.