Behind the Scenes: The VFX of HBO’s Peacemaker

Betsy Paterson has been a Visual Effects Supervisor in film and television for the past 21 years. Her wealth of experience in CG character creation, combined with an expertise in integrating CG effects into live-action settings, make her an ideal collaborator with filmmakers throughout the creative process, from look development to post production. She has overseen technically complex projects and international crews, working on sets and with  VFX vendors around the world. 

Betsy recently completed work on the HBOMax series ‘Peacemaker.’ Prior to that, she was the VFX Supervisor for  Season 1 of the Amazon series 'Carnival Row.’

With over 20 years of VFX experience, Jessica Smith first received a BA in Fine Art and a BFA in animation prior to beginning her career at an animation studio in Portland, Oregon. A few short years later, she left the Pacific Northwest to pursue a producing career in Los Angeles.  

Initially working directly for VFX vendors on features such as Star Trek: Into Darkness, Thor: The  Dark World, Hercules, and Star Trek Beyond, Jessica eventually made the move to the client-side with season one of American Gods. The work on this series earned Jessica her first Emmy nomination in 2017. 

Since then, Jessica has gone on to lead VFX teams on several memorable series and films,  including The Alienist, Lovecraft Country, Lisey’s Story, and the Avatar sequels. 

Most recently, Jessica completed the HBOMax series Peacemaker, with James Gunn, and is currently on location producing an upcoming series for Legendary TV.

Born and raised in a small town in Southern California, Jordan grew up loving cartoons and Disney movies like most kids. It wasn't until taking a CG design class in high school that he realized you could have a career doing this type of stuff. After high school, he decided to attend The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles, majoring in animation to work towards his goal of one day being able to find a job in animation or movies. Upon graduating college in late 2006, a college recruiter connected him with Ron Frankel at Proof, and he's been working with Proof ever since. He's done everything from working as a previs and postvis artist, doing final visual effects for commercials and music videos, and now supervising previs and postvis teams on big-budget Hollywood movies. Notable credits include Peacemaker, Shazam!, The Suicide Squad, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Black Adam.

After being drawn to creative work from a young age, and inspired by animation, VFX, and games, Ranko studied animation at the  Art Institute of California - Los Angeles and entered the field of previs at Proof, Inc. in 2007. In his years at Proof, he has worked on every aspect of the visualization process from previs to on-set work to postvis and finals. Ranko has worked on a variety of projects including films, episodic, commercials, and music videos. His more current credits include Peacemaker, The Suicide Squad, The Adam Project, and Fast and Furious 9.