'Outlander' season 3: Pulling off the biggest visual effects scenes yet

Every year, the producers of “Outlander” TV series are faced with new challenges. However, there was a moment before season 3 when Matthew B. Roberts had doubts about the script requiring scenes on the sea. This is due to the main characters traveling to Jamaica. In a recent interview, the producer talked about how they managed to do it all in South Africa.

Since filming in the middle of the ocean was not convenient, the cast and crew traveled all the way to Cape Town, where Starz had already built ships for the “Black Sails” TV series. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Roberts said the timing worked out perfectly. With the ships available, shifting of the cast, crew and the equipment from Scotland didn’t take too long.

Although the producers managed to complete filming as scheduled, Roberts certainly had doubts at the start, especially since they wanted to continue to make great episodes for fans. What seems to have made him nervous was the sheer volume of the script. There were about 104 pages, with only six based on land.

“When I first did the tally, a little aneurysm started in my head. I was like, I don’t know how we’re gonna do it. That’s just so much on the water, and we want to do it great,” Roberts said. The availability of the ships solved most of the problems.

“Outlander” season 3 is also “much heavier in visual effects,” according to Roberts. There were massive green screens placed around the ships, and the ocean was later added in post-production. Gimbals were used to rock the ships to make it look like they were sailing.

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