Dive deeper into this episode with exclusive sketches, production designs, and fun facts delivered directly from the Outlander crew.
Silkie Island
“The principal challenge for visual effects was to create an island when we didn’t have one; an island that would appear a fair distance off-shore and yet one which we could also stage scenes on.
The simple (in principle) solution was to use a headland with suitable building on it and remove the main coast alongside, creating the rest of the island as a matte-painting and then setting it out to sea in seascape plates shot for the purpose. It needed to feel desolate and hard to reach, battered by the seas and a place that would take a heroic effort to reach, with only one safe route through perilous rocks to sheer cliffs nearly all around.
The second main challenge was adding the “Bruja”—a substantial pirate or buccaneer’s 18th century tallship. With it being far from practicable to bring such a ship to the location, or indeed to film one elsewhere at sea, the solution was to create an entirely CG ship. A longboat travelling to and from the Bruja was filmed practically at the location.
The final significant component to these scenes was to transform the modern landscape seen in a wide drone shot looking back from the sea into a wild highlands shore of the 18th century, replacing and extending the shoreline, cliffs and hills beyond. Derived from multiple reference photos taken at the location, this was a series of matte-painted elements projected onto simple geometry to create sufficient parallax for the camera movement.”
Richard Briscoe, VFX Supervisor
Costume Design
By Terry Dresbach, Costume Designer
Hogmany At Lallybroch
Matt Roberts
“Jamie’s view of Silkie Island as he came out of the sea (although on a much nicer day).” -Matthew B. Roberts, Executive Producer/Writer
“We used Dunure Castle as the ruins on Silkie Island.” -Matthew B. Roberts, Executive Producer/Writer
“Welcome home…Lallybroch’s front door.” -Matthew B. Roberts, Executive Producer/Writer
