The Substance (2024)

Visual Effects for Story and Spectacle

Villains Wear Black is the home of independent VFX supervisor, Bryan Jones.

About

Villains Wear Black was created to provide filmmakers with the necessary guidance to integrate visual effects into their projects. For the past decade, VFX supervsior Bryan Jones has been applying his problem solving skills and critical eye to support stories and push exectations.

His recent work on The Substance (2024) garnered several accolades, including best visual effects at the European Film Awards. Bryan is a Critic's Choice Awards nominee and has been long-listed for The Oscars.

Previous clients include Netflix, Sony Pictures Studios, Working Title and Universal Pictures.

Currently split between Paris and London, Bryan holds English, Canadian and Australian passports and is ready to travel in pursuit of a challenge.

Breakdowns and reels are available on the Villains Wear Black YouTube channel.

Supervision Highlights

The Rising (2026)

Directed by Tommy Wirkola. Produced by Hyperobject and Sony Pictures Studios.
Client-side supervisor.
Currently in production, details TBD.
The Substance (2024)

Directed by Coralie Fargeat. Produced by Working Title and Universal Studios.
Overall, client-side supervisor.
The mandate on The Substance was simple - all VFX needed to be indistinguishable from their prosthetic, in-camera counterparts. Our CG creatures had to intercut seamlessly in the edit. The result is an uncanny, nostalgic style with otherwise unachievable, lifelike performances.
The Old Guard (2020)

Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Produced by Netflix.
In-house supervision for Milk VFX.
As the principal vendor on the show, Milk VFX delivered a number of sequences that showcased CG environments, vehicles and gore. Lots of gore.
Possessor (2020)

Directed by Brandon Cronenberg. Produced by Rhombus Media and Rook Films.
Overall supervisor on behalf of Milk VFX.
As expected from crooked mind of Brandon Cronenberg, practical and prosthetic FX were the star of the project. All digital enhancements and clean-up work had to be completely seamless and 100% invisible.
Sextuplets (2019)

Directed by Mike Tiddes. Produced by Wayans Alvarez Productions and Netflix.
Client-side supervision for Netflix.
Comedy legend Marlon Wayans potrays six characters, made possible by a complex combination of split screens and face replacements. Coming in just shy of 1000 shots, other VFX work included digital environments and a very intimidating a CG bull.
What Happened To Monday (2017)

Directed by Tommy Wirkola. Produced by RDL productions and SND studios.
Provided client-side supervison, overseeing five vendors and excess of 1100 shots.
Actress Noomi Rapace took on seven overlapping roles, requiring detailed planning and execution to sustain the illusion. Other notable work included futuristic environments, vehicles and UI design.
Terminator Genysis (2015)

Directed by Alan Taylor. Produced by Sky Dance Media and Paramount Pictures.
In-house supervisor for One of Us.
Boutique VFX facility, One of Us, was charged with delivering a variety of environments and time travel effects. In addition, the concept team provided look development for an ambitious but ulitimately unused overhaul of the T100’s POV overlay.

Artist Origins

Moving from his native Canadian to Australia, Bryan began his career as a compositor at Rising Sun Pictures.

He went on to spend time at a string of world-class facilities, including Framestore, The Moving Picture Company, Wētā Digital and Industrial Light and Magic.

During his time as an artist, Bryan contributed to over 40 feature films and was an integral member on three Academy Award winning teams.

A full list of credits can be found on IMDB.

Selected Compositing Credits