Orphan Black Season 2 - Visual Effects
The authorship of Orphan Black is a complicated topic. Although the simplest approach to this topic would be to talk about the creators, Graeme Manson and John Fawcett, it is more interesting to look at nontraditional ideas of authorship in the show. This is a show about clones, and as such, the creation and embodiment of the clone characters heavily influences the narrative. The actress who portrays all of the clones on the show, Tatiana Maslany, does much of the work to “write” each of her characters.
Even when only a single clone is on screen in a particular moment, Maslany manages to make each clone distinct. With different mannerisms, accents and physicality, Maslany brings each clone to life in a way that a script alone could never convey. The show is so enjoyable in part because it is so mesmerizing to watch Maslany switch between clones and to forget, for a moment, that one actress is portraying each of these fully realized women.
The technology that allows clones to interact with each other on screen is another part of the production that might also qualify as an extension of authorship. In order to have two or more clones interacting with each other on screen, the crew makes use of body doubles and a camera that can recreate its exact movements again and again. The body double for Maslany, Kathryn Alexandre acts across from Maslany in all of the two clone scenes and is replaced by a copy of Maslany post production.
As seen in the above gifs of a behind the scenes video of special effects, there is an extended process of digital effects work needed to combine Maslany’s performances into a single shot. Although the true magic is watching the show and forgetting that an entire scene is one actress acting against herself, the behind the scenes video is also worth a watch: see the whole thing here.
