Mare Of Easttown: Why So Many Shots Have Obvious CGI

HBO’s Mare of Easttown has been acclaimed for its evocation of a gritty small-town Pennsylvania setting but contains a surprising amount of CGI for a series without any sci-fi or fantasy elements. When one looks for it, there are countless shots with some sort of CGI enhancement. This can be explained in part because of the difficulties shooting around the COVID-19 pandemic, and in part because of how ubiquitous computer graphics have become in modern television.

Set in the real-life town of Easttown, Pennsylvania, the series stars Kate Winslet as a detective investigating a murder and a string of disappearances. As the story goes on, Mare of Easttown reveals a number of secrets as Mare discovers the real killer. Director Craig Zobel approached the series as a feature film, with a consistent staff across all seven episodes, and filmed much of the series on location in the real Delaware County. While featuring real locations, the series also uses CGI to fill in holes that were present due to its shooting schedule.

Mare of Easttown‘s use of CGI is visible throughout the series. For instance, almost every scene in a car was computer-generated, in a more sophisticated version of the classic greenscreen technique used when TV characters drive. Several exterior shots in the finale were created digitally, as can be seen in the somewhat awkward interaction between the natural background and the human figures in the foreground. The scene where Evan Peters’ Detective Zabel is shot was also done using CGI, with the dramatic chase between Mare and the kidnapper filmed on a soundstage over three days. The version of that scene in the episode was edited down from an original fifteen-minute cut.

The reliance on computer graphics was due in part to filming around COVID-19. Mare of Easttown began shooting in the fall of 2019 and was originally set to continue through April 2020, but production was interrupted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with TV and movies everywhere shut down for months. Filming resumed in the fall, but with added restrictions, meaning that scenes involving large crowds had to be changed. Zobel was committed to maintaining Mare of Easttown’s Delaware County atmosphere, including Winslet’s accent. Because the series had been almost halfway completed, the script likely still contained moments that were hard to adjust to virus-limited shooting. It may have been easier to film the actors in a studio and edit in elements like cars or exterior backgrounds which could have been unavailable.

While the use of CGI in Mare of Easttown was extensive, few viewers seemed to complain or even notice it. The computer enhancements were done in a way that was largely unobtrusive, or at least indistinguishable from other popular movies and TV shows. Mare of Easttown‘s CGI reflects how computer graphics are becoming prevalent in more realistic titles as well as sci-fi, fantasy, and horror media. Modern technology can be used for realistic animals, like in Cruella, blood, sex scenes, background locations, to bring together actors who were never in the same space, making actors appear older or younger, and more. While this process can sometimes result in unnatural or uncanny shots, Mare of Easttown shows how it can be integrated with on-location filming to create a compelling whole.

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