A Suit of Bees
Beekeeping gone wrong
For the BBC comedy series The Witchfinder, we were tasked with creating a CG simulation of a swarm of bees enveloping actor Tim Key. The sequence needed to look organic and chaotic while responding naturally to his movements. Achieving realism meant balancing accurate insect behavior with the demands of performance timing and audience perception.
The key design challenge was ensuring the bees moved believably while maintaining the director’s creative vision. We studied reference footage of bee swarms, analyzing their erratic yet coordinated movement patterns. This informed the animation system, which needed to simulate the natural flow of a hive while allowing artistic control over density, speed, and swarm behavior. A crucial element was interaction—how the bees would appear to land, crawl, and lift off from the actor's clothing and skin. To sell the effect, the simulation had to respond dynamically to his performance, requiring a flexible approach that blended procedural animation with manual adjustments.
We began with match-moving and rotoscoping Tim Key’s performance to create a digital double, allowing precise placement of the bee simulation. Using particle-based simulations in Houdini, we generated the swarm, defining movement logic based on real-world bee behaviors. Flocking algorithms helped achieve the natural yet chaotic motion typical of a bee swarm.
To integrate the bees convincingly, we developed a layered approach:
Base Swarm: A mass of bees following natural flow patterns around the actor.
Landing and Crawling Bees: Individual insects landing on and moving across the skin and clothing.
Hero Bees: Specific animated bees added to key moments to enhance storytelling beats.
Rendering posed another challenge—each bee had to be detailed enough to hold up in close-up shots while remaining computationally efficient for large-scale swarms. We optimised the models and shaders to strike this balance, using motion blur to enhance realism.
The final effect blended seamlessly into the scene, creating an unsettling but believable moment in the show. By leveraging a combination of procedural and hand-crafted animation techniques, we achieved a swarm that felt both organic and responsive to the actor’s movements. The result was a visually striking and effective comedic sequence, demonstrating how VFX can enhance even the most unusual storytelling moments.
This is a reel of the Bee shots we completed for Episode 6.
