Capturing the devastation of a tornado and the fear felt by the teenagers who lived through it isn’t easy, yet the Netflix documentary The Twister: Caught in the Storm brought it to life. In 2011, an EF5 tornado hit Missouri. The winds ripped through buildings, leaving inhabitants fleeing to shelter. The small town of Joplin was hit hardest, with the entire area destroyed within hours. On the very same night, in a neighbouring high school, graduation was taking place.
The Twister: Caught in the Storm follows the story of students who experienced the terror of that night. To reflect their emotions in a creative yet realistic way, director Alexandra Lacey called on the UK-based VFX studio Lux Aeterna to build the visuals for this documentary.
Lacey explained, “This story is still an incredibly recent one. So it’s important to make sure our rendition is rooted in reality. Our additional stylistic choices emphasise the heightened senses that the teenagers were experiencing, helping the viewer understand the terror of witnessing a natural disaster.”
Casting with intention
To recreate authentic emotions as closely as possible, Lacey researched eyewitness accounts and cast actors who would have been the same age in 2011, maintaining accuracy and presenting a well-researched picture.
“Myself and the team at Raw Pictures weren’t interested in the traditional documentary format. We wanted a compelling cast of characters to make the story more engaging and demonstrate the mindset of those living through a natural disaster. This made for a more authentic experience, drawing the viewers closer to the real emotions of the event,” she added.
Creating the documentary over ten years after the incident helped the production team gain insights into the minds of the witnesses. Given a decade of hindsight, those who experienced the Joplin tornado could express succinctly how they felt at the time, enabling the actors to effectively embody their roles.
Moving in slow motion
The cast provided the emotional base of the documentary, while the visual effects conveyed those emotions on screen. Drawing from eyewitness accounts that described the tornado unfolding as if time had slowed, Lux Aeterna translated that impression through their visual work.
Lux Aeterna executive producer Emma Kolasinska shared, “We had a mini shoot here in Bristol with DoP Gavin Thurston. Here we shot props using a Phantom Flex 4K camera, capable of capturing thousands of frames per second. Because the footage was of such high quality, it could be slowed down and composited into our tornado asset. We created this completely bespoke to the show and included quintessential American items like a high school exit sign and a pair of sneakers.”
The creation of this 3D asset gave viewers a glimpse into the perspective of those who experienced the tornado firsthand. It mirrored how the teenagers recalled the moment—as though time had slowed, almost detached from reality. One witness, recovering in the hospital, shared a particularly difficult account of what they went through.
Reconstructing a coma vision
While recovering in hospital from injuries sustained during the tornado, the teenager experienced disturbing visions – including a burning cross, which the production team interpreted as a reference to Joplin’s deeply rooted religious values and sought to recreate.
Lux Aeterna compositing supervisor Tav Flett added, “These shots were very symbolic of the story Alex was trying to tell, so we wanted them to have a stylised look that reflected the otherworldliness of the coma sequence. We went through several iterations before we settled on a style that would work with the rest of the sequence. Practically, we composited together several elements that had been shot on set as well as from our studio library to create the final look.”
In The Twister: Caught in the Storm, visual effects are more than an illustration – they’re an insight into the emotions of the eyewitnesses. By blending realism and careful styling, Lux Aeterna and the production team created something moving.
