Bernes spent months working with a team of artists figuring out just how to present the show\u2019s core conceit in a way that was both fantastical and loosely grounded in real-world physics. When I spoke with Bernes recently, he told me that, while much of the show could have been entirely green-screened, he believed that the project could be made stronger by using a blend of practical, in-camera filmmaking trickery<\/a> and complex VFX post-production. But to blend those two modes, Bernes knew that there needed to be strong communication between the show\u2019s various creative teams long before cameras started rolling.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no case where those things aren\u2019t critical, but with a project like this, there is no \u2018fix it in post\u2019 because it just can\u2019t work like that,\u201d Bernes said. \u201cThis is a show that has about 3,000 VFX shots, and we were working with up to five different VFX vendors at times.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Lindy Littlejohn (Banks) is alarmed when she wakes up in a dollhouse after her husband Les (Macfadyen) shrinks her, it isn\u2019t until she gets out into their full-sized living room that she starts to understand what kind of predicament she\u2019s in. The carpeted floor is soft, but it\u2019s a relatively long way down from the table Lindy finds herself on, and she knows that she would probably die if she were to fall while trying to climb down.<\/p>\n To ease viewers into the show\u2019s fantasy and its dark sense of humor, Bernes thought that it was important for Lindy\u2019s dollhouse to be a fully realized set that Banks could physically interact with. And while VFX would be necessary to depict characters\u2019 size differences, Bernes was keen on keeping the series from feeling like too much of a \u201cCGI Fridays\u201d situation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019re inside the dollhouse, that is a real set that we built based on the dimensions and specs of a real toy,\u201d Bernes told me. \u201cWe actually scanned objects from a real dollhouse, blew them up into a larger scale, and then had them made so that we could use life-size versions of these tiny things.\u201d<\/p>\n As much as The Miniature Wife is a dramedy, it\u2019s also punctuated by moments of action as Lindy escapes her dollhouse and ventures out into the larger world around her. She\u2019s exhilarated when she realizes that she has the strength and know-how to make her way down onto the floor. But her feelings quickly turn to fear when she encounters everyday things like houseflies and her vacuuming robot \u2014 both of which are gargantuan from her miniscule perspective.<\/p>\n Crafting those kinds of shots posed a series of challenges to Bernes and his team, who were committed to keeping the show from feeling like a straight rehash of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Marvel\u2019s Ant-Man films. They wanted to make it so that viewers could always understand Lindy\u2019s perspective in relation to their own, which required the crew to establish some hard artistic rules.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand the premise that there is a miniaturization process that has happened, but how miniature is she?\u201d Bernes explained. \u201cUltimately, we landed on a scale of 12:1 meaning that she is approximately 5.5-6 inches, and all of the props and sets were very regimented with this 12:1 scale. That\u2019s a scale where things are still pretty recognizable. We\u2019re seeing weaves in the fabric and oversized dust bunnies on the ground, but we still know what they are.\u201d<\/p>\n Image: Peacock<\/p>\n Though there was an understanding that the scale rule could be bent a little in certain situations for dramatic effect, Bernes had to ground his work even further in reality for some of The Miniature Wife\u2019s more action-heavy set pieces, like a scene involving her riding a toy train. Bernes told me that sequences like those are strong examples of how digital and practical effects can blend together<\/a> to create visuals that are as fantastical as they are rooted in actual physics.<\/p>\n \u201cThe realities of this scale relationship makes it so that, in the big world of 1:1, when you move a camera one foot, that means you have to move it 12 feet in the small world,\u201d Bernes said, describing how the train scene came together. \u201cNow picture yourself tracking with a train. So we\u2019re having to move hundreds and hundreds of feet at the same speed as the big world, which means 12 times faster.\u201d<\/p>\n While crafting each of The Miniature Wife\u2019s VFX shots was a huge undertaking, Bernes and his team chose not to use generative AI in the name of making things faster or more efficient. Bernes told me that even though he has used AI tools in the past on other projects and seen how it can be a valuable asset, he still thinks the technology isn\u2019t suited to replace human creativity \u201cbecause there\u2019s too many steps in the process and too much control needed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs generative AI a tool that enables us to rapidly prototype ideas and then go to a more traditional visual effects vendor with a clearer idea of what we want to do?\u201d Bernes said. \u201cFor sure. But there is not a single VFX frame in this show that was made with generative AI. This is all the result of artists and hundreds of visual effects workers putting things together themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n The Miniature Wife premieres on Peacock on April 9th.<\/p>\n Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Charles Pulliam-MooreEntertainmentClose<\/p>\n Entertainment<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Entertainment<\/a><\/p>\n InterviewClose<\/p>\n Interview<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Interview<\/a><\/p>\n ReportClose<\/p>\n Report<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Report<\/a><\/p>\n StreamingClose<\/p>\n Streaming<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/NUP_209822_00001_RF2.jpg\"\/)
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