Its a bird … its a plane … its EWs first monthly issue!
So everything you see in thecover photoswas actually there on set, no extra CGI or photoshop needed.
It almost becomes an illustration because the subject matter is superheroes doing superhuman things.
Credit: Carlos Serrao for EW
We wanted to do as much in camera as possible with the effects.
The motion, shutter drags, coloring and lighting was all done in camera so it feels more grounded.
When you look at it, it just doesnt feel like it was composited in post-production.
Carlos Serrao for EW
I hope it does feel like photography rather than illustration.
But when I get to do these things, its much more collaborative.
It evolved into this idea of heroes fighting their way through peril, she says.
Carlos Serrao for EW
So we decided to give them an obstacle and see how they get through it.
And since superheroes are so color driven, we gave each cover its own theme.
What I like about them is its a nice variation of each character, Serrao adds.
DC Comics
There is a cohesiveness to all of them but each one has its own unique spin or color palate.
First up: BenoistsSupergirl.
That was a no-brainer for her.
DC Comics
Props designer Ward Robinson pulled a bunch of chains and painted them green to match the comic book cover.
Then came the fun part.
We counted down and then she would just bust out of them.
Carlos Serrao for EW
That was something we were always really cognizant of how can we actually, physically do this?
But Serrao and Robinson found the right workaround to still check that the shoot was as real as possible.
The knives did have to be put in during post-production because we didnt want to injure the actress.
DC Comics
We dont want her actually running through knives but it was still shot in camera.
We put a spin on it where hes dodged all these arrows that were shot at him.
It ended up looking so striking.
Carlos Serrao for EW
For Gustins cover, it turned out to be the perfect example of letting the art do the talking.
But when they asked Gustin to take some photos of him just running, everything changed.
Youve seen him running on literally every single poster or promotional art the show has ever had.
Carlos Serrao for EW
We saw it on the monitor and we just knew that was the shot.
There was a lot of people on set that day and everyone was truly gasping at that shot.
So the team was free to come up with a fresh, new idea.
Thats actually sugar glass [in the photo] which is frequently used in TV and movie production.
Caity had worked with it before but had never punched through it.
She punched through that with no problem, like a boss, Wild says.
She punched through it multiple times and she was a rockstar.
It was so graphically interesting and it became one of my favorite covers.
It was like breaking the glass ceiling as a bisexual superhero.
