Universal Studio’s sci-fi feature film, Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise, presents a post-apocalyptic earth, which would seem to demand heavy visual effects (VFX), and while there are many in the film, there are some surprising sequences that are, in fact, not CG. For two of the primary, futuristic sets — the Sky Tower and the Cloud Tower — cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC, and director Joseph Kosinski filmed most of the visual effects live in-camera rather than using green screens. It’s an old-school style that immerses the actors in the actual environment, but not the first instinct of filmmakers when the environment is supposed to be a cloud-surrounded glass-walled apartment 3,000 feet in the air.