MPC CRAFTS STUNNING CG ENVIRONMENTS AND SPECTACULAR WATER SIMULATIONS FOR MIND-BENDING SCI-FI SERIES DARK MATTER
MPC VFX Supervisor Greg Astles and VFX Producers Nick Colangelo and Martin O’Brien led the visual effects work for Dark Matter, overseeing a talented team of artists and production crew spread across MPC’s studios in Toronto, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Montreal. Working closely with Production VFX Supervisor John Heller and VFX Producer Marjolaine Tremblay the team delivered 112 shots over a period of nine months, crafting some of the show’s most complex and dramatic sequences, including Ash World, Water World, and World 26, as well as the endless corridor of doors.
For Ash World, MPC transformed on-location plate photography shot in Gary, Indiana, into a devastated, ash-covered version of Chicago. Utilizing real Chicago building assets, they meticulously crafted and textured these structures to appear dilapidated and ash covered. These elements were rigged for FX destruction, culminating in a climactic scene where the city crumbles around the protagonists. Extensive digital matte painting (DMP) and FX work further enhanced the sequence, creating a crumbling downtown area and an ash-covered Lake Michigan.
Recreating Lake Michigan covered in several feet of ash posed both technical and creative challenges. The team conducted significant R&D to devise a method for making the water feel thick and saturated with ash. They focused on simulating dynamic ash on the water’s surface, ensuring it moved convincingly with the waves and accurately depicted ash crashing onto the shore.
Water World relied heavily on DMP to portray a flooded, damaged Chicago. On set, a large water tank was used to capture the interaction between the box set and the actors, with MPC augmenting and extending the water using CG techniques where necessary. The sequence where water floods into a containment box showcases some of the most intricate CG water simulations. As the box sinks beneath the waves, MPC’s artists meticulously crafted a fully CG underwater environment, along with a CG box and digital actors, to depict its descent to the bottom of Lake Michigan. As they close the box and transition back to the infinite hallway, digital actors were integrated, and advanced water, cloth, and hair simulations were used to create the dramatic effect of water crashing down the hallway.
World 26 was brought to life through detailed concepts of an ultramodern, idealized version of Chicago. These concepts were translated into assets and environments, seamlessly integrating them into the Chicago plates.
The endless corridor of doors was initially a short segment shot on set. MPC recreated this corridor in several interchangeable variations, allowing them to extend it into infinity without noticeable repetition. This technique enabled a seamless extension of the plate corridor, enhancing the continuity of the scene and serving as the protagonists’ pathway between alternate realities.
