It’s a wrap! As 2022 comes to a close, we look back at some of the incredible projects, awards, and much more that the MPC teams have been part of. With over 70 projects in the pipeline this year, we have been hard at work to deliver world-class VFX. Here are just a few of the highlights…
JULY
MPC provided a full-service offering to Universal Pictures and Monkeypaw Productions’ NOPE – from working directly with the filmmakers during pre-production on concept art and visualization, to delivering more than 675 complex VFX shots. This included the alien-entity design, CG cloudscapes, and an innovative new approach to converting plates shot during the day into night. Find out more here.
From Amazon Studios and Director Ron Howard came the biographical survival film, Thirteen Lives, a story of a coach and 12 boys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand. MPC provided cinematic visual effects for the film, including the underwater and cave environments.
July also saw the release of The Princess, Where the Crawdads Sing, and Netflix’s Resident Evil. The MPC team, led by VFX Supervisor David M. V. Jones and VFX Producer Adnan Ahmed worked with a team of over 170 artists to build the survival thriller sequences. From a 3D version of post-apocalyptic London, with animated 3D helicopters above, to the Brighton Freehold sequence, the team was tasked with a myriad of VFX directives from the client. Take a look at our work below!
AUGUST
The reign of House Targaryen began in August as House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones, finally arrived. Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the series, which is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen. MPC delivered striking and photo-realistic visual effects to the ten-episode HBO original drama. Led by MPC VFX Supervisor Mike Bell and VFX Producer Tobias Winblad, the studio created over 900 shots, including the captivating creation of the six dragons: Caraxes, Meleys, Seasmoke, Vermax, and Sunfire. Find out more here.
From 20th Century Studios and Director Dan Trachtenberg came Prey, the next installment in the hugely popular Predator series, and prequel to the iconic first film. MPC’s global team, led by VFX Supervisor Chris Uyede and VFX Producers Lachlan Christie and Cleo Dessureault delivered a total of 632 shots for the Predator’s return to screens.
Teaming up with Paramount+, Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Jost, MPC created heart-racing visual effects for the superhero blockbuster Secret Headquarters. Led by VFX Supervisor Jerome Escobar and VFX Producer Sebastian Racine, the MPC global team delivered around 390 shots for the film.
SEPTEMBER
The continued relationship between MPC and Walt Disney Studios turned another page with the live-action remake of Pinocchio. The global MPC team, led by VFX Supervisor Ben Jones and VFX Producer Sarah Moussaif, provided a host of services: from pre and postvis production – to final VFX delivery of over 920 striking visual effects shots.
In September, Technicolor Creative Studios, home of MPC, became an independent company. To celebrate the milestone, we launched our Our Legacy Is Our Future Insight Series, a series of insightful interviews & conversations with leading studio talent and industry experts, past and present. The series explores our rich legacy in Visual Effects and the future of creative visual arts. You can browse our six-part Youtube series here.
The Emmy awards took place in September, with Vikings: Valhalla picking up a nomination for Best VFX, and Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers taking home the prize for Outstanding Television Movie.
At the AEAF Awards, MPC took home four awards! In the TV Series category, HALO took home the top prize, winning Gold for VFX work on Paramount+’s live-action adaptation. Prehistoric Planet also received a Special Merit for our VFX work. In the Feature Film VFX category, Finch was rewarded with a Special Merit, while our work on bringing back Dr. Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters: Afterlife was recognized with the Silver award in the Feature Film Sequence category.
Finally, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy reunited for the Disney+ Original Movie Hocus Pocus 2. The live-action, long-awaited sequel to the perennial Halloween classic, brought back the delightfully wicked Sanderson sisters for more comedic mayhem and debuted on Disney+ on September 30.
OCTOBER
MPC has had the privilege to work on over 50 of the most iconic film and episodic horror titles of the past 25 years. For the 2022 Halloween season, we reflected on some of our favorites. Check out our scary good reel above!
October also saw the release of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, in which MPC continued our long-standing collaboration with the master of horror on two terrifying episodes as well as David O. Russell’s star-studded Amsterdam.
MPC Visualization’s Art Director, Leandre Lagrange, won at this year’s Concept Art Awards, in the category Live-Action Film, Creature for his stunning work designing the alien entity in NOPE.
And, of course, Halloween 2022 was typically epic across all our global studios!
NOVEMBER
It has been 15 years since Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) wed, but Giselle has grown disillusioned with life in the city, so they move their growing family to the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville in search of a more fairy tale life. “Disenchanted” began streaming on November 24, exclusively on Disney+.
Mayhem, mystery, and murder — this isn’t your average Wednesday. From the imagination of Tim Burton, Wednesday is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. We, like the rest of the world, loved watching Wednesday on Netflix!
With 45 years in the business, MPC has a rich legacy in helping to bring some of the world’s most iconic characters to new audiences and screens. This November, we looked through some of our highlights and celebrated the incredible artistry, innovation, and creativity from our global teams. Find out more here.
We also saw award success for Prehistoric Planet, which took home the Broadcast Tech Innovation Award for Best VFX, the Televisual Bulldog Award for Best VFX, alongside a Royal Television Society nomination. Bravo to the team!
Bhediya (transl: Wolf) is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language comedy horror film directed by Amar Kaushik. It was released on 25 November 2022, to positive reviews from both the critics and audience, alike.
DECEMBER
Award season was in full swing this December. Here’s a look at some of our nominated highlights:
Academy Awards Shortlist: Top Gun Maverick, NOPE, Thirteen Lives
Satellite Awards: Top Gun Maverick, RRR
Critics Choice Awards: Top Gun Maverick, RRR
HCA Creative Arts Awards: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, RRR, Top Gun Maverick
MPC was delighted to welcome the award-winning director and stop-motion veteran into the studio this December to dive deeper into the making of the stop-motion adventure, Pinocchio.
MPC VFX Supervisor, Aaron Weintraub, and VFX Producer, Emma Gorbey led teams in Toronto and Bangalore to deliver over 650 shots for the Animated Feature. This included expertly crafted CG environments, stylized FX simulations, and CG crowds.
And finally, five-time Academy Award®-winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu bought us BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. Now streaming on Netflix!
In case you missed it, check out Part 1 of MPC | 2022 Wrapped here. Or if you want to keep up to date with all MPC news and insights, you can sign up to our Global Creative Community here.
