The Jungle Book
The newest filmmaking technologies from virtual cameras and computer simulations to digital characters were used to create a seamless experience for audiences, without a hint the film was shot entirely in Los Angeles on sound stages.
Director Jon Favreau, Production VFX Supervisor Rob Legato, and The Jungle Book’s production team made the bold decision to film the movie without any outdoor locations. How were they to shoot a single actor on a blue screen, and create a world around him that is so realistic that audiences would believe took place in the jungles of India? A new approach to filmmaking would be required, harnessing the latest technology and creative talent. In the end, a team of more than 800 computer graphics artists would work for over a year animating over 54 species of animal, crafting full CG environments, and simulating earth, fire, and water.
MPC brought the film’s most iconic characters to life. Best friend Baloo the bear, Mowgli’s wolf family, Bagheera the panther, Kaa the python, and the villainous tiger Shere Khan would be built bone, skin, hair, and whisker. 54 species of animals and 224 unique animals were created and new computer programs were made to better simulate muscles, skin, and fur.
Read more about MPC’s award-winning work here.
The One and Only Ivan
Production VFX Supervisor Nick Davis and MPC VFX Supervisor Ben Jones and Animation Supervisor Greg Fisher led MPC Film’s VFX and Animation team to craft 1055 shots.
500 artists across MPC’s studios in London, Montreal, and Bangalore worked together to bring to life The One and Only Ivan’s 9 primary characters Ivan the Gorilla, Bob the dog, Ruby the baby elephant, Stella the elephant, Frankie the seal, Murphy the rabbit, Snickers the poodle, Henrietta the chicken and Thelma the parrot, and the film’s photorealistic full CG environments and digital set extensions.
The Art Department, based at Technicolor’s Preproduction studio in Culver City, Los Angeles began by drawing up concepts for characters including Bob the dog, Frankie the seal, Snickers the Poodle, and Thelma the parrot, environments including the mall and jungle and additional art for sequences frames. The Art Department also helped visualize a bespoke ‘Ivan’ version of the famous Disney Castle opening.
Read more about The One and Only Ivan here.
Alien Covenant
MPC’s VFX team led by VFX Supervisor Ferran Domenech worked alongside Director Ridley Scott and Production VFX Supervisor Charley Henley to create more than 700 stunning shots for Alien: Covenant. As a lead studio, MPC’s work included the creation of the movie’s terrifying creatures, alien environments, vehicles, and complex FX simulation work.
One of the most exciting challenges for MPC was to help bring two of the movie’s most terrifying creatures to life; the Xenomorph, the creature that featured in the 1979 ‘Alien,’ and a new species of alien, the Neomorph. For this movie, Scott wanted the freedom to move away from the ‘guy in a suit look of the Xenomorph from the original film and create a more unnatural version of the creature.
The Xenomorph needed to have non-human proportions and its own physical signature but still be recognizable as the original Alien. H.R Giger’s original designs were continually referenced throughout the creation of this and there was a physical animatronic on set to match, however, a lot of work went into how this new version of the traditional Alien would move and a lot of different animal movements were incorporated into the animation.
Dark Phoenix
Subsequent to Director Simon Kinberg’s vision of a character-driven film, MPC’s work on Dark Phoenix was an enhancement and complement to the performances, with the film staying true to the comic book storyline.
Headed by MPC VFX Supervisor Greg Butler, one of the key aspects of the Dark Phoenix’s appearance was the crack pattern portrayed across her face; the team first focused on the cheeks, forehead, and hands but used these zones for semi-random placement. The patterns were then projected onto the Dark Phoenix model, allowing the transferring of animations and patterns from shot to shot with a high level of continuity. MPC then looked to create an animation that caused the cracks to open and close using polylines for definition and animation stored in their points.
MPC was the lead facility on the project and delivered over 660 shots, though they worked on many more. Over 1,350 out of the 1,700 shots have a visual effects component. Learn more about our work here!
Cruella
MPC Film VFX Supervisor Damien Stumpf and VFX Producer Christoph Roth worked closely with Production VFX Supervisor Max Wood, completing 1,158 shots for Cruella.
In the preliminary stages, the MPC Film team developed their approach through copious amounts of research. From watching Disney’s classic 101 Dalmatians animated feature to studying the anatomy of dogs and using concept art.
Within MPC Film’s Character Lab, digital character experts began to develop 7 canines for the movie. By utilizing a mixture of concept art, research, photogrammetry, and plate photography, artists built CG models including the Baroness’ three Dalmatians, Cruella’s furry companion Buddy (seen as a puppy and a fully grown dog), and Wink, Horace’s eye-patched Chihuahua. The CG characters were modeled before being delivered to the rigging team, who used their expertise in canine anatomy to build each animal’s skeleton and muscle system. MPC’s groom team used proprietary software to create varying lengths of fur, tufts, and whiskers.
Read more about our furry friends here and check out part 5 of our Crafting Iconic Characters series here!
