MPC has had the privilege to work on over 50 of the most iconic film and episodic horror titles of the past 25 years. Join us this Halloween season as we reflect on some of our favorites …
Scroll down to find out more about some of our project highlights.
ALIEN: COVENANT
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.
Find out more about our work here. And check out the terrifying VFX breakdown below.
VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN
Led by MPC VFX Supervisor Richard Little, the team worked closely with director Paul McGuigan and Production VFX Supervisor Angus Bickerton to complete 285 shots for Twentieth Century Fox’s Victor Frankenstein.
MPC created a wide range of work including CG creatures, gothic set extensions, and explosive lighting effects.
The bulk of the award focused on Dr. Frankenstein’s first creation and the movie’s main CG creature, Gordon who takes the form of a hideous Monkey constructed by the amalgamation of various animal limbs.
WORLD WAR Z
Directed by Marc Forster and starring Brad Pitt, World War Z revolves around United Nations Employee Gerry Lee (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop a pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.
Led by MPC VFX Supervisor Jessica Norman, the team completed more than 450 shots for World War Z under the guidance of Scott Farrar, the VFX Supervisor. MPC’s main areas of work were creating the hordes in Jerusalem, the plane crash sequence, the Wales sequence, and the epilogue.
Take a look at our VFX breakdown below to see more of our work!
PET SEMETARY
When the Creed family relocates from Boston to rural Maine, they discover a mysterious burial ground in the nearby woods – a place of unspeakable horror.
MPC / MR. X was involved early with prep work two months prior to the start of shooting, and also provided on-set support – working closely with the directors (Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer) and the producers in Montréal.
In total, the team completed about 400 shots.
Find out more about the work in VFX Voice article here.
THE SILENCE
When the world is under attack from creatures who hunt their human prey by sound, a teenager who lost her hearing at 13, and her family, seek safety in a remote refuge. However, they discover a cult who are eager to exploit her heightened senses.
MPC/MR. X worked on close to 300 shots in total, with the work focusing on the pterosaur-like creature, referred to as vesps.
Find out more about our work in this Art of VFX interview here.
DORIAN GRAY
Dorian Gray is a 2009 British dark fantasy horror film based on Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. MPC’s team led by Charley Henley completed over 70 shots for the film including set extensions and CG environments, as well as covering on-set supervision for all the visual effects shots on location around London and at Ealing Studios.
The biggest challenge was to transform the decaying picture and bring it to life. An original portrait was painted by Paul Benny, who worked closely with MPC’s concept artists to develop the look and texture which would work well as the portrait evolved.
CG maggots were blended with pictures of the painting and a 3D oil painting texture. For the final state of decay, the director wanted the painting to come alive. To achieve this a multi-camera set-up was used to capture Ben Barnes’s performance and practical make-up textures to help create the painting coming alive.
3D scanners were used to collect digital data of the exact dimensions of the sets as well as Ben Barnes himself with prosthetic make-up of his final state. This enabled quick and accurate modeling in the computer environment. The live-action was enhanced, adding CG holes and eaten flesh. For the scene when Dorian stretches through the canvas transitioning from 2D picture to 3D image, the main challenge was balancing the lighting from the picture with that of the room, whilst retaining the picture’s original colors and textures and blending this with the live-action room. MPC also carried out a green screen replacement of the picture.
THE EMPTY MAN
The Empty Man is a 2020 American supernatural horror film written and directed by David Prior in his feature directorial debut, based on Cullen Bunn and Vanesa R. Del Rey’s graphic novel of the same name published by Boom! Studios.
