VFX Legion recently produced the effects for the vampire tale, Black as Night, a co-production of Amazon Studio and Blumhouse Productions. The movie premiered October 1st on Amazon Prime, kicking off the rollout of the final four films in the thematically related series, Welcome to Blumhouse.
In Marvel Studios’ latest feature film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the film’s antagonist Wenwu (Tony Leung) is unlike most of the villains seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The ancient character operates out of a remote fortress that has existed for centuries, and over the years, has grown and changed, reflecting his loves and losses. It’s an ever changing and fluid structure, created and edited by Marvel Studios longtime collaborator, Oscar-winning visual effects studio Digital Domain. [Editor’s Note: This article contains some spoilers.]
Rising Sun Pictures recreated Chicago’s iconic Cabrini-Green housing project, exactly as it appeared in 1992, for Candyman, the new horror film from director Nia DaCosta, producer Jordan Peele and MGM. Artists from the studio also provided the film’s title character with his trademark hook as part of a package of more than 100 intricately detailed visual effects shots that appear throughout the film.
As a junior look development artist at Rising Sun Pictures, Bridget Dinning is part of a team responsible for the aesthetic aspects of visual effects. Her job requires highly developed technical skills and a discerning artistic eye to ensure that 3D characters, objects, environments, and other assets are consistent in terms of color, lighting, and style.
VFX Legion delivered more than one hundred visual effects for director Rodo Savagues’ action thriller, Don’t Breathe 2, which was released theatrically August 13th. The franchise was born from the creative partnership of Savagues and Fede Alvare, the director of the highly successful first installment, Don’t Breathe, in 2016. Visual effects were key to bringing co-writers Savagues and Alvare’s vision of the sequel to life. Complex computer-generated sequences and digital shots were relied on to augment imagery captured on practical footage, elevating the visceral emotions elicited by the atmospheric thriller.
Rising Sun Pictures recreated huge swaths of Amazon rainforest with photo-real accuracy for Disney’s rollicking adventure film Jungle Cruise. The breathtaking jungle environments are used in several scenes in the film, which follows wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) and intrepid researcher Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) as they pilot a rickety river boat upstream in search of an ancient tree with miraculous healing powers. In all, the studio delivered 300 final visual effects shots.
In 20th Century Studios’ Free Guy, the lines between real and digital are deliberately blurred, with the focus jumping between live-action and CG based on the point of view of the characters. For the filmmakers, it was like creating two movies in one, each requiring different visual effects techniques, from replacing actors with digi-doubles to creating entirely computer-generated cities. To take on that challenge, 20th Century Studios turned to veteran VFX house and Oscar winner Digital Domain. [Editor’s Note: Warning, this article contains spoilers.]
In the third episode of Marvel Studios’ episodic series Loki, the characters Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) find themselves on the doomed alien moon Lamentis-1 orbiting a planet on the verge of total collapse. The location sets the stage for a photorealistic look at celestial destruction, but it also offers a glimpse of humanity’s all-too-possible future. Created by Oscar-winning visual effects studio Digital Domain, it is unique and visually stunning. [Editor’s Note: Warning. This article contains spoilers.]
Das Element has launched software that manages and organizes a visual effects element library. Element libraries play a significant role in the daily VFX workflow. It is very important that these libraries are well structured and organized so artists can quickly find the element that fits the shot best.
