Contents TRON: Legacy

Legacy System

Article by Jody Duncan


For TRON: Legacy, the long-overdue sequel to the 1982 cult favorite, TRON, about a computer programmer who becomes trapped within a videogame's virtual realms, director Joseph Kosinski and visual effects supervisor Eric Barba took advantage of sophisticated digital and stereoscopic imaging techniques to give the film its modern spin. Teams at Digital Domain, Mr. X, Ollin Studio, Prime Focus and Whiskytree generated the spectacular visuals of the sequel's computer gaming world, while Quantum Creation built specialty costumes featuring cutting-edge lighting technology.


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

The Last Enemy

Article by Joe Fordham


In this first of a two-part climax, adapted from the seventh and final volume of J.K. Rowling's hugely popular children's book series, wizard Harry Potter and his two best friends roam beyond the walls of Hogwarts in search of the scattered fragments of the evil Lord Voldemort's soul. Returning director David Yates reunited with visual effects supervisor Tim Burke, special effects supervisor John Richardson and makeup effects supervisor Nick Dudman to bring the newest and darkest film in the franchise to fruition. Lending a hand were series veterans Double Negative, The Moving Picture Company, Framestore, Cinesite, Rising Sun Pictures and Baseblack.


The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Sea Quest

Article by Joe Fordham


Director Michael Apted took the helm of the third film based on the C.S. Lewis' fantasy novels, as the narrative picks up with the Pevensie children joining King Caspian and a band of mythological creatures on a sea voyage to save Narnia. Makeup effects artists at KNB EFX Group and special effects supervisor Brian Cox collaborated with visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton and teams at The Moving Picture Company, Framestore, Cinesite, The Mill and The Senate to create an array of all-new creatures, fantasy environments and nautical settings.


Hereafter

Visions of the Hereafter

Article by Jody Duncan


To realize an intense and breathtaking simulation of a massive tsunami that destroys an ocean-front resort town in the opening of Hereafter, director Clint Eastwood relied on the expertise of visual effects supervisor Michael Owens, and the work of artists at Scanline, led by visual effects supervisors Stephan Trojansky and Bryan Grill. The effects teams also provided artful glimpses into the afterlife, the exploration of which is the unifying theme of the film's interwoven storylines.

Contents Battle: Los Angeles

Aliens in the City of Angels

Article by Jody Duncan


In Battle: Los Angeles, a documentary-style action film that follows a squad of Marines defending the city of Los Angeles from invading hordes of extraterrestrials, director Jonathan Liebesman presents a gritty view of modern warfare, aided by visual effects supervisor Everett Burrell and an international complement of vendors that included Cinesite, Hydraulx, Luma Pictures, The Embassy, Matte World Digital, Spin VFX and Soho VFX. Makeup effects supervisor Joel Harlow and his crew contributed practical aliens.


Rango

The Good, the Bad and the Dusty

Article by Jody Duncan


Industrial Light & Magic and director Gore Verbinski, joined forces to make their computer-animated feature debut with Rango, a comical tale about a hapless chameleon-turned-hero stranded in a harsh desert environment, who ends up taking a stand against bandits to save a small western town. Verbinski called upon veteran visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Tim Alexander to head the ambitious project, and engaged celebrated concept artist Mark 'Crash' McCreery - in his first credit as production designer - to oversee the film's distinctly un-animated look.


Black Swan

Metamorphosis

Article by Joe Fordham


Director Darren Aronofsky charts the descent into madness of a young prima ballerina, who succumbs to backstage pressures and rivalries during a production of Swan Lake in Black Swan. Using surreal and disturbing imagery to create the manifestations of Nina's hallucinatory decline, Aronofsky called upon frequent collaborator Dan Schrecker to oversee visual effects, and Mike Marino at Prosthetic Renaissance to handle makeup effects. LOOK Effects provided visual effects for the film.


Sucker Punch

Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Article by Jody Duncan


To realize filmmaker Zack Snyder's exotic fantasy Sucker Punch, about a young woman wrongfully incarcerated in a mental asylum who escapes into a succession of alternate realities, production designer Rick Carter and visual effects supervisor John DesJardin brought to life settings both real and imagined, with the help of key vendors Animal Logic, The Moving Picture Company, Pixomondo and Prime Focus. Also assisting in the creation of creatures and effects were special effects supervisor Joel Whist and prosthetic artists at Quantum Creation.

Contents X-Men: First Class

First Class Effects

Article by Jody Duncan


In this franchise 'reboot,' exploring the genesis of X-Men's warring mutant factions, director Matthew Vaughn and visual effects designer John Dykstra devised shots illustrating the super-powers of both new and returning characters, aided by a visual effects contingent comprised of MPC, Cinesite, Weta Digital, Rhythm & Hues, Luma Pictures, Digital Domain and The Senate. Complementing the visual effects were mutant makeups provided by Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated, makeup artist David Elsey and Spectral Motion.


Thor

God of Thunder

Article by Joe Fordham


Director Kenneth Branagh brings the hammer-wielding Norse deity to life in this action-packed tale based on the popular Marvel Comics series. Under supervisor Wesley Sewell, seven vendors handled the visual effects work, including Whiskytree, BUF Compagnie and Digital Domain, which devised the film's mythic realms, and Luma Pictures, which focused on earthbound effects. Special effects were overseen by Daniel Sudick, while Legacy Effects handled special makeup effects.


Priest

Holy Warriors

Article by Jody Duncan


To depict the stark, alternate-reality world of Priest - the setting for this post-apocalyptic tale about a centuries-long war between man and vampires - director Scott Charles Stewart called upon visual effects supervisor Jonathan Rothbart to oversee the creation of vampires and environments in some 800 shots, divided among an array of effect facilities including Svengali FX, Tippett Studio, The Senate, Spin VFX and Zoic Studios. KNB EFX Group contributed vampire creature suits, makeup effects and dummies.


Source Code

Reality Deconstructed

Article by Joe Fordham


Following his directorial debut with Moon, filmmaker Duncan Jones returns with Source Code, a techno-thriller about a covert operation's use of immersive virtual reality to investigate a terrorist explosion onboard a Chicago commuter train. Special effects supervisor Ryal Cosgrove, makeup effects supervisor Adrien Morot and visual effects supervisor Louis Morin furnished reality-bending effects, with the help of Modus FX, Rodeo FX, MPC, Oblique FX, Fly Studio and Mr. X.

Contents Captain America: The First Avenger

Soldier Blue

Article by Joe Fordham


In this spirited adaptation of Marvel Comics' World-War-II-era comic book, chronicling the transformation of a puny, but patriotic, army reject into a turbo-charged warrior tasked with thwarting the Nazis, director Joe Johnston brings to life period settings and retro high-tech gadgetry with the help of visual effects supervisor Christopher Townsend and more than a dozen vendors led by Double Negative, including Lola VFX, Matte World Digital, Luma Pictures, Framestore, Cinesite, Fuel VFX, Method Studios and The Senate VFX. Paul Corbould supervised special effects and David White guided makeup effects.


Cowboys & Aliens

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Article by Jody Duncan


Director Jon Favreau blends two classic genres to create this clever sci-fi/western hybrid in which Old West gunslingers, ranchers and Indians join forces to battle aliens from another galaxy that have invaded their small town. Favreau teamed with Industrial Light & Magic and Legacy Effects - with an assist from The Embassy, Shade VFX, New Deal Studios, Fuel VFX and Kerner Optical - to create the film's terrifying aliens, alien ships and hardware, while Daniel Sudick oversaw on-set special effects.


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Wizard War

Article by Joe Fordham


For the eighth and final film in the series, based on the best-selling childrens' books by J. K. Rowling, boy wizard Harry Potter makes a final stand against his lifelong nemesis, Lord Voldemort, with the help of his many friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. To depict the epic battle, returning director David Yates re-teamed with special effects supervisor John Richardson, makeup effects supervisor Nick Dudman and visual effects supervisor Tim Burke, assisted by an army of effects artisans that encompassed thirteen visual effects vendors and seven facilities involved in stereoscopic conversion.


Anonymous

This Realm, This England

Article by Jody Duncan


Best known for his sci-fi/disaster films, director Roland Emmerich shuns cinematic pyrotechnics in favor of Elizabethan-era political intrigue and character-driven drama in Anonymous. To capture the film's Shakespearean-era settings, Emmerich relied on extensive use of greenscreens and cutting-edge digital technology, calling upon visual effects supervisors Marc Weigert and Volker Engel of Uncharted Territory - his filmmaking collaborators for more than two decades - to provide the photorealistic computer generated environments.