MPC Brings Monsters to Life for Sony Pictures Hit, Goosebumps: Creating VFX, VR Adventure & Title Sequence
22/10/2015
CREATING THE FILM VFX
For the film, the MPC VFX team was led by VFX supervisor Pete Dionne and Robert Winter, and VFX Producer Doug Oddy. Working closely with director Rob Letterman and Production VFX Supervisor Erik Nordby, the team's scope of work ranged from CG environments to magical effects, but the bulk of the work was focused on creating the movie's monsters.
MPC created 17 different creatures including The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, an army of evil lawn Gnomes, the plant monster, a 50-foot Mantis, the Blob, Bug Eyed aliens and a Vampire Poodle. MPC's in-house Art department in London created concept art for the Lawn Gnomes, the Plant Monster, the Blob, the Mantis, and the Vampire Poodle.
With so many monsters, a range of motion design for each character's movement was required. For the bipedal monsters, a combination of motion capture and keyframe animation was used. Depending on the performance required, MPC's artists took a hybrid approach, first capturing movement using MoCap suits and then hand-animating over the top of the data to further elaborate and add nuances to the performance. The Werewolf and the Abominable Snowman both had unique facial proportions so their facial performance was completely keyframe animated.
For the animation of the Lawn Gnomes, it was important to the director that the movement looked realistic and devoid of any deformation. This limitation perfectly complimented the mischievous personality of the characters. To justify this rigid style of motion, every time the Gnomes moved, their outer shells would crack and split at the joints, allowing for an increased range of motion. To achieve this across an entire army of gnomes, a method was designed to drive cracking in the rig, and then embellish the hero moments with additional FX simulations.
The most challenging creatures from a motion design standpoint were the Blob and the Plant Monster. Neither creature had any obvious real-world references to start from and both had very dynamic forms, which ruled out traditional rigs. MPC's animators used modular rigs that could be animated to block out the motion, in whatever form was required. This provided them with a base that gave the general motion of the performance, which was then used to drive extensive cloth and fluid dynamics to ultimately define the motion. The shading and lighting of the Blob also proved to be challenging due to the refractive nature of its texture, the ever-changing volume to its form, and the wide range of lighting within the amusement park set. The lighting team had to carefully balance lighting and shading parameters on every single shot in order to maintain consistency throughout the sequence.
In the movie, the Goosebumps manuscripts serve as a portal for the monsters to travel between the realm of fiction and the real world, an event that occurs across several sequences. MPC was tasked with visually describing this story point, which grew into many different complex and unique FX events, depending on the creature, circumstance, and scale. The most prominent element of this effect was designed around the concept of the manuscript ink lifting from the page and forming the creatures. Supporting volumetric elements, airborne debris and snow, flashing lights and tornado-like winds blowing the creatures' fur and clothes all added to the chaos required for the scene.
The final showdown between our heroes and the creatures occurs at an abandoned amusement park in the woods. MPC's pre-vis team were on set in Atlanta during pre-production planning this major sequence. The team development and produced invaluable tech-vis to assist with shooting of the complex Ferris wheel sequence and helped design the action and camera blocking. They were able to reverse-engineer the camera and Ferris wheel motion into a single camera move against a static Ferris wheel carriage, which was then matched in the practical photography. Once the plates were matchmoved and the intended Ferris wheel motion was extrapolated from the camera motion, the plates of the actors effortlessly dropped into the CG action.
Though an elaborate set was built for these scenes, a large number of shots also took place above the forest canopy in and around an 80-foot-tall Ferris wheel, which was shot on a green screen stage. A CG environment was built using a combination of fully rendered assets, 2.5D projections, and digital matte paintings. MPC provided a wide range of backgrounds and extensions for the practical green screen shots, in addition to several full CG shots, including a sequence where the Ferris wheel detaches from its base and rolls through the forest, leaving a path of destruction behind.
ABOUT THE VIRTUAL REALITY ADVENTURE
MPC also created a virtual reality experience enabling moviegoers to put themselves inside an action-packed scene from the movie. The GoosebumpsVR Adventure was featured in select theaters lobbies across the country.
VR is an intimate and immersive platform that transports the viewer into the space and story, said MPC Executive Producer-VR Tim Dillon. In this way, our VR experience was perfect for Goosebumps. We place an audience member in the car, riding shotgun with Jack Black playing R.L. Stine, while Jack drives through town with a giant praying mantis chasing him down. The result is a virtual reality adventure attraction.
The VR experience, directed by Letterman, was produced end-to-end by MPC's content production division, MPC Creative; this included everything from live-action produ
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
09/05/2024
Join Costa Georgiadis, Melissa Leong & Samuel Johnson For New Ground-breaking Series: The Hospital: In The Deep End
Join Costa Georgiadis, Melissa Leong & Samuel Johnson For New Ground-breaking Se...
09/05/2024
Alone Australia audience continues to grow
Alone Australia audience continues to grow 9 May, 2024 Media releases The program continues to deliver for SBS with significant uplifts in digital BVOD vie...
09/05/2024
Factories of the Future: Aerojet Rocketdyne Completes Key Milestones in Expansion and Modernization Effort
Aerojet Rocketdyne is achieving key milestones executing the $215.6M Cooperative...
09/05/2024
Join Calrec at MPTS 2024
Join Calrec at MPTS 2024 | May 15 -16 | Booth A40 | Olympia, London We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at this year's Media...
09/05/2024
NHL Draft to be First Live Televised Event from Vegas' Sphere
The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held at Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29, marking the first time the event will be held in Las...
09/05/2024
WBD Nears 100M Streaming Subs, Streaming Profits Up
NEW YORK In its Q1 2024 earnings report, Warner Bros. Discovery continued to see growth in its streaming operations, adding 2 million streaming subs in Q1 2024 ...
09/05/2024
Custom Consoles Unveils M-Desk Refinements
LEIGHTON BUZZARD, U.K. Custom Consoles has announced refinements to its M-Desk Technical HA heavy duty height-adjustable desk workstation....
09/05/2024
Veritone Rolls Out AI Consulting, Services Group
DENVER Veritone has launched a consulting and services group focused on bridging the marketplace gap it says exists for seamless artificial intelligence (AI) im...
09/05/2024
How sound (and the technology behind it) can set the tone and enhance emotions in film and TV
Sefi Carmel, CEO and founder of SphereTrax, talks about the importance of the so...
09/05/2024
Yale University's Center for Collaborative Arts and Media (CCAM) Cultivates Creativity with Blackmagic Design
Yale University's Center for Collaborative Arts and Media (CCAM) Cultivates ...
09/05/2024
Blender: Awesome Rack Focus Rig
Blender: Awesome Rack Focus Rig Simon Ubsdell May 9, 2024 0 Comments In which we build a focusing rig in the Blender compositor to enable selective fo...
09/05/2024
Peacock Orders The Office' Offshoot
Peacock has picked up a series from Greg Daniels, who developed The Office for NBC, that is set in the same universe, according to the network, as the NBC hit...
09/05/2024
Sinclair Net Income Drops To $23 Million in First Quarter
Sinclair reported lower net income in the first quarter as distribution revenues rose and ad revenue excluding political spending dipped....
09/05/2024
Vizio Reports $12.1 Million Loss for First Quarter
Vizio Holding Corp., which has agreed to be acquired by Walmart, reported a loss in the first quarter despite growth in its advertising and data businesses....
09/05/2024
Kathleen Keefe, Broadcasting Exec, Dies at 68
Kathleen Keefe, who served as VP of sales for both Hearst Television and Post-Newsweek Stations, died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Roxbury, Connecticu...
09/05/2024
Future Today Adds Movies From Warner Bros Discovery to Fawesome
Streaming company Future Today said it made a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery that will bring 46 movies to Future Today's Fawesome channel....
09/05/2024
Warner Bros. Discovery Reports $966 Million First-Quarter Loss
Despite reporting a profit for its direct-to-consumer business, Warner Bros. Discovery reported a big loss as it took huge write-downs in the first quarter....
09/05/2024
Nexstar Reports Higher Net Income in First Quarter
Nexstar Media Group reported higher first-quarter earnings and said that it cut losses at The CW by $50 million year-over-year....
09/05/2024
Fubo Grabs Viewer Attention, According to TVision Study
Fubo, the sports-focused streaming service, scored high in getting its viewers attention, according to a study conducted by measurement and analytics company TV...
09/05/2024
SailGP Expanding LiveLineFX Graphics Platform to Other Sports
LONDON SailGP, which sponsors high-speed boat racing events worldwide says it is developing its LiveLineFX sports graphics platform for use in other sports....
09/05/2024
Disney, WBD to Offer Streaming Bundle Starting this Summer
BURBANK, Calif. Starting this summer, U.S. consumers will be able to purchase a new streaming bundle offered by Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery that includes ...
09/05/2024
Sony and Apollo plan to break up Paramount'
Companies are expected to sell off Paramounts linear channels as well as close Paramount Plus By Jenny Priestley Published: May 9, 2024 Companies are expe...
09/05/2024
Paramount Global Selects Amdocs Vubiquity to Provide Mana...
Amdocs (NASDAQ:DOX), a leading provider of software and services to communications and media companies, today announced that Vubiquity, an Amdocs company, has b...
09/05/2024
CueScript Awarded Best of Show for CueFlip at NAB 2024
CueScript, the leading developer of professional teleprompting solutions, has announced that its CueFlip screen-to-screen folding field prompter has won in this...
09/05/2024
Mother's Day Ideas from CBC
Capitol Broadcasting has a myriad of ways to celebrate Mom! In honor of Mother's Day, here are a few ideas CBC divisions have to help you honor, or remember...
09/05/2024
Scripps Appoints New President and CEO of the Scripps Howard Fund
CINCINNATI Meredith Delaney has been appointed president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Fund, the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company....
09/05/2024
Walmart Launches the Onn. 4K Streaming Device
Following leaks earlier this month of Walmart's plans to launch a new 4K streaming box, Walmart has officially unveiled the Onn. 4K Pro, a hybrid streaming ...
09/05/2024
DirecTV Adds More CW Stations
DirecTV continues to add CW affiliates to its streaming line-up, with the addition of four stations owned by Gray Television....
09/05/2024
Takeshi Kitano's film KUBI graded with DaVinci Resolve
Takeshi Kitano's film KUBI graded with DaVinci Resolve Brie Clayton May 8, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design today announced that DaVinci Resolve ...
09/05/2024
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER Brie Clayton May 8, 2024 0 Comments Specialist in deliverables for cinema, events and trade shows Ro...
09/05/2024
Simplify Your Filmmaking with Portable Lights
Simplify Your Filmmaking with Portable Lights Sean Alami May 8, 2024 0 Comments Discover the sleek, mobile Zhiyun lights that enhance cinematic scenes...
09/05/2024
The Benefits of using an Audio Interface
The Benefits of using an Audio Interface Colin Smith May 8, 2024 0 Comments This tutorial takes you through the hardware and software benefits of usin...
09/05/2024
Mother's Day Idea from CBC
Capitol Broadcasting has a myriad of ways to celebrate Mom! In honor of Mother's Day, here are a few ideas CBC divisions have to help you honor, or remember...
09/05/2024
Lachlan Murdoch Sees Progress Toward Sports Streaming Product
Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said his company, The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Discovery are in a two-minute drill to get their streaming sports joint venture t...
09/05/2024
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Joins Prime Video's NASCAR Team
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. is joining the Prime Video broadcast booth when the streaming network begins NASCAR Cup Series coverage next year. Earnhardt Jr...
09/05/2024
Nexstar Pitches Sports on The CW, Extra Reach Via Stations (Upfronts)
If upfront advertisers are looking for reach, Nexstar Media Group believes its base of local stations gives it a unique way to achieve that goal....
09/05/2024
Pluto TV Debuts NBCUniversal Local Streaming News Channels
NBCUniversal Local's 15 NBC and Telemundo local and regional streaming news channels begin launching on Pluto TV this month, starting May 8 with five channe...
09/05/2024
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead' Debuts on BET Plus May 16
BET Plus said it has set May 16 as the premiere date for its original movie Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead....
09/05/2024
Disney's Rita Ferro Is Banking on Sports, Streaming, Tech (Upfronts)
Heading into the upfront, the advertising market is noticeably healthier than it was a year ago, Rita Ferro, president of global advertising sales at The Walt D...
09/05/2024
Into the Unknown: Teaser for Joko Anwar's Nightmares and Daydreams' Unveils a Sci-fi Supernatural Universe
Back to All News Into the Unknown: Teaser for Joko Anwar's Nightmares and ...
09/05/2024
Keep the Faith: The Believers' Returns for Season 2
Back to All News Keep the Faith: The Believers' Returns for Season 2 Entertainment 09 May 2024 GlobalThailand Link copied to clipboard Responding to ...
09/05/2024
Laying the foundations of a new partnership with Chandler Homes
Posted on 09 May 2024 Getting into the hearts and minds of people looking for modern and stylish apartment living on the Lancashire coast is the focus of a mar...
09/05/2024
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in MoffettNathanson's Media, Internet & Communications Conference 2024
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in MoffettNa...
09/05/2024
Exhibition Schedule 2024
It's exhibition season again, and dB will be at several major shows, eager to meet as many visitors as possible. At The Media Production & Technology Show ...
09/05/2024
Prison Journalism: Challenges of foreign citizens' imprisonment in South Africa
Prison Journalism: Challenges of foreign citizens' imprisonment in South Afr...
09/05/2024
Prison Journalism: Pray for liberation and healing
Prison Journalism: Pray for liberation and healingThabo Mthembu was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Prison from 2014 to 2019. Read Thabo's story by Thabo Mthemb...
09/05/2024
Taylor Swift's European Eras tour kicks off in Paris TONIGHT
Taylor Swift's European Eras tour kicks off in Paris TONIGHTThe highest-grossing tour in history has finally arrived in Europe as Taylor Swift kicks off her...
09/05/2024
Tonight on Scandal: MaHilda and Phakamile are forced into navigating a tense truce
Tonight on Scandal: MaHilda and Phakamile are forced into navigating a tense tru...