Monsters and Mayhem for This Is The End 20 Jun 2013
Modus FX completed 240 visual effects shots for This Is The End, the apocalyptic comedy directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, which opened last weekend at the box office.
This Is The End follows six friends trapped in a house after a series of strange and catastrophic events devastate Los Angeles. As the world unravels outside, dwindling supplies and cabin fever threaten to tear apart the friendships inside. Eventually, they are forced to leave the house, facing their fate and the true meaning of friendship and redemption. The film is written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and stars James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, with Michael Cera and Emma Watson. The film is produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver.
To bring the story to life, Modus FX created cataclysmic environments, a range of CG monsters, Rapture lights, and other effects to convey catastrophe amid the comedic antics of the ensemble cast.
New Orleans, where the film was shot entirely on location, needed to be transformed into Los Angeles for the big screen. Modus created concepts and previs on site during preproduction for weeks before shooting began.
The movie is about a series of catastrophic events, said Yanick Wilisky, VFX executive supervisor for Modus on This Is The End. Because of the visual scale of the film, we wanted to maximize the efficiency of the postproduction pipeline, as well as the quality of the results, by working with Paul Linden, VFX supervisor and VFX producer, the directors and production team right from the beginning of the process.
The impressive results ranged from earthquakes to a giant sinkhole, huge panicked crowds, winged creatures and giant demons wreaking havoc.
Rapture Light
The action opens with two characters entering a convenience store just as an earthquake hits Los Angeles. High winds blow and trees fall in front of the store as people are running to get away. Rays of blue light shine down from the clouds, lifting the Chosen to safety, while the many left behind look on in horror, left to their fate.
We started designing and experimenting for this whole sequence even when the movie was still in the development stage, said Wilisky. Tons of research went into this scene so that, when we got to New Orleans, we had a pretty good idea of how we would film it.
A huge crane was used to shine a high-intensity spotlight from above while another crane lifted the saved Angelinos into the air. This gave Modus a visual starting point, to which they added elements to enhance the look while removing the wires and attachments that pulled the actors up.
Partying Like There's No Tomorrow
The perfect house was found for the shoot, a residence that Modus converted into a home on the Hollywood hills near Sunset Boulevard overlooking the lights of Los Angeles, said Wilisky. We added a CG second floor and expanded the hallways with digital set extensions.
News reports of natural disasters begin coming in, frightening sounds are heard from outside and what appeared to be a simple earthquake becomes a sequence of events. The partygoers move onto the front lawn where they find themselves on the edge of a giant sinkhole. In the distance, fire rages in the hills, engulfing homes, forests and, of course, the famous Hollywood sign.
We did the previs for this sequence before work on the movie had even begun, and it really helped us to plan the shoot ahead, said Wilisky. We did a couple of versions for Paul, Seth and Evan until they loved it. Paul had the idea to reverse the normal process, moving a camera around stationary actors to give the illusion that they were falling down the hell-hole. Modus then used previs data to show the expected movement during shooting.
The environments were matte painted and the sinkhole generated by the earthquake was created in Softimage, while the crumbling of the ground was simulated in Maya and then transferred to Softimage for the final render.
On-set Efficiency from Previs to the End
Fortunately, James Weaver, producer on the film, as well as Rogen and Goldberg, believed in the advantages of getting the VFX facility involved in early concept work. Modus was glad to be involved in production meetings with heads of all the departments in preproduction to go over the previs and plan the shoot.
Paul would show Seth and Evan camera angles proposed by Modus, which made it easier for them to figure out the sequence of shots, how they were going to film them, the timing, how many shots there would be and whether it would all work according to the production schedule, said Wilisky. The directors were using previs as a tool to give them an idea of the type of camera angles to use before shooting or as an inspiration.
After Modus FX did this previs, they gave it to the stunt coordinator, Steve Ritzi, who completed all the stunt choreography, shot by shot. This brought the previs work to another level, explained Wilisky. When we got to the set, all of the stunts were already choreographed and everyone knew what angles to use for the shots.
This film was a great experience for us, Wilisky said. I found New Orleans magical and the set warm and inviting. We'd hear Seth's contagious laugh in the huge warehouse first thing in the morning and the crew would know, that's it, we're starting. The positive attitude on the set spilled over into the movie. It's dynamic, fun and audiences are going to love it.
This Is The End marks a real maturation for Modus, said Wilisky. We've gone from perfecting subtle effects and creatures to acting as a main vendor for this VFX-heavy feature-length movie. It's really an exciting time for us.
About Modus FX
Since launching in 2007, Modus FX has b
Most recent headlines
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
Monsters and Mayhem for This Is The End 20 Jun 2013
