Avengers: Infinity War
Cinesite joined forces with Marvel Studios to create 215 shots for Avengers: Infinity War, an unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making. Anthony and Joe Russo directed, Dan DeLeeuw was production VFX supervisor and Andrew Morley was Cinesite’s in-house supervisor.
In his quest to obtain one of the Infinity Stones for Thanos, Maw has kidnapped and is torturing Doctor Strange on the deck of the Q ship. Principal photography for the sequence was shot on a partially built set in Atlanta. Cinesite created large sections of the environment in CG, based on concept work and previsualiation geometry provided by Marvel’s art department. Cinesite’s team rebuilt the ship interior using a modular 3D construction, creating an alternative damaged version for later destruction sequences. The environments included the stunning nodule screen; a massive fluid, motion-based screen on the front of the ship showing the exterior celestial environment, complete with infinite stars and galaxies.
However, the most challenging aspect of Cinesite’s work was the creation of Ebony Maw, an important and entirely CG character seen in extreme camera close up. Actor Tom Vaughan-Lawlor’s facial performance was captured using a head rig; this data, combined with set photography and witness-cam footage was used as a guide for the full body animation. The team received artwork and a high-resolution digital sculpt, from which they rebuilt the character.
Further character animation was required for ensuing fight sequences’s loyal cloak!) battle to free Strange, and a later skirmish when they meet with The Guardians. Both Iron Man and Spider-Man, newly transformed in his enhanced “Iron Spider” suit, were entirely computer generated. In dialogue shots where their masks are removed rotomation was key to the successful integration of the actors’ heads with the CG suited bodies.
The fight with the Guardians involved multiple visual effects, from full CG character animation to blast and web effects, CG daggers, Quill’s mask, Mantis’ antennae and damage to the Q ship environment.
Avengers: End Game
Avengers: Endgame is the sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which Cinesite has contributed visual effects to. The latest record-breaking box office smash includes 264 of our shots, which were overseen by Cinesite VFX supervisor Simon Stanley-Clamp.Endgame picks up where Avengers: Infinity War left off, when half of life in the universe was destroyed with a single snap of Thanos’ fingers. Five years later, the remaining Avengers assemble once more to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe.
The iconic sequence where Tony Stark is lost in space on board Quill’s M-Ship was largely down to Cinesite. We created the exterior shots of the ship, which show the loneliness and isolation of its position in space, as well as what we see through the ship’s windscreen. We also blackened Nebula’s eyes and added her robotic arm in CG.
The exciting chase of Hawkeye by the terrifying Outriders beneath the rubble of the Avengers’ base was also down to us. With eight limbs for each creature and a great deal of interaction between them, the choreography of the action was a particular challenge.
We created a number of animation cycles to reflect the multiple ways the Outriders move – running, climbing, crawling and leaping. Although Hawkeye is fast, the Outriders are faster. It quickly became apparent in blocking the animation for the shots, that their strength in numbers was also their weakness within a tunnel environment. They get in each other’s way in a confined space, each intent on its prey, regardless of the actions of the others. The scenes were blocked out and the animation subsequently refined for each creature, ensuring convincing interaction with the tunnel environment.
Much of our work involved revisiting scenes from previous Marvel movies Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). For those, it was important to match the content and tone of the original film. Rhodey and Nebula’s brief encounter with Quill from Guardians is one such example. The action takes place on the deserted planet Morag.
