X-Men: Apocalypse VFX Breakdowns by RSP
Rising Sun Pictures Extends Its Mastery over Time in âX-Men: Apocalypseâ
X-Men: Apocalypse, RSP studio tops its award-winning effort in previous X-Men movie with explosive Quicksilver âExtractionâ sequence.
X-Men: Apocalypse features more time-bending magic from Australiaâs Rising Sun Pictures. The visual effects studio contributed to several key sequences in the film, most notably an electrifying scene where Quicksilver (Evan Peters) uses his hyper-speed ability to rescue students from an exploding mansion.
The new film takes Quicksilverâs superhero antics to a new level. As an explosion rips through Professor Xavierâs School for Gifted Youngsters, the speedy mutant races from room to room rescuing students (while pausing to sip a soda and consume a slice of pizza) with everything set to the Eurythmics classic Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). Where the last time the trick included choreographing thousands of falling water drops, this time, it was particles of exploding debris, giant fire balls and one very lucky dog.
RSPâs team, led by Visual Effects Supervisors Tim Crosbie and Dennis Jones and working under the direction of Director Bryan Singer and Production Visual Effects Supervisors John Dykstra and Matt Sloan, had the advantage of having worked with Quicksilver before, but faced the challenge of exceeding their previous, award-winning effort.
âFor the last film, we had to figure out what makes Quicksilver tick, how to get it on film and how to make it believable,â notes Jones. âBut we were lucky because it all happened in one room. This time, he moves through ten locations each with a unique story point. Everything is bigger and bolder.â
The transition from real time to âQuicksilver timeâ occurs just as the explosion that will take down the school begins to erupt. A car carrying Cyclops and Nightcrawler slows to a near halt. Bees freeze in midair. That part of the sequence was created by knitting together several motion control plates, shot at high frame rate, with digital mansion and bee elements, and pyrotechnics.
At that point, Quicksilver appears (moving in apparent real time). He saves a group of kids in the buildingâs lobby by tossing them out a window. As the students fly away, they slow down. âEach of the characters had to be stabilized, repositioned and frozen in time,â recalls Jones. âThe room is filled with frozen debris and, in the background, a fireball is approaching through a hallway. In terms of challenges, that scene had it all.â
Live action elements for the various rooms were shot on practical sets, but as the explosion proceeded, parts of rooms needed to be replaced with digital elements showing them being torn apart. In fact, the entire process of the explosion was carefully choreographed. âIn the initial shots, a pressure wave moves through the building, carrying with it debris and a nice, velvety buffer of dust,â notes Jones. âBy the end of the sequence the dust is gone and we are left with a naked, oily fireball.â
Managing massive amounts of dust, fire and debris, slowed down more than 1000 times required tremendous computing power and data management, and efficient workflow design. But it wasnât all number crunching; artists also got to indulge in bits of fun. Quicksilver is a whimsical character and punctuates his life-saving work by pausing to eat and drink, and otherwise toy with his immobile environment. RSP artists manipulated Quicksilverâs surroundings to heighten the comic effect. âWe looked for ways to ratchet up the sense of danger,â Jones explains. âQuicksilver is a very playful guy, but heâs always operating right at the limit. If he does one more moon walk or pulls one more gag, someone is going to die.â
One of Quicksilverâs last-minute rescues is a dog (played by Bryan Singerâs pet boxer). Jones notes that the team relished the opportunity to send the canine on his way, his ears flapping and tongue wagging in super slow motion. âThatâs the dream,â he says. âYou forget about all the nuts and bolt and focus on telling a good story.â
RSP created a number of other effects for the film including one where a young Cyclops accidentally destroys a tree that had been a favorite of Professor Xavier. The digital mansion that the studio built recurs at several points in the film. But for sheer energy and visual fun, Quicksilverâs Extraction is most likely to impress audiences. Itâs a real show-stopper (no pun intended).
Rising Sun Pictures (RSP) October 2016 demo reel, which shows the most recent examples of vfx work including X-Men: Apocalypse, Game of Thrones Season 6, Pan, and The Legend of Tarzan. More information about RSP at http://www.rsp.com.au
Source: http://www.rsp.com.au