Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
MR. X has earned its stellar reputation on VFX work for scary content with Penny Dreadful, The Strain, Pet Sematary, and Guillermo del Toro projects such as Crimson Peak and Mama. This year they once again partnered with the Oscar-winning director, along with producer Miles Dale and director André Øvredal, for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
This was a particularly challenging feature because PG-13 rated films like this one have restrictions – among which is no excessive blood. MR. X teams worked closely with Øvredal to ensure that the film was as scary as possible — even without much blood. The result was indeed something to keep you awake at night.
Some examples of the creative and extremely effective VFX in Scary Stories are the terrifying Jangly Man – whose limbs can separate and become characters of their own -– Harold the scarecrow, who has no abdomen, and a pimple that hatches hundreds of tiny spiders.
“I loved working at Technicolor Toronto and really hope to have the chance to come back one day,” said Øvredal. “A great team, state of the art facilities, and great workflow between all the post departments – it made even long post days easy.”
Check out MR. X’s Behind the Scenes Reel for Scary Stories: https://youtu.be/XFlrJPfuN6M
Check out the Technicolor Postcast Episodes: https://www.technicolor.com/podcasts
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is streaming now on Amazon.
The Prodigy
The Prodigy released in February 2019. Directed by Nicholas McCarthy and starring Taylor Schilling and Jackson Robert Scott, this film follows the story of a child whose disturbing behavior is either evil, supernatural, or a mental illness. His mother (Schilling) is forced to investigate whether sinister forces are involved with her son’s dark turn. Vulture described The Prodigy as a New Age variation on The Exorcist and The Omen saying: “The film is cruelly well-made.”
Technicolor VFX worked on various shots for The Prodigy, providing some of the most gruesome VFX in the film.
Take a look at Technicolor’s Gore Reel and see those shots as well as some of their other horror genre work over the last year.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
For Disney’s recent release, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, MPC Film and Mill Film were both on board to deliver industry leading VFX.
MPC Film worked on some of its most extensive world building to date, from the Ulstead Kingdom to the Fey’s nest and Aurora’s castle; Mill Film’s work totaled over 320 shots, including an elaborate wedding scene with several nods to the original Sleeping Beauty animated feature.
Technicolor’s Mill Film and MPC Film teams partnered closely on Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, seamlessly sharing assets and shots. For instance, the Mill Film team worked on roto-animating and integrating the special Fey wings, developed by MPC, onto dozens of characters, including Maleficent herself.
"Working on Maleficent was a great experience,” says Damien Stumpf, MPC VFX Supervisor. “I really appreciated working with [Production VFX Supervisor] Gary Brozenich and director Joachim Rønning to help achieve the vision. We were really united as a team."
“Technicolor’s VFX studios are uniquely placed to meet this kind of challenge. Our shared infrastructure allowed us to expedite these complex assets and collaborate effectively to meet the creative challenges we faced,” says Lauren McCallum, Mill Film’s Global Managing Director. “I’m truly proud and impressed by the dedication and can-do attitude of our newly formed team. You can really see their energy and ingenuity in the work.”
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is in theaters now.