Leading visual effects studio delivers 233 shots across 12 sequences, including the action-packed battle through Camden between the deviant Kro and Eternals Sersei and Sprite, turning a double decker bus into rose petals, and extensive cosmic FX work including suns, big bang explosions, and supernovas, on Marvel’s latest MCU adventure.
Scanline VFX has shared with AWN some of their stellar visual effects work on Marvel Studios’ latest MCU adventure, Eternals. Brought onto the project early during concept development to help visualize the story, the studio ultimately delivered 233 shots across 12 sequences.
One of main sequences involved the action-packed battle sequence through Camden between deviant Kro and Eternals Sersei and Sprite. As Kro appears from the canal, Sersei deploys her celestial energy, trapping Kro in quicksand and giving them time to escape. This visual language for the celestial energy is something seen throughout the film as transformations occur and the powers of the Eternals are deployed.
Not only did Scanline integrate a CG Kro into the sequence, the VFX team digitally extended parts of Camden’s city streets and buildings to account for various action beats. Through a combination of dig-double work and innovative compositing techniques, Scanline created dozens of copies of both Sersei and Sprite in an attempt to confuse Kro. They also created the unique effect for when Sersei turns a double decker bus into thousands of rose petals.
As Sersei is speaking to Arishem and finds out how she was created, the World Forge environment appears behind her in the space void. Scanline architected both the exterior and interior of this environment, conceptualizing its design. The World Forge interior was comprised of thousands of individual set pieces, dressed in layers of detail such as crystal stalagmites, gold filaments, and organic vegetation pieces. As Sersei moves through the environment, she encounters her replicated self among a long line of others, as well as the mesmerizing wall of memories, filled with memory strands and crystal pieces.
Scanline also produced extensive cosmic FX work to fill the voids of space. Its team created suns, big bang explosions, black holes, and supernovas to illustrate new galaxies being formed. To illustrate the concept of the emergence, Tiamut’s giant gold hand bursts through the surface of the earth, destroying the globe and shattering it to pieces, leaving a golden celestial in its place.
Source: Scanline VFX
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
