Things get strange in Marvels new Universe
Throughout 2016 we had the pleasure of working on some of the coolest VFX shots on a feature which was Oscar nominated for it’s visual effects. The film is of course Doctor Strange and tells the story of a lesser known character in the Marvel Universe. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Stephen Strange, an arrogant neurosurgeon who after a car accident seeks help from mystics studying the dark arts and who then turn him into a Sorcerer to protect the World from a magical threat!
Motion Control was brought in for a variety of VFX shots. In the scene where Doctor Strange walks though what looks like a broken mirror two Modular rigs were sync’d together so as to be able to shoot simultaneously. This was achieved with two passes from different sides of the room.
Other shots required more camera speed which is when Bolt on Track was brought in. Multiple passes were needed at different frame rates to make it appear as though Doctor Strange was exiting his body in ‘astroform’. This can be seen in the hospital scenes. Another shot later in the film required the Bolt to run the camera move at full speed forwards and then backwards so different elements of the scene appeared to be moving backwards in time.
We’d like to congratulate VFX supervisor Stephane Cerettii and his team on the Nomination (should’ve won the award) and hope that there is more to come from Marvel’s mystery Universe.