'Prometheus' Visual Effects Broken Down

MPC or The Moving Picture Company is famous for creating truly stunning visual effects for blockbuster films like, 'Wrath of the Titans', 'John Carter' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. They also did the effects for the mind blowing 'Prometheus'.  In the first video VFX Supervisor, Richard Stammers, explains how they created the plant surface (or moon's), of LV-223. He explains how they used Google Earth as a reference for locations used for the film's backdrop. In the second video MPC shows snippets of various scenes broken down.

 

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Rebecca Britt is a South Texas based commercial, architectural and concert photographer. When she's not working Rebecca enjoys spending time with her two daughters, playing Diablo III, and shooting concerts (Electronic Dance Music). Rebecca also runs the largest collective of EDM (electronic dance music) photographers on social media.

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14 Comments

The amount of work is just mind blowing.  Thanks for sharing and thanks to them for making that video.

It is so sad that such an incredible achievement in effects was wasted on one of the most monumentally stupid movies in recent history. 

It may have been a weak plot, but at time I forgot what I was watching and was just blown away by how just beautiful EVERY SINGLE shot once. I think there was nothing wasted in my time watching it or in MPC doing just a great job. 

It wasn't Oscar material but in the scheme of complete garbage movies out there I wouldn't say it even remotely comes close to qualifying. In a generation with films like Twilight, LOL or the Justin Bieber Movie Prometheus looks like Citizen Kane.

Great effects and great movie. It is so sad that people don't understand that in the end these are made for your entertainment. As it seems that everyone can make better movies/plots them selves. Nothing is good enough. Everybody has something to say, oh those so wise opinions.

 You are honestly defending the Prometheus script? If as much care was taken on the plot as it was on the special effects, it would have truly been a magical movie.

I agree.

If I was entertained for two-three hours then it was a success in my eyes. People get too picky about movies and films. Just go out and enjoy it for what it is.  

Few movies these days have made enough leaps to surprise the viewer. I feel that Prometheus did just that. If it was what we expected it would've been criticized as predictable. And why is anyone criticizing the "logic" of a sci-fi fantasy, which requires the viewer to be taken into the world of the story? Yes, some films go through great pains to make everything feel logical, (Which again, seems ironic) but others find no need and simply gets on with the story. I left logic at the door the moment the characters came out of their sleeping for years.

Keen to watch this now! Thanks for the insight.

I've read here an there that there was significant meddling in the plot from the studio executives, the original script being fantastic and it getting watered down by people who shouldn't get a say. I see that every day as a designer and with $200M on the line, you can believe that execs are going to meddle.

There were kernels of potential genius in the movie, but yes, spoiled by many disappointingly weak plot points. That said, the visuals are world class, far above many contemporary movies. MPC did an incredible job. The movie is worth watching for the visuals alone.

Great visuals, disapointing story and weak characters. If you've seen it, this sums the movie up perfectly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLbcZggwVCw

How the heck do they do photoshop at a video level? :-O

I can only imagine how long the render times were on some of these shots and how many computers they needed to pull it of. The work is just beautiful ,how they did the particle effects ,the lighting. It makes me want to do a SFX reel.

Check out this article on when to NOT use Visual Effect by award winning VFX artist: http://www.indiefilmhustle.com/visual-effects/