MPC Adelaide’s team for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was led by VFX Supervisor Malte Sarnes and Executive Producer Gillian Howe, alongside Creative Director Nick Pill, Associate Producer Turea Blyth, CG Supervisors Robin Reyer and Juri Bryan, Animation Supervisor Art Curry and Compositing Supervisor Harsh Mavi.

Working with MPC’s Montreal, Bangalore and LA teams, Adelaide collaborated on the film’s breathtaking visuals, with over 1000 artists delivering more than 800 shots. 

” I feel honored to have collaborated with Malte and the team at MPC Adelaide, they are a force! “
– Jesse J. Chisholm, Production VFX Supervisor

 

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, directed by Peyton Reed, is the kick-off into Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the continuation of the Ant-Man storyline. It is also the introduction of Kang the Conqueror, who makes his debut in this film. The bulk of the film is set in the Quantum Realm, where Scott Lang / Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne / The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) along with Hope’s parents, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Scott’s daughter Cassie are accidentally sent. They soon find themselves exploring the Realm and interacting with strange new creatures. 

MPC Adelaide was tasked with developing various locations inside the Quantum Realm – an otherworldly, fantastical environment, made up of multiple distinct locations, where anything is possible. The environments team created a single, massive environment that covered 360 degrees and included Hank and MODOK’s aerial fight, Kang’s transformation, Janet’s homestead, the observation deck sequence and the Blightened core. The FX department created a variety of simulations from large-scale environmental destruction to explosions, energy effects, laser beams and refractive energy, while the animation team worked on a number of creatures including the snail-horse hybrid creature, known as the ‘Snorse’ as well as Krylar’s private vessel and digi doubles.  

” MPC Adelaide was given the daunting task of presenting the first sequence of images in our film. This was our first look at the newly designed Quantum Realm. If our audience didn’t buy this is as a real place, we knew our movie would fall on its face.
Malte and his team took this challenge to heart and presented a gorgeous and tactile world that became the standard for all other vendors to rise to. “
– Jesse J. Chisholm, Production VFX Supervisor 

One of the many moving parts in the production of these sequences was Adelaide’s internal Art Department, led by Art Director Nick Pill. “We were enlisted early on to depict images for the Quantum Realm environment known as the Homestead. This also involved its colour transitions during various events and changes over time. A lot of the effects for this area also required designing along with Kang’s ‘Blue Face’ exploration, producing still images before rolling into the FX Department” said Pill. His team was integral to creating the final look of the environment. In order to create it, the team researched microscopic, subatomic, and neural networks, also referencing artworks from Gerard van Smirren. 

“ The skies, parts of the environment, and effects had to be shared with other vendors. It was technically challenging, because it had to be easily accessible to other vendors, using different software and methodologies. It required good communication and a collaborative spirit between vendors. ” 
– Malte Sarnes, VFX Supervisor

MPC’s Asset department built a library of detailed CG foliage and vegetation to distribute throughout the environment, added depth with multiple layers. CG Supervisor Robin Reyer notes that, “the Quantum Realm environments built by MPC, spanned over 40 kilometers in diameter and included 20 kilometers of Quantum Skies. These skies include numerous effects such as slow-moving portals, stars, noise waves and clouds.” 

Without doubt, the most challenging aspect of MPC Adelaide’s work were the sequences involving the Blight. Overall, the object was around 400 meters in diameter, reaching almost 200 meters in height. Besides requiring extensive design to understand what it looked like, it was required to expand in a slow-moving explosion and eventually contract again back into the Core, causing the destruction of the landscape around it. All departments worked together on the Blight, its movement needed to be established in Animation before any complex FX simulation could be run. Simulations were based on an animation rig that drove hero aspects of the Blight, after which the FX simulations were run. 

Sarnes notes that “the work on the Blight was so subjective, it required a lot of creative look development for the general form, scale and look of the Blight and all its connected debris and effects. We wanted to create a logic for this event, and a connection with Kang’s physical core. We built a library of all required Blight elements in our concept and generalist department before we briefed the assets, lookdev and FX departments to create the high-res version of the Blight.” 

Another major task for MPC was Kang’s transformation, the look development for his mask and powers including forcefields and laser beams. For this, MPC used a combination of plate augmentation using FX, as well as full CG replacement of actor Jonathan Majors. Sarnes comments that “the blue-face treatment needed to feel like a layer of protection, yet was required to be subtle so as not to interfere with Major’s performance.” During Kang’s transformation, the Time Sphere shot in plate needed to be replaced with a full CG version to illustrate Kang’s powers and control over it.

The team also needed to augment the practical Krylar cockpit with a glass dome and the vessel’s exterior in YCT and YHM sequences, working in close collaboration with other vendors who were working on MODOK’s performance, which needed to be integrated into our shots. 

“ The opportunity to develop Quantum Realm environments and characters for Marvel inspires huge creative challenges for the whole team and that is what we are all about here at MPC. Realizing the filmmakers vision makes for inspirational moments and satisfying work experience which we relish across all artist disciplines given the complexity required. ”
– Gillian Howe, Executive Producer