Discover Future Associate’s VFX and postvis for Mortal Kombat II
Sydney’s Future Associate has posted its VFX breakdown for martial arts fantasy film Mortal Kombat II, the latest movie based on the game franchise.
The sequel to the 2021 series reboot, Mortal Kombat II follows Earth’s champions back into combat with the forces of Outworld, featuring an expanded roster of fighters and environments.
Postvis: environment extensions and fire effects for the Blue Portal sequence
Future Associate’s first contribution to the movie was around 100 postvis shots for the Blue Portal sequence, bridging the gap between the stunt team’s previs and the editorial cut.
The sequence was shot against a LED screen to give the performers something to react against, which the studio extended into a full 360-degree environment.
Future Associate also used real-time volumetric tool EmberGen to add fire effects to kicks and punches, for Framestore – which created the final VFX for the sequence – to use as reference.
VFX: fracturing Jade’s staff and finishing the Red Throne Room and Netherworld
Future Associate also worked on final effects for several sequences, for a total of over 200 VFX shots.
The most complex work was for the Red Throne Room sequence, for which Future Associate extended the existing 3D environment created by Rising Sun Pictures to cover new camera angles required by pickup shots.
Future Associate also handled a sequence during which Jade smashes the tip of her staff on the ground, revealing a skull face on two of the fragments as they fly towards the camera.
The staff was shot on set as a practical light prop, which the studio replaced with a full CG staff.
For the fracture, Future Associate ran a base simulation to handle the fragmentation, then animated the hero pieces manually to get the motion required by director Simon McQuoid.
The studio also worked on shots set in the Netherworld, integrating characters inside elements rendered from the 3D environment created by Framestore, and adding portal and fire effects.
Studio: Future Associate
Project: Mortal Kombat II
Artist credits: On IMDb
Other technical info: On Future Associate’s website
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