Part of the reason Marvel movies work so well
is that their visual effects are so seamless
that we can rarely tell the difference between
the parts of a scene that are real, and those
that have been digitally enhanced.
But looking at the behind-the-scenes action
for each movie, it becomes clear just how
differently the MCU might look if not for
the talented artists who turn each shot into
stunning and impossible action fare.
Here's a look at how some of your favorite
Marvel movies would have looked without the
magic of special effects.
Iron Man
The hero that started it all is Tony Stark,
our favorite genius billionaire slacker who
turned himself into the title hero by way
of some supreme gadgetry.
Robert Downey Jr. might've been seen as a
risky choice for a leading man spot, but he
slipped into the role of Iron Man like he'd
been playing it all his life.
But even though it was Downey's swagger that
sustained his performance, the character would've
been nothing but grey jumpsuits and green
screen if it weren't for a team of VFX artists
from Industrial Light and Magic.
Director Jon Favreau wasn't a fan of CGI,
and tried to build physical suits whenever
possible, but an enhancement in technology
allowed for those computer-generated versions
to look incredibly realistic.
Ultimately, he met his goal perfectly:
"To mix up the visual effects with practical
effects in a way where you start to forget
where one begins and the other ends."
Captain America: The First Avenger
The fifth MCU entry marked Chris Evans' debut
as Steve Rogers, a scrawny New Yorker who
becomes an all-American super soldier after
agreeing to take part in a military experiment.
Evans got jacked for the role, though his
bulky frame meant that filming the scenes
that took place before he becomes Captain
America were very tricky.
The visual effects department were able to
shrink Evans' actual body for some shots,
but they also used a body double: actor Leander
Deeny.
"And the goal was to make the audience fall
in love with the character before he gets
any muscles, before he puts on the costume,
before he holds the shield."
Visual effects supervisor Edson Williams of
Lola Visual Effects took charge of putting
Evans' face on Leander's body.
And although his double was diligent about
mimicking Evans' body language as best he
could, the company still had their work cut
out.
Williams told The Wrap:
"The head replacements were tricky, because
you were taking the head of a rhinoceros and
putting it on the body of a gazelle."
And while the end result wasn't perfect, it
certainly worked to showcase the Cap's epic
transformation.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Though there were a ton of aerial shots to
grapple with in The Winter Soldier, the main
challenge for Lola Visual Effects was making
Cap's sweetheart Peggy Carter an old lady.
Elderly lookalikes were brought in and prosthetic
makeup was tested, though the results weren't
quite what they were looking for, so they
improvised by digitally projecting the skin
of an elderly actress directly onto Hayley
Atwell's face.
Williams took still frames of the elder woman's
skin and added them to the original photography
of Hayley Atwell in the role, and the results
were spectacular.
Guardians of the Galaxy
The VFX team behind Marvel's nostalgic space
opera Guardians of the Galaxy received Oscar
nominations for their hard work, which most
notably included the creation of two fully
computer-generated characters in Rocket Raccoon
and Groot.
While Rocket was voiced by Bradley Cooper,
the actor did not do any of the motion capture.
That job instead went to director James Gunn's
brother, Sean.
Gunn explained that he used his sibling on
set because he was able to work under conditions
that most actors would struggle with.
Combining his limber maneuvers with the digital
prowess of the VFX team, the two characters
not only worked, but won the hearts of just
about every Marvel fan.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
To create a compelling villain for the second
Avengers film, James Spader was zipped into
a motion capture suit and given the freedom
to breathe some life into Ultron, the marauding
robot in the Avengers' second group outing.
Spader's performance was so compelling that
it inspired the VFX team to make tweaks to
their design.
Industrial Light and Magic's Ben Snow told
Art of VFX:
"The main challenge was getting the subtleties
and character of James Spader's on-set Ultron
performance onto a character whose face and
body are made up of rigid pieces of metal—the
face alone had 600 nodes of rigging."
The fact that the robot turned out to be one
of the most nuanced characters of the whole
movie meant that all this effort was not in
vain.
Ant-Man
Surprisingly, Ant-Man didn't rely on CGI quite
as much as some other Marvel movies.
But with over 1,600 visual effects shots,
it was still a huge undertaking.
The trickiest part wasn't creating photo-real
macro scale landscapes for Scott Lang to scurry
around on.
According to visual effects supervisor Jake
Morrison, it was the split second in which
he shrinks that caused the most headache for
the behind-the-scenes artists.
Director Peyton Reed watched films like The
Incredible Shrinking Man and Honey, I Shrunk
the Kids for inspiration in the hopes of creating
a "definitive shrinking movie."
He was more than happy with the results.
Doctor Strange
French-Canadian VFX artist Stephane Ceretti
received his second Oscar nomination for the
mind-blowing effects in Doctor Strange, which
marked Benedict Cumberbatch's debut as the
title mage.
Ceretti turned to Christopher Nolan's blockbuster
Inception for guidance, but was also inspired
by the work of graphic artist M.C.
Escher and the psychedelic Strange Tales comics
from Steve Ditko's time at Marvel.
Approximately 1,450 visual effects shots had
to be rendered over six months.
Ceretti said:
"The biggest challenge was to bring magic
to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a fresh
and innovative way."
Ceretti must have enjoyed the challenge because
he went on to supervise the visual effects
for Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Thor: Ragnarok
The third Thor installment surpassed box office
expectations and arrived as a funny and fan-favorite
installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Like many of its predecessors, though, the
film featured an overwhelming amount of digital
superhero action.
According to VFX supervisor Jake Morrison,
there were almost 2,700 digitally enhanced
shots in the movie.
He told Art of VFX:
"I believe about 98 percent of the film passed
through the visual effects department's hands."
From Korg the rock man…
"Allow me introduce myself.
My name is Korg, I'm kind of like the leader
in here."
...to the Hulk's championship bout to Thor's
lightning power…
"Wow!
Wow, I didn't hear any thunder, but out of
your fingers, was that like, sparkles?"
...the computer-generated images were intense.
But the movie was all the better for it in
the end.
Thanks for watching!
Click the Looper icon to subscribe to our
YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know
you'll love, too!
