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Here’s What It Took to Bring the Visual Effects of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ to Life

Here's What It Took to Bring the Visual Effects of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to Life

By Josephine Opar

Here's What It Took Bring the Visual Effects of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Life

Josephine Opar

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October 9, 2014 10:28 am

The recent blockbuster box office hit “Guardians of the Galaxy” is an epic example that action-packed films can still deliver a storyline audiences will savor and that visual effects play a crucial role in fleshing the story out.

“Nowadays, previs (previsualization) is leveraged heavily before films are shot, techvis, onset compositing and realtime visual effects feedback are all becoming more commonplace during a shoot, and with films like ‘Guardians’ being almost 90% visual effects, the supervisors are having to learn to work with more and more departments, and to be a deeper and more integrated part of the overall filmmaking process,” Kyle Mcculloch, who worked as the Visual Effects Supervisor on the film, told Indiewire.

Detailing the scope of the project at a recent Milk Studios and HP POWER UP event in New York, Mcculloch said: “Towards the end of the project we were delivering about 100 shots a week. There were 639 completed cycle shots, 276 with ‘Rocket’ and 226 with ‘Groot.'”

With about 4000 people from around the world tasked with bringing the project to life, it’s no wonder the film was as detailed as it was. The shipyard construction featured a staggering 250 individual models which were replicated and 10,000 lights that were hand-dressed into the site. “The biggest challenge on ‘Guardians’ was bringing ‘Rocket’ to life. The director [James Gunn] told us early on that if ‘Rocket’ didn’t work, this film wasn’t going to work. We had a lot riding on our ability to deliver a believable, consistent character. Thanks to the hard work of almost 400 artists, I think we achieved that goal!” said Mcculloch.

Fans await the sequel with high expectations and hope to see sophisticated visual effects, which the filmmakers are challenged to create at an even more superior level than in “Guardians of the Galaxy.”