MPC LA, Adam Berg and twofifteenmccann embark on a limitless open road for Xbox

For the next chapter of the iconic Forza Motorsport game franchise, MPC LA collaborated with renowned Smuggler director Adam Berg and twofifteenmccann to head off the track and on a spin around the greatest driving roads in Europe. At the heart of the :90 film, open-world driving merge with breathtaking landscapes to showcase the pure joy gamers can revel in upon the long-awaited launch of Forza Horizon 2 on September 30, 2014. 

With no rules, no borders, and a hero 2014 Lamborghini Huracán, the campaign captures the thrill of an endless, wide open road in a cinematic odyssey that racing enthusiasts could only dream of.

VFX Detail

To match the beauty, level of detail, and thrill of the game in a real-world scale, VFX supervisor Benoit Mannequin and Deputy Head of Production Mike Wigart worked closely with Adam Berg during the three-day shoot in Italy and led the MPC team to deliver and enhance the VFX of the project.

Reimagining the game’s stunning scenery, dramatic weather, and dynamic driving with seamless integration of live-action footage, MPC created incredible matte paintings, composited depth passes for the tilt shift effect and added CG racetracks, cars, and explosions.

“The key was to create the same kind of landscape that we have in the original game, working in close collaboration with Adam and the agency to find a cool new look, something surreal,” said Mannequin. “We were looking for a naturalistic feel with invisible VFX. Shots like these can be finessed for a very long time to get them to a place where it’s hard to tell if anything had been done. The balance and focus was on the believable performances.

 One of our challenges was creating the tilt shift effect, which was decidedly recreated in 3D with proper depth pass, enabling us to play with it afterwards. There was also a great deal of planning and R&D involved to create the long, winding CG racetrack. On set, because the track shot in-camera was just a clear tarmac, in order to create in CG, Mike and I manually placed 300 tracking markers over the course of two miles. This alone took us four hours to complete.”

A number of wide shots were captured from helicopters and pursuit vehicles, as well as sequences with a stunt driver. The project entails over 40 shots for matte paintings and sky replacement, and color grading by Mark Gethin, Creative Director of Color USA, to emphasize the fast-paced driving and incredible landscape.