MPC VR takes the Squad into 360 with Mob Scene and Warner Bros for Suicide Squad VR Experience

It’s fun to watch the Suicide Squad demolish a corporate office. It’s even more fun to be part of the Squad as the demolishing happens all around you. Warner Bros. Pictures, Mob Scene Productions and Atlas Entertainment are offering fans of the DC Super-Villains just that – a virtual reality experience that puts viewers in the heart of the action with Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Katana (Karen Fukuhara), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Boomerang (Jai Courtney) as they lay waste to a host of attackers.
The studio wanted to recreate the look and feel of the thrilling action sequence as an immersive experience, so they enlisted MPC VR to execute the scene with a cinematic quality that’s unparalleled in the 360 video landscape. “We were really excited by the idea of watching tent-pole movie content inside a headset,” explains MPC Creative Executive Producer Mike Wigart. “It simultaneously appealed to the VR and comic book nerds in all of us.”

The style and execution of the visual effects had already been set to a high standard by MPC’s film division, so MPC VR built upon this foundation and applied it to 360 video. The VR team utilized The Foundry’s Cara VR plug-in to solve a difficult stitch early in the process, which allowed time for extensive rotoscoping and matchmoving of more than 50 characters in the scene. From there, MPC VR created reusable FX systems for tracer fire, muzzle flare, shattering bad guy heads, bullet ricochet and explosive debris.

MPC VFX Supervisor Ryan McDougal elaborates, “The tricky thing about 360 is that it’s 360. The usual approaches don’t apply, but we evolved our traditional skillsets and built upon previous VR learnings to make something immersive and exciting.”

MPC VR executed the opening sequence while Legend 3D contributed to Harley Quinn POV portion of the experience, which gives viewers a behind the scenes look at the film’s action choreography from the character’s perspective.The piece debuted as part of Samsung’s Belle Reve penitentiary retrofitting of the Hard Rock Hotel Lobby at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Eager fans braved long lines and hot weather to participate, and helped to make it one of the most buzzed-about experiences at the event.
“We’re really pleased with the sequence and proud to be part of this year’s crop of VR projects at Comic-Con,” says Tim Dillon, Executive Producer, MPC VR. “We’re continuing to push the boundaries of VFX in 360 sequences for film marketing and original content.”

You can watch the whole sequence as a 360 video and in Gear VR via Samsung VR: samsungvr.com