To embody a supervillain in a modern movie would require extraordinary visual effects and more. Otherwise, it would almost certainly be a flop, considering the standards viewers have developed in judging movies. Now imagine creating Thanos, who was born on Titan, and carries the Deviant’s gene. Thanos must have looked so horrific that even his own mother, Sui-San, was shocked by it.
She feared that Thanos would soon grow up to be so evil that he would destroy the universe. This one-of-a-kind supervillain appeared in the film, Infinity War, which was released in 2018, and the character was played by Josh Brolin. To make all these traits tactile to the audience, they had to scan the actor’s facial expressions and match them with CGI. Whatever Brolin’s facial expression was, Thanos’ version was automatically generated.
Mad Max: Fury Road
The "Mad Max" franchise fuels your need for speed, action, and firepower. Set in a dystopian world where fuel and water are scarce, the makeshift automobiles and trucks roar across the dangerous desert, trailing behind the warmth of George Miller’s futuristic imagination.
But none of those blasts really occurred, and the unique pieces of post-apocalyptic vehicles didn’t really tumble or get broken into small parts. They really didn’t leap high up the dunes. All that was possible in post-production, thanks to green screens and suspended platforms on set. And the movie ended up crushing it at the Oscars because of all that hard work.
300 - Rise of An Empire
The film, "300," is based on the 1998 comic series by Frank Miller. To translate this into a film, they had to recreate the places during the Persian Wars, and it is said that it took them sixty days to film it, retelling the events of the Battle of Thermopylae. And the sequel - "300 - Rise of An Empire," was also a green-screen masterpiece in its own right.
The visual effects relied a lot on the green screen, which had to surround soldiers clashing in the middle. They used the superimposition chroma key technique, so archival images could be brought back to life. Also, the production involved plenty of prosthetics, dummies, and props.
A Good Day to Die Hard
Bruce Willis likes to do some of his stunts, although we feel this could have been more of a thing when he was much younger. He is best known for his action movies such as the "Die Hard" franchise. He did pose with two of his stunt doubles, and it is not unusual to have more than one on standby, especially if the movie is quite risky to shoot with lots of fight scenes.
While the filmmakers had the body of the military helicopter, in order to get the full use and effect of the whirlybird in the film, a fair amount of green screen was needed. That way Bruce Willis stayed safe and sound on the ground.
The Good Place
If you're looking to learn about moral philosophy with a few laughs along the way, then "The Good Place" is the TV series for you. This critically-acclaimed TV series stars the likes of Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. And while it's characters are the heart and soul of the show, it's high concept required some serious CGI work.
The show takes its viewers on a rollercoaster ride through the afterlife, including the Good Place and the Bad Place. Luckily for the actors, no one had to actually travel to the afterlife to shoot their scenes, instead a green screen was used. Phew!