Receiving widespread discussion and positive reviews from critics, Loki Season 2, the latest installment of Marvel Studios’ cosmic adventure, delivered a mind-blowing finale that opened the doors to the multiverse. In the new season, Loki (portrayed by Tom Hiddleston) finds himself embroiled in a fierce struggle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Teaming up with Mobius, Hunter B-15, and an array of both fresh and familiar faces, he ventures into the continually expanding and increasingly dangerous multiverse in search of Sylvie, Judge Renslayer, Miss Minutes, and the truth of what it means to possess free will and glorious purpose.
Image from Marvel Studios
Not only a narrative triumph, the series is also a visual effects masterpiece which is a part of its success. It was nominated for the VES Award for Best VFX and the VES Award for Best Effects Simulation in 2024. Congrats! The talented London team of Framestore delivered circa 250 visual effects shots for the show, supported by tracking services from the studio in Mumbai.
According to Framestore, an efficient plan was necessary to accommodate the visual demands of the series, which ranged from the neverending 1970’s office expanse of the TVA to intricate 'time slipping' glitch simulations with heavy FX usage. Framestore Pre-Production Services (FPS) provided pre-vis, post-vis, and tech-vis for the series in its entirety. Their visual development team nailed down the concept and handed the torch to their pre-production department, who planned all the sequences in pre-vis. Once filmed, the scenes then went through a second round of vis-dev, into postvis, and then over to the visual effects artists to create the final shot.
“Spaghettification” VFX breakdown in Loki S2 by Framestore
Among all the VFX they made in the series, one of the standout effect simulations is spaghettification, which was a technical challenge. This phenomenon, which results from the disruption of time and space, involves objects decomposing into threads of time. Head of Visual Development Owen Jackson sheds some light on their process - they started with an exploration of concepts, just like with the time slipping, saying, “FPS then planned out the sequences in pre-vis, and for the most part we shot the record store and other Spaghettification sequences one for one with the pre-vis. It was an excellent foundation.” Subsequently, they proceeded with the second round of visual development - utilizing EXR scans directly from the set and implementing a new round of visual development using actual shots. Jackson concludes, "Ultimately we delivered a very polished round of concepts in VisDev phase 2 for both Time slipping and Spaghettification.”
Loki Season 2 features the reappearance of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) headquarters filled with endless cubicles. Framestore’s team further developed the setting originally crafted in Loki's first season, envisioning how the environment would appear within the variant timelines that he explores. Besides, as Loki strives to untangle the rapidly expanding multivariate universes, he is dragged between different times, and his physical form will be instantly distorted, which is so-called time-slipping. Framestore delivered about 50 time slip shots, and each one is uniquely handcrafted.
Pre-visualisation, post visualisation & final shot of TVA (image from Framestore)
Learn more on Framestore’s case study of Loki Season 2.
Source: Framestore
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