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MPC Paris gives us a glimpse of their work on Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, which will premiere on Netflix this November. The studio was responsible for the visual effects and image finishing of this feature film starring Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Édgar Ramírez.
Here is the pitch and the trailer, followed by more information:
Mexico, today. Lawyer Rita receives an unexpected offer. She has to help a feared cartel boss retire from his business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he’s always dreamed of being.
MPC Paris explains that one of the specific challenges of the film was that it was almost entirely shot near in the Paris using blue screen, making it necessary to recreate Mexico. MPC handled over 350 VFX shots: streets, exterior settings, and sometimes even interiors.
Under the general supervision of Cédric Fayolle, as well as VFX Supervisor Rodolphe Zirah and 2D Supervisor Lise Fischer, the MPC team added numerous elements: buildings, trees, sky, ground.
MPC highlights that this was quite a challenging movie, as it required finding the right balance between a realistic and stylized approach, with Jacques Audiard aiming to evoke an imaginary Mexico. The teams, led by Christophe Courgeau, Digital Environments Supervisor, also had to ensure that these effects remained invisible.
In parallel, MPC also worked on an action sequence: a mostly CGI car chase. Finally, Arthur Paux managed the film’s color grading in Resolve.
In total, more than 70 artists worked on the film at MPC Paris over a period of 8 months. MPC Paris has been involved in the project since the end of 2023. On the organizational side, one of the challenges (handled notably by VFX Producer Yann Nivet and Executive Producer Édouard Valton) was to complete the work in time for the Cannes Film Festival.
MPC notes that over 65% of the images in the trailer include VFX created by by their team.
Emilia Perez was released in French theaters this week, and will will premiere on Netflix on November 13 in many countries, including the USA.
