Mythic Quest

Ghost VFX artists in Los Angeles help bring LARPing to life in second season of the Apple TV+ original comedy.

May 7, 2021

plot

Mythic Quest season 2 follows the team behind the biggest multiplayer video game of all time as they attempt to follow the success of Raven’s Banquet by launching an epic new expansion. The team builds worlds, molds heroes, creates legends, and fights battles within the game and in real life.

scope

McElhenney and show Post Producer Jeff Luini turned to Ghost VFX artists at the company’s Los Angeles facility to help bring action-packed LARPing sequences to life.

Led by VFX Supervisor Christian Cardona, Ghost VFX became involved during pre-production, providing input on locations and reviewing story-boards and discussing the best ways to shoot particular sequences that would ultimately feature visual effects. Ghost VFX also had representatives on-set to discuss blocking and other interactive elements. “We primarily worked on episode 1 titled ‘Everlight,’ which has the team participating in an annual day in which they LARP. The setting shifts from an office space to a fantasy world, so there were lots of transformations and magical effects that we needed to create. We also did some enhancements, like extending a flowing cloak or making a pair of horns grow on a demon,” explains Cardona. Cinematographer Mike Berlucchi shot the episode.

Ghost VFX delivered simple effects like adding atmospheric particles and basic rig and wire removals from various shots.

Cardona and VFX Producer Jon Howard also worked closely with Associate Producer Sean Palsgaard. All of the effects and visuals were driven by Ubisoft and McElhenney’s creative vision. “Rob and Jeff gave us a lot of freedom to explore ideas. Once they saw something we created that they liked, they would give us more direction to expand upon it,” notes Cardona. This season was executive produced by Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Megan Ganz, with McElhenney directing several episodes. Starting May 7th on Apple TV+, a new episode will premiere weekly every Friday.