Creative studio Mill+, the concept, design and animation arm of renowned VFX company The Mill, has contributed its visually stunning cinematics to Activision’s blockbuster Call of Duty: Ghosts, the new installment in the global phenomenon Call of Duty® series. Led by Cinematics specialists at Infinity Ward, Mill+ collaborated with teams of elite designers and visual effects artists in both their Los Angeles and London studios to create the cinematics players started seeing on Nov. 5.
The team at Infinity Ward had a vision for how cinematics could further help to bring the new narrative to life. Developing the look in collaboration with The Mill led to a new and unique level of cinematics that is sure to captivate and immerse players into the experience.
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The highly-stylized look was created from scratch, but reads as a hybrid of live-action and CG. High contrast, sharp shard-like shapes distinguish enemy Federation forces from the light and smoke elements that characterize the underdog Ghosts. Each cinematic delivers a story, with “Loki,” for example, depicting a clinical and clean outer space vista using reflections, lights, flare and spills of light, while “Legends Never Die” uses explosions, fire, smoke and fog, looking down at South America, then at city level in Caracas after the demise of the continent.
Mill+ Creative Director/Director Paul Mitchell, based in Los Angeles, drew upon over a decade’s worth of experience in design and visual effects. “The most intriguing aspect of Ghosts was the opportunity to combine storytelling with design and visual effects,” Mitchell says. “We created something unique to each based on the story Infinity Ward wanted to tell. Through the overall process, we made sure there was a cohesive look and feel.”
“This project owes so much to Infinity Ward’s vision and desire to raise the level of creative aesthetic,” Stephen Venning, Executive Director, Mill+ says. “The team wanted contemporary, unique graphics that would reflect the sophisticated storytelling. Working with his lead designers Ed Laag and Eugene Gauran, Mill+’s Mitchell built style frames and narratives that are comparable to anything you would see in a movie.”
Call of Duty: Ghosts is available now on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Windows PC, and will also be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later this month.
