Extraction 2

Project Overview

“Outpost was tasked with a shootout sequence that takes place on top of the Donau City Towers in Vienna, Austria,” Outpost VFX Producer, Danielle Malambri, touches on the scope of work that the LA and Mumbai teams undertook for Extraction 2, the sequel to Netflix’s blockbuster action.

After barely surviving the events of the first movie, Tyler Rake is back as the Australian black-ops mercenary, tasked with another deadly mission: rescuing the battered family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from the prison where they are being held.

Outpost were tasked with enhancing the action for a pivotal scene:

“The rooftop fight sequence includes a helicopter landing and taking off, usage of various ranged weapons, and hand-to-hand combat such as flipping stunt performers near the building’s edge,” Malambri adds.

“For logistics and safety, filming did not take place on an actual rooftop,” Outpost VFX Supervisor, Joe DeValerio adds. “Part of our work was to extend and transform their ground level photography of the practical set to a dizzying perspective at altitude.”

“The production team built a partial replica of the rooftop in a parking lot in the Czech Republic,” Malambri explains. “The scene included prop stairs, AC units, forms of metal ventilation, and of course, a lot of large bluescreens.”

“We were able to match the camera throughout based off of a digital reconstruction of the practical set” DeValerio explains. “We then assembled a dimensional version of the scene and worked out the relative trajectories of all the gunfire and mapped out the resulting damage from each shot. This was then shared out to the artists as a 'splat map' to help track where the cumulative damage builds across the sequence.”

As well as enhancing and extending the environment, our 3D team were tasked with asset builds such as the Donau City rooftop tower, weapon enhancements, animation, FX, layout, and lighting.

The team also did a 3D takeover on the practical helicopter: “A CG helicopter with new action had to be matched to one from the original photography, complete with digi doubles of the characters,” DeValerio adds. “Additional care had to be taken to add a glass look for the chopper interior shots.”

The 2D team, meanwhile, worked on muzzle flashes, smoke integration and bullet hits to heighten the feeling of danger in this sequence, as well as integrate all of the CG elements into the action.

“Attention to detail was of the utmost importance,” Malambri adds. “The director, Sam Hargrave, has served as a Stunt Coordinator, many times alongside the Russo Brothers who produced Extraction 2. His background allowed him to take extreme care with details such as how and why our helicopter should pitch or yaw and why a combatant would hold a knife ice-pick style rather than another way.

“The film’s VFX Supervisor, Bjørn Mayer, often reviewed [Outpost VFX Supervisor] Joe DiValerio’s contact sheets. They played an integral role in making sure the sequence was consistent across all our shots,” Malambri continues. “Joe, Outpost Comp Supervisor Ryan Purnell, along with others on the team, made sure to keep a close eye on bullet hits and the continuity damage by working in cut order, to keep all shots in the sequence true to the action.”

Extraction 2 is available to watch now on Netflix.