State-of-the-art cinematics for 12 different scenes further immerse players in the series’ most ambitious narrative available for next-gen gaming platforms.
LOS ANGELES -- The latest entry in award-winning developer Treyarch's blockbuster Black Ops franchise, "Call of Duty: Black Ops III," is set in a future world dominated by cutting-edge technology, where bio-technology and cybernetic enhancements have given rise to a new breed of Black Ops soldier. Method Studios collaborated with Treyarch to deliver state-of-the-art cinematics across 12 different scenes, each with an individual look and feel, as featured in the game’s story mode that’s available on next generation platforms.
Method Creative Labs, the integrated production arm of Method Studios led by Director Simon Cassels, partnered with Treyarch to extend the 'Black Ops III' twisted, dark narrative through a series of in-game animatics.
"The traditional boundaries separating games and films are no longer; techniques are used across the two mediums resulting in more engaging experiences. Our work for “Black Ops III” helps Treyarch advance the game’s narrative journey through cinematic experience, and it’s clear that fans are excited by the end result," noted Cassels.
The highly stylized and original look to these sequences was developed in parallel to the narrative. Method concept artists created key frames for each of the sequences that were designed to evolve with the gameplay. Cassels explained, "There are a lot of twists and turns in this game, and the landscape is constantly changing; it felt right that our visual language evolved with the gameplay. This meant that no two sequences are the same, creating an exciting journey for the player and turning another new page in the 'Black Ops' series."
Method's integrated global pipeline allowed for a seamless transition from the conceptual phase in Los Angeles to post-production in Method’s Vancouver studio. VFX Supervisor Jeff Ranasinghe led a team of artists to execute the creation of the fantastical worlds with the support of Nuke Studio and Company 3 Colorist Bryan Smaller.
"Call of Duty: Black Ops III" is currently available. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions do not include a co-op or single-player campaign game mode, and do not contain all game features present in the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions. Game performance varies by platform.
Source: Method Studios
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
