Volucap Brings “The Crazy Rig” to Mickey 17

Berlin, 5. May – “Mickey 17” marks Volucap’s latest Hollywood collaboration, bringing cutting-edge volumetric capture technology directly to set. Following a similar approach used in “The Matrix Resurrections” (2019), Volucap once again helped push visual effects to the next level — enabling the creation of highly realistic digital doubles that interact with one another on screen.

In the latest issue of American Cinematographer, Volucap is featured for its innovative contribution to Bong Joon Ho’s highly anticipated sci-fi film “Mickey 17“, starring Robert Pattinson. In Joe Fordham’s article, “VFX Planning and Strategies,” Volucap is credited as a key technology partner in realizing one of the film’s most complex visual effects challenges: depicting multiple versions of the same character within a single scene.

Visual effects supervisor Dan Glass (“The Matrix Reloaded”, “Okja”) worked closely with director Bong and cinematographer Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC, to craft the illusion of Pattinson performing opposite himself. The team employed a mix of techniques — including split-screen, digital head replacements, and full CG doubles — but one solution stood out: the Hydralite system, humorously nicknamed “the Crazy Rig.”

Developed by Volucap, this portable camera array was designed to capture ultra-high-resolution facial reference data using 63-megapixel, uncompressed 16-bit RAW global-shutter cameras. This advanced setup enabled the VFX team to generate frame-accurate, shot-specific digital doubles of Pattinson for seamless compositing and facial animation.

The Portable Camera Array (“the Crazy Rig”)

“It was deemed ‘crazy’ because it’s a big, hydra-headed thing, But Volucap did an amazing job of making it lightweight, so we could quickly shoot reference with Robert.”

Dan Glass, visual-effects supervisor

The rig became a crucial element of the film’s VFX strategy, enabling precise blending of live-action performance with digital enhancements — all while preserving the emotional authenticity of the actors. This flexible approach reflects Bong Joon Ho’s meticulous directorial style and the increasingly central role of volumetric imaging in modern filmmaking.

Volucap’s involvement in “Mickey 17” underscores the growing importance of volumetric technologies — not only in virtual production and immersive media but as essential tools in high-end visual effects pipelines, where performance fidelity is paramount.

It is an honour to have contributed to this bold cinematic vision, which has already celebrated its premiere and is now screening in cinemas worldwide, and to be recognized by American Cinematographer, one of the most respected publications in the film industry.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

About “Mickey 17”

From Academy Award-winning writer/director Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) comes his next groundbreaking cinematic experience: Mickey 17. The story follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), an “expendable” — an employee on a mission so dangerous that clones of him are printed to complete it. When Mickey 17 meets one of his own replicas, questions of identity, survival, and humanity unfold on the frozen planet Niflheim.

About Volucap

Volucap is an industry-leading company revolutionizing the field of virtual reality technology. Located at the FX Center in Studio Babelsberg, the Volucap Studio houses an impressive 1830 square feet light rotunda equipped with over 40 cameras, capturing every movement and facial expression from a 360° perspective. Its cutting-edge technology, powered by intelligent software algorithms, creates realistic 3D scans of people and objects. The end products can be deployed across various platforms, from AR and VR to 2D video/web applications.

With a portfolio boasting collaborations with high-end feature film productions like “Mickey 17“, “Matrix Resurrections” and artists such as “Die Fantastischen Vier“, “The BossHoss” and “Paul Kalkbrenner“, Volucap continues to push the boundaries of digital content creation.