Future Associate breaks down postvis and VFX work on Mortal Kombat II

# What Future Associate contributed Future Associate, a Sydney VFX studio, published a breakdown of its work on Mortal Kombat II. The studio delivered both postvis and final VFX across multiple sequences: the Blue Portal, the Red Throne Room, Netherworld sequences, and a key prop fracture involving Jade's staff.

Blue Portal postvis — 100 shots

The studio created roughly 100 postvis shots for the Blue Portal sequence. The scene had been shot against an LED screen to give performers practical reaction. Future Associate extended that partial LED environment into a complete 360-degree world to match the editorial cut.

They also used EmberGen, a real-time volumetric tool, to add fire effects to impact points such as kicks and punches. These EmberGen volumes were supplied as reference for Framestore, which produced the final VFX for that sequence.

Final VFX — more than 200 shots

Beyond postvis, Future Associate handled over 200 final VFX shots across several sequences.

• The studio extended an existing 3D environment originally created by Rising Sun Pictures to cover additional camera angles introduced by pickup shots.

• On set the staff existed as a practical light prop. Future Associate replaced it with a full CG staff. They ran a base fragmentation simulation to generate the break, then manually animated the hero fragments to achieve the specific motion director Simon McQuoid wanted. Two of the fragments reveal a skull face as they fly toward the camera.

Credits and technical notes

Artist credits are listed on IMDb and additional technical information is available on Future Associate's website. Framestore and Rising Sun Pictures are credited contributors to environment creation and final VFX for specific sequences.

# Why these details matter The breakdown shows how modern VFX work often combines rapid, real-time tools for postvis and reference with heavier offline simulations and hand-animation for hero moments. EmberGen provided fast volumetric fire references for Framestore, while the staff fracture required a mixed approach: simulation for believable breakage and manual animation to meet a director's precise staging.

# What to watch for in the footage

• Blue Portal shots: look for how LED-set footage was integrated into a full environment and how EmberGen fire volumes influenced final effects.

• Red Throne Room: observe camera coverage extended over existing 3D sets to accommodate pickup shots.

Future Associate's breakdown gives a compact view of sequence-level problem solving: building production-ready postvis that informs final VFX vendors, and executing bespoke simulations and hand animation for hero elements.