Video: 'Thor: The Dark World' Visual Effects Breakdown

Fans so regularly look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe as one huge entity, it's easy to forget the effort that goes into each individual film. Yes, the narratives tie together and characters jump between films, but the #1 rule at Marvel Studios is make each movie good on its own. They're not always successful to the same degree, but it's hard to deny how each new installment raises the bar both in terms of scope.

Last year's Thor: The Dark World is a prime example. In pure dollars and cents, it wasn't quite the juggernaut of Iron Man 3 or Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but director Alan Taylor definitely swung for the fences in terms of what the characters go through and the size of the action. Now, a new visual effects video details the final, Portal-inspired mega battle. Check it out below.

Thanks to Method Studios and CG Meetup for the video. Here it is:

Making of Thor The Dark World by Method Studios by CGMeetup

You can read more about what's shown in the video at CG Meetup, which says Method Studios did about 105 shots for the Greenwich finale. Here's a short excerpt:

The realm known as Svartalfheim called for a fully CG environment consisting of extensive digital matte painting work as well as effects work for the shale winds and interactive dust and debris elements. Digital doubles were created of the main characters along with a car which is also transported to the alien land and tumbles down the mountain alongside Thor and Malekith.

"The shots we were assigned late in the production of the film comprised a broad scope of work including look development," summarizes Chad. "But one of the biggest challenges, along with that scope of work and the sheer volume of data it required, was that it had to be ready in a short time frame. Linking up our LA and Vancouver teams worked perfectly in terms of getting great results fast."

Other source: CBM