Ghost In The Shell (2017) | The First Of Her Kind

Ghost in the Shell is a 2017 American science fiction action film based on the Japanese manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow. Set in a near future when the line between humans and robots is blurring, the plot follows the Major (Johansson), a cyborg supersoldier who yearns to learn her past.

Director: Rupert Sanders
Writers: Shirow Masamune
screenplay: Jamie Moss
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk, Takeshi Kitano

Scarlett Johansson stars as a cybernetic cop whose human brain and robotic body blur the line between humanity and technology. The film similarly blurs the line between live action movie-making and cutting-edge computer effects.

A water-filled courtyard fight scene and the climactic Spider Tank sequence familiar to fans of the anime were recreated with complex layers of digital character animation, computer-generated environments and simulated explosions, gunfire damage and destruction. All of this was added to green-screened live-action footage.

Recreating the courtyard sequence in all its water-y glory meant building a completely computer-generated environment blended with real stunt footage. The scene was further complicated by adding the invisibility effect of the "thermoptic camouflage" suit worn by Johansson's character.

Effects house MPC, which won this year's visual effects Oscar for its work on "The Jungle Book", provided more than 1,000 shots for "Ghost in the Shell". Staff in Montreal, London and Bangalore developed new shooting techniques and software tools along the way.

Among the shots created by MPC are elements of the spine-tingling shelling sequence that shows the creation of the cyborg Major. Drawing on the animated film's iconic title sequence, MPC created a digital version of the Major's skeleton and musculature as well as the different types of fluid in which the body floats.