The event thriller series The Swarm, based on Frank Schätzing’s international bestseller (published around the globe and translated into 27 languages), circles around one of the most relevant topics of our time:The Swarm chronicles the struggle of humankind against an unknown enemy that lives in the depths of the sea. When the reckless treatment of the oceans threatens the natural habitat of this mysterious collective, it strikes back..
Around the world, strange happenings, borne out of the oceans: Whales destroy boats, deep sea crabs attack beaches, mussels block container ships. An unknown ice worm destabilizes continental slopes and triggers tsunamis. A deadly pathogen spreads into the drinking water. Across the globe, lives are increasingly imperiled, the situation worsening by the day – and yet, nobody can draw a connection between the seemingly random attacks. Except for a group of scientists who come together through their shared sense that something bigger is at play: an intelligent life force, dwelling in the deep – capable of manipulating the ocean, and everything that resides in it. A being which has borne witness to our destruction of the seas and has decided to drive us to extinction. But hardly anyone believes their findings. And so, the group are forced to undertake a life-threatening mission, tracking the intelligent life force within the Arctic Ocean. It is a mission they know may claim their lives…
Schwarm TV
Chris Stenner
Charlie Bayliss
Helene Vanovre
Thomas Knop
MPC MASTERFULLY EXECUTES FULL CG, DEVELOPMENT, SET EXTENSIONS, AND 2D COMPOSITION FOR THE SWARM.
For The Swarm, MPC delivered 735 shots, including the Yrr creature, CG Humpback and Killer whales, CG fish and crab swarms, water simulations, the CG for the Thorvaldson research vessel, a full CG underwater seabed, underwater vehicles including a full CG version of the Thorvaldson research vessel, and a set extension for Murray Cove.
The Yrr creature proved the biggest challenging, due to its varied and other-wordly features. The MPC team was tasked with visualizing a species of sea-dwelling microbes with the ability to form a huge colony. Individually, the Yrr looks no different from any other amoeba-like cell. But together, it becomes a bioluminescent superorganism with numerous tentacles that can swim and manipulate objects.
The Swarm world premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival , opening the Berlinale Series section on 19 February 2023. Created by executive producer Frank Doelger (GAME OF THRONES) and ndF IP’s Managing Director Eric Welbers, Oscar-nominated producer Marc Huffam (THE MARTIAN, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN) and Ute Leonhardt (KILLING EVE), the eight-hour series is produced by Schwarm TV Productions GmbH & Co KG, a joint venture between Intaglio Films and ndF IP for ZDF, France Télévisions, Rai Fiction, Viaplay Group, Hulu Japan, ORF, SRF, in co-production with Bravado Fiction and Beside Production, in co-operation with ATHOS KG.
Beta Film and ZDF Studios are handling world sales.
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