Most scenes were shot against a green screen – and here’s how they were made

Feb 20, 2013 20:51 GMT  ·  By

In case you were wondering how it was possible to create New York City and then nearly destroy it in Joss Whedon’s blockbuster movie “The Avengers,” I can promise you the video above holds all the answers.

Check it out.

Most special effects in the film were produced by Industrial Light & Magic, and it has just released this vid to introduce fans to the magic world of green screens and computer screens that makes the onscreen magic onscreen.

“Although roughly a third of ‘The Avengers’ is set in New York City precious little was actually filmed there. ILM crew members photographed 7-miles of city streets from a variety of heights and at different times of day totaling 250,000 images,” ILM says in the description of the video.

“The crew then digitally recreated roughly 20 square blocks of mid-town Manhattan using a variety of techniques. Live action shoots were held primarily on sound stages in New Mexico and in the streets of Cleveland,” ILM adds.