Contents The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Journey's End: In The Return of the King, the stirring finale to New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson's acclaimed adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the director pulls out all the stops, bringing the epic fantasy to its long-awaited conclusion. Once again, Jackson's homegrown effects facilities, Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, faced daunting challenges in creating more creatures, more environments and even greater epic battles. Chief among the accomplishments were the depictions of Shelob, Gollum and a host of other fantasy CG characters, the super battle at Pelennor Fields, the majesty of Minas Tirith and the final assault on Mount Doom. Article by Joe Fordham

Q&A: Peter Jackson: In an exclusive interview, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson reflects on the odyssey of the past eight years that has taken him from relative obscurity to world-class status. Included are insights into Jackson's philosophic and creative choices in adapting Tolkien's material, as well as his approach to the increasingly sophisticated visual effects challenges inherent in the final epic installment. Interview by Joe Fordham

Master and Commander: Victory at Sea: A rousing tale of adventure based on the seafaring novels of Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World depicts life aboard an early nineteenth-century British sailing vessel navigating the dangerous seas of the Napoleonic era. Determined to capture the same degree of historically accurate detail as the novels, director Peter Weir called upon visual effects supervisors Nathan McGuinness of Asylum and Stefen Fangmeier of Industrial Light & Magic to oversee visual effects, which were used in combination with full-scale ship replicas and miniatures to recreate two major ship-to-ship battles and a raging storm at sea. Article by Jody Duncan

Peter Pan: New Toys for Lost Boys: A perennial favorite, Peter Pan has seen many incarnations on both stage and screen during the hundred years since J. M. Barrie first penned his children's tale of perpetual youth in Never Never Land. In the latest film adaptation, director P. J. Hogan takes advantage of modern visual effects technology to bring a live-action Peter Pan to the screen, heightening the story's magical elements with the use of sophisticated flying rigs by special effects supervisor Clay Pinney and visual effects by artists at Industrial Light & Magic, Digital Domain and Sony Pictures Imageworks, who brought to bear all of their tools and talents in the service of the story's fantasy settings and characters. Article by Jody Duncan

Contents Q&A: Phil Tippett: In an exclusive interview, Oscar-winning visual effects maestro Phil Tippett, founder of Tippett Studio -- one of the industry's top-rated computer animation facilities -- discusses his recent foray into film directing, with Starship Troopers 2, and the remarkable 27-year career that has carried him from stop-motion animation in Star Wars to go-motion in Dragonslayer to 3D character animation in Jurassic Park and beyond. Interview by Joe Fordham.

The Passion of the Christ: Passion Play: Unflinching in its depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of the Christ, presents the horror of the event like no other. To realize his vision, Gibson chose makeup effects creator Keith Vanderlaan and his company, Captive Audience, to handle all of the film's effects work, marking the facility's debut as a full-service shop. The result was a deft blending of makeup and animatronics with sophisticated digital effects to deliver shockingly realistic images in the service of Gibson's gritty interpretation. Article by Jody Duncan.

Matte World Digital: A Company of Artists: Having transitioned successfully from traditional matte painting to the digital backlot approach used in modern filmmaking, Matte World Digital is one of a handful of companies to survive the swift technological advances in the visual effects industry over the past decade. Co-founder Craig Barron details the company's efforts to stay at the forefront of the digital revolution and its impact on his craft, as canvasses and bushes gave way to computer workstations and sophisticated software tools. Article by Jody Duncan.

Hellboy: To Hell and Back: Based on the graphic novels of Mike Mignola, Hellboy features the demon head of an occult crimefighting team gathered to counter the forces of evil. Charged with delivering the effects-heavy film on a modest budget, director Guillermo del Toro relied heavily on practical effects by Nick Allder and makeup and animatronics by Cinovation Studio, Spectral Motion and DDT Efectos Especiales. Complementing the practical effects were some 800 visual effects shots featuring miniatures, CG environments and character animation, with visual effects supervisor Edward Irastorza and principal vendors Tippett Studio and The Orphanage leading the effort. Article by Joe Fordham.

The Matrix Revolutions: Heavy Metal: The Matrix Revolutions -- the final installment in the Wachowski Brothers' post-apocalyptic trilogy -- marked the close of a four-year odyssey for visual effects supervisor John Gaeta and ESC Entertainment, the company formed to lead the visual effects effort for both sequels. Working with effects vendors and physical and miniature effects teams in the U.S. and abroad, Gaeta and his collaborators devised new virtual technologies, and in Revolutions, capitalized on those advances to deliver stunning scenes of the machine world's final war against humanity. Article by Joe Fordham.

Contents Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: Brave New World: Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Kerry Conran, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a stylized and imaginative spin on the old Republic serials, achieved via an unorthodox approach to effects filmmaking. With remarkable result, artists at World of Tomorrow, the production's own effects company established to handle the task -- and aided by more than a dozen visual effects subcontractors -- relied exclusively on bluescreened performances by the film's principal actors, composited into backgrounds constructed entirely from digital models, photographic and archival material. Article by Joe Fordham.

Troy: Bronze Age Ballistics: In his epic film Troy, loosely adapted from Homer's The Iliad, director Wolfgang Petersen called upon effects artists across three continents to re-create the fabled city and depict its subsequent destruction. Led by visual effects supervisor Nick Davis, physical effects supervisor Joss Williams and makeup effects supervisor Daniel Parker, artists conjured expansive views of ancient cities, complex battle scenes involving thousands of warriors, and the arrival of the massive Greek armada -- a feat made possible through the clever combination of live-action and innovative digital technology. Article by Joe Fordham.

The Day After Tomorrow: Freeze Frames: When global warming causes a sudden catastrophic climate shift, storms, floods, tornadoes and other extreme weather phenomena are unleashed upon earth's inhabitants in director Roland Emmerich's disaster film, The Day After Tomorrow. Visual effects supervisor Karen Goulekas commanded a veritable army of effects companies and artists charged with using modern digital technology to depict the calamitous conditions and wholesale destruction of cities and recognizable landmarks with frightening reality. Article by Jody Duncan.

Van Helsing: Man Made Monsters: Serving up a smorgasbord of creatures in homage to the Universal horror films of old, Van Helsing resurrects Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man, among others, to battle the venerated vampire killer of the film's title. Principal effects vendors Industrial Light & Magic and Illusion Arts - along with a dozen other companies -- provided director Stephen Sommers with creature designs and character animations, as well as digitally derived 19th-century Transylvania locales, while Captive Audience Productions tackled special makeup effects. Article by Jody Duncan.

Contents Alien Vs. Predator: Predator and Prey: In an ancient pyramid beneath the Antarctic ice shelf, iconic monsters from two celebrated film franchises battle each other and a team of hapless scientists in director Paul W.S. Anderson's science fiction thriller, Alien Vs. Predator. Practical creature effects for the Prague-based production were created by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. of Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated, while visual effects supervisor John Bruno directed the work of five English and Czech effects houses, which together produced nearly 500 visual effects shots in only three months. Article by Jody Duncan.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Something Wicked This Way Comes: With a new director at the helm -- Alfonso Cuaron -- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban rejoins the young wizard-in-training as he returns for his third year at Hogwarts amid concerns that he is being stalked by an infamous murderer who has escaped from prison. Providing massive effects support to the third film based on J.K. Rowling's bestselling novels were series regulars including special effects supervisor John Richardson, creature and makeup effects designer Nick Dudman, and eight visual effects houses under the supervision of Roger Guyett and Tim Burke. Article by Joe Fordham.

Spider-Man 2: Armed and Dangerous: Reluctant superhero Peter Parker, yearning for a normal life, continues to pine for Mary Jane Watson while attending college and battling a new adversary in the form of Doc Ock, a fiendish genius with mechanical tentacles fused to his body. Enlisted by returning director Sam Raimi to provide digital effects for Spider-Man 2 were visual effects designer John Dykstra and the team at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Providing on-set animatronics for the production was animatronic supervisor Steve Johnson and his Edge FX company. Article by Joe Fordham.

I, Robot: Ghosts in the Machine: As the world's most advanced domestic robot is about to undergo mass distribution, one of them is accused of murdering a human in apparent violation of the immutable Thee Laws of Robotics. Actor Will Smith plays a detective assigned to the case in director Alex Proyas' near-future film, I, Robot, based on Isaac Asimov's classic short story collection. Supplying computer generated robots and futuristic environments were visual effects crews at Digital Domain and Weta Digital. Article by Jody Duncan.