Behind the scenes of The Avengers' Oscar-nominated visual effects

Yesterday, the third highest grossing film of all time, The Avengers, was nominated at this year's Oscars for Visual Effects. And to celebrate, visual effects experts ILM have released this behind-the-scenes promo to give you a taste of what was involved in the making of the blockbuster superhero movie.

The video showcases the studio's ability to create breathtaking landscapes and those infamous Hulk smash-ups. You'll also witness the canvas for the incredible ship and that final, epic battle scene. Yes, there's no actual technical knowledge imparted - this is a promo, not a documentary - but it's fascinating to see the original, bare-bones 3D models involved in the movie nonetheless.

Who's who

Although we're shocked and saddened that neither Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises nor any other superhero movie was nominated in the category, it's great to see ILM getting the recognition they deserve.

The team consisted of a number of talented artists including Santhoshi Balasubramanian who has worked on the likes of Transformers and Mission Impossible; Wayne Billheimer who has worked on the Iron Man films and Florin Boieriu who worked on the stunning effects of Clash of the Titans.

To see the full list of Oscar nominations, head to the official site.

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What do you think of the Oscar nominations? Let us know in the comments box below!