VFX Supervisor Mark Stetson used a range of techniques and two vfx houses to create the miniature aliens inhabiting Eddie Murphy's body in Meet Dave. All images ™ and © 2008 by Regency Enterprises. Courtesy of CIS Hollywood.

Like a latter-day "Trojan horse," Eddie Murphy plays host to a group of miniature aliens inhabiting his body in the sci-fi comedy Meet Dave (opening July 11 from Fox). Executing this broad comedic premise required a range of visual effects techniques, and Director Brian Robbins (who also directed Murphy in Norbit) chose a consummate pro to supervise those effects: Mark Stetson. An Oscar winner for the vfx in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Stetson has worked on more than 50 films in several capacities -- from model shop/prop shop/creature shop supervisor to designer/illustrator and art director. His credits include the BAFTA-winning effects for The Fifth Element, the Oscar-nominated effects in Superman Returns and 2010, and outstanding miniatures for the legendary Blade Runner. Stetson replied to VFXWorld's questions about Meet Dave from Massachusetts, where he is currently working on the effects for Director Jonathan Mostow's latest film Surrogates.

Ellen Wolff: How did the Meet Dave assignment come to you?

Mark Stetson: I had been in contact with John Kilkenny and Todd Isroelit at 20th Century Fox about another project, which had been delayed. So I guess I was in the right place at the right time. John Kilkenny called; I met with Executive Producer Tom Hamel, Producer David Friendly and Director Brian Robbins, and I started working on Dave the day after my interview!

EW: You had a variety of visual effects shops working on Meet Dave. How did you go about determining which vfx would be done by which houses?

MS: This is a very difficult process on every project. The vfx can live or die by the choices we make. The decision is based on many factors, including the available talent, the creative ideas that the individuals bring to the discussions, the vfx studio's past experiences that may be similar to the assignment at hand, the vfx studios' relationships with the filmmakers and 20th Century Fox, and, of course, the budget. The decision involved Brian, Tom, studio executives John Kilkenny and Jennifer Meislohn, Visual Effects Producer Sophie Leclerc and me. It was up to Sophie and me to find a solution that would engage the best people we could find that fit into our budget, and then convince our leaders that these were the best choices. As we came on board late, this process was not quite complete when we started filming, so the first few days of shooting were a bit shaky for us.

We grouped the sequences so that the work was roughly split between Hydraulx (in Santa Monica) and CIS (Hollywood). Part of the decision was pragmatic, driven by our budget constraints -- we couldn't bring too many people with us for the month-long location shoot in New York City. Hydraulx did the Times Square Sidewalk sequence and the end sequence with the giant whirlpool and Dave's distended mouth. The Sidewalk sequence and whirlpool shots at the end were their high points. They had some really tough shots with the windshield wiper shots and our tiny CG heroes flying on the CG plastic bag. CIS did the beginning sequences, which were shot on stage or on L. A. locations: the alley leg repair and the expository flight through the ship's interior, the interior mouth flooding shots and the mutiny. I really liked CIS' trip-through-the-starship-interior shot and the mutiny sequence. The finger blaster is great over-the-top comedy [and Special Effects Supervisor] Garry Elmendorf gave us great stuff to work with. He launched his exploding police car 20 feet into the air. Both teams had to solve problems which they hadn't faced before, so their lives and ours stayed interesting until the end!