The visual effects team at Industrial Light & Magic has released a new behind-the-scenes featurette offering viewers a look at how they recreated mid-town Manhattan for Marvel’s The Avengers.

Although roughly a third of The Avengers is set in New York City, precious little was actually filmed there. ILM crew members photographed seven miles of city streets from a variety of heights and at different times of day totaling 250,000 images. 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.

Go behind-the-scenes with ILM's visual artists and see what it took to create these amazing shots:

Source: Industrial Light & Magic