That can have a big impact on a show where a fictional location is a key story element, says Justin Gladden, visual effects producer. "That's something that we're constantly trying to improve both the quality and the efficiency of, so we can do quicker set ups and see the model in its new environment."

Software upgrades also have been made this season more efficient, particularly with the increasing number of shots that require 3D tracking, resulting in shots that are more interesting and complex.

"Because we're now using a variety of software packages, we need those packages to communicate among themselves," Dunphy said. "So we're getting 3D data from the plates as well as the render side of things and trying to meld them together."

Disc 1:
"Adrift"
"Lifeline"
"Reunion"
"Doppelganger"

Disc 2:
"Travelers"
"Tabula Rasa"
"Missing"
"The Seer"

Disc 3:
"Miller's Crossing"
"This Mortal Coil"
"Be All My Sins Remember'd"
"Spoils of War"

Disc 4:
"Quarantine"
"Harmony"
"Outcast"
"Trio"

Disc 5:
"Midway"
"The Kindred"
"The Kindred Part 2"
"The Last Man"

Special Features:

--Commentaries on every episode but "Midway" with the actors, directors, producers and writers.
--"Mission Directive: 'Doppelganger' with Robert C. Cooper" featurette
--"A New Leader: Amanda Tapping Joins Atlantis"
--"The Doctor is In: The Return of Paul McGillion"
--"'This Mortal Coil' by Will Waring"
--Making-of featurettes
--"A Look Back at Season Four" featurette
--Photo galleries
--Deleted Scenes
--Blooper Reel

THE RUINS Unrated On DVD And Blu-ray

Something deadly comes to life on July 8, 2008 when the terrifying thriller THE RUINS debuts as an unrated DVD and Blu-ray disc from Paramount Home Ent. Based on the gripping best-selling novel by Scott Smith, THE RUINS showcases a hot young cast including Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey and Joe Anderson.

Featuring never-before-seen footage that was too intense for theaters, the unrated DVD and Blu-ray discs include an all-new ending, commentary by director Carter Smith and editor Jeff Betancourt, "The Making of THE RUINS," "Creeping Death," "Building THE RUINS" and deleted scenes. THE RUINS also will be available on DVD in its original theatrical version.

When a group of tight-knit college friends visit the site of an undisturbed Mayan ruin, they stumble into an ancient trap where an unspoken evil is waiting to drag its victims into an endless nightmare. As fear and paranoia eat away at their sanity, their only chance at escape is to commit the unthinkable.

Obviously, the very nature of the film's creature constituted a major challenge for first-time director Carter Smith and Visual Effects Supervisor Greg McMurry. This was not your typical movie monster: no eyes, no teeth, no mouth...Just a bunch of regular looking leaves. Yet, the team had to find a way to make them look scary and deadly.

This task was awarded to Australia-based Rising Sun Pictures, which created 110 shots for the movie. The team included VFX Supervisor Ken McGaugh, VFX Producer Mel Jones and Production Manager Caroline Grubb. Using conceptual sketches provided by Rising Sun Pictures and Tatopoulos Studios, and onset props as a reference, RSP had to elaborate a look and feel for the vines, as well as developing an animation style that would evolve as the story progressed.

"Creatively, it is always a challenge to create an amorphous character that is structurally different in every shot of the film," said CG Supervisor Malcolm Humphreys. "We had to go through a long phase of performance development to try to understand the director's vision about how the vines needed to read on screen. Our animation had to continually be tone down, as the animators always wanted to deliver a big performance."