Groundbreaking special effects in Pirates 2

The mandate set by producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski for Walt Disney Pictures' "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the sequel to the 2003 blockbuster "The Curse of the Black Pearl," was for special effects shop Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to raise the bar higher once again, as they had on the first "Pirates" film.

"Dead Man's Chest" required three times as many visual effects shots as did the first "Pirates" which itself represented a quantum leap of visual effects technology.

Despite the fact that the film traffics in pure fantasy, Verbinski was absolutely insistent that the unbelievable look believable in every way. "CGI is not a verb," Verbinski has been known to say. Rather, he sees it as a tool to be used to embellish and enhance.

In "Dead Man's Chest," the milestone in special effects is achieved in embellishing the character of Davy Jones (played by Bill Nighy) who is as much sea creature as he is human. "Davy Jones is a deeply damaged and isolated individual," says Nighy. "He's torn out the center of all feeling-his heart-and locks it in a special chest.

He also has control of a 'pet,' as it's sometimes referred to, which is the Kraken-a sea monster, which is the likes of which you've never seen before, entirely malevolent, evil and powerful beyond expression. If you possess Davy Jones' heart, you control not only him, but the Kraken as well, which in effect gives you control of the oceans."

The primary challenge for ILM would be fleshing out Davy Jones' astonishing physical appearance, which is part octopus and part man. Explains visual effects supervisor Bill George, "Much of Davy Jones' character animation is about the nuances of Nighy's performance.

The film is edited based on very subtle facial expressions, attitudes, and even the less tangible things, like his mood and the feeling behind his eyes, all of these things that you get from a great actor. Bill is a fountainhead of amazing variety. He never repeats himself, there's always some interesting aspect to his performance."

Nighy himself was highly amused by the process in which ILM converted him into the fully tricked-out Davy Jones. "The first thing they did was cyber-scan me, which they did in a sort of mystery truck lined with screens and computers. Then, on set, I wore a gray suit which had reference points comprised of white bubbles and strips of black and white material, so that when they come to interpret your physical performance, they're better placed to do so. I don't understand any of it, but I'm currently the world record holder for playing the organ with an imaginary octopus beard. This is pioneering stuff, state-of-the-art."