Integrating the Endeavor footage with the CG and physical effects was the biggest challenge facing Asylum. "We were blessed to have such a great element – the Endeavor storm footage – to begin with," says visual effects supervisor Nathan McGuinness of Asylum. "Peter’s directive to us was to make it all very organic; to have all these elements, including physical and CG models of the Surprise, interact in a believable fashion."
ILM created visual effects for another huge sequence – the final battle between the Surprise and the Acheron. Digital and miniature ships facilitated dynamic camera moves not possible while shooting at sea.
The visual effects teams worked closely with the film’s special effects and art departments to ensure that the computer generated ships matched the miniature models built by The Weta Workshop. Both CG and miniature models had to match the specifications of the Surprise tank ship, via constant reference to the hundreds of blueprints used for the tank ship’s construction
Much of the effects work was subtle, such as eliminating the Mexican coastline from scenes shot on the tank boat. Digital artists removed these and other images frame by frame. One of the "construction" tasks that fell to the visual effects department was the completion of the masts. Due to the weight of the tank ship on the gimbal, the filmmakers had to construct a shortened version of the main and fore masts. The visual effects teams extended those masts, rigging and sails.
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