For the new film “Soul Surfer”, VFX house Engine Room accomplished an impressive feat: 750 VFX shots with only 10 employees on staff, for only $1 Million.  Tapping into a large number of freelancers and outside talent, they managed to make all of the greenscreen scenes (necessary for the missing arm) and the face replacement effects seamless.

That introduced another technical challenge for Schmit and his visual effects producer Michael Caplan. Their task was to carefully meld Robb’s face onto Hamilton’s body, all the more tricky given that Robb was about 9 inches shorter than the 5-foot-11 Hamilton. That was achieved through a combination of digital effects and camera tricks.

As far as McNamara is concerned, the digital magic worked seamlessly.

via On Location: L.A.-based effects company Engine Room rides the wave of ‘Soul Surfer’ | Got Entertainment??.