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How The Muppets film was boosted by GPU chip advances

You may not always be able to trust what you see on screen, but the combination of low-tech puppetry and hi-tech graphics that brings Fozzie, Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang back to life helped all those involved live up to their leading frog's standards.

"We have a saying around here - it's not easy doing green," says Look Effects' director of marketing Pam Hogarth as she prepares to introduce her colleagues.
When The Muppets opens at cinemas in the UK later this week, the film will contain about 350 shots created by the Los Angeles-based special effects team.
However, audiences not in the know will be hard pushed to spot more than a few dozen.

Take for instance Kermit's rousing speech to his fellow performers as he tries to inspire them to save their theatre.
"I don't care what anybody says," implores the long-suffering stage manager. "I believe in you."
His audience looks him straight in the eyes... except it is all an illusion.
When the puppeteers filmed the scene, Kermit was facing a blue screen, the colour chosen instead of the traditional green to accommodate the character's colour.
The 60-odd puppets facing him were added with painstaking care - and state-of-the-art graphics processors - some time later.