The Virgin Train project utilised old footage from classic movies, placing the characters in a modern Virgin Train where they interact with other passengers and the environment. Glassworks was supplied with the engineering drawings for the new trains and used XSI to match the camera position and lens of the original films, then calculated the equivalent anamorphic lens for the matching studio and location backgrounds.

Once the new scene had been shot, our 2D artists blended the two scenes together, creating missing bits, removing weave and the original camera movement while retaining the colour and feel of the old film.

Given that the aspect ratios and lenses varied considerably across the shots chosen from the old movies, it proved a vital and cost effective exercise to arrive on the set knowing where the camera should be, where it should point and what lens to use. We were even able to match the hand-pushed dolly shot from "Some Like it Hot" to re-created the famous scene on the station platform. And we must admit it was fun to have a real train to play with on Euston Station!