Boys, girls, people of all ages, the Serkis has come to town! Andy Serkis, that is. The motion-capture professional will take the lead of the neo-Planet of the Apes franchise once more on July 14 for War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter in the trilogy. At this point, audiences pretty much know what to expect: the great clash between hostile humanity and peaceable simiankind rages onward and approaches a final reckoning, as the Serkis-played chimp Caesar wrestles with the terrible responsibilities of leadership in wartime. But before audiences can revisit Apeworld for one last battle, 20th Century Fox wants to be sure we all appreciate just how much went into this film.

This morning, the studio released a new video that goes behind the scenes to expose the digital magic that can turn ordinary men into hyper-intelligent apes. Serkis, director Matt Reeves, and a squadron of CGI professionals all explain the peerless level of sophistication that went into crafting Caesar and his brothers-in-hirsute-arms. Of course, it’s in their best interest for us to look upon their work as a pioneering technical achievement — hype is hype. Even so, the proof is right there in the computerized pudding. You can watch a grey bodysuit, some white facepaint dots, and a whole lot of clicking convert Serkis into the nuanced, expressive, nearly human Caesar.

As far as glimpses of heretofore unseen footage goes, there’s not too much fresh material to pore over. Rather than a proper trailer, think of the clip above as a supplement, intended to enhance the audience’s appreciation of the film with the knowledge that good or bad, this film was extremely expensive.

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