Lance Henriksen writes a forward about working with Tom and Alec that gives you an idea of how highly he thinks of their work.

The next chapter focuses on the history of the film’s two main characters and how AVP came together. It is also where Woodruff and Gillis are able to state their beginnings and how they created ADI.

The book captures the entire process from deciding the philosophy of the effects to be used in AVP to the film’s release. After reading the book I came away knowing just how massive of a job it was for ADI and have a newfound appreciation of the brilliant work they do.

CG or Not CG? Is a chapter discussing which technical route the team employed on the film and how much of each?

In the Design chapter, we see that numerous drawings were done imagining the characters, the costumes and even the props. Sculpture is next as clay is used by talented hands to create the look of every single thing ADI creates for the film. You see that things are altered based on physical demands of the performers and the creative choices of the director.

Lab Work shows you how ADI builds the creatures and props.

The next phase is Animatronics, where mechanical staff adds all the complex servo/hydraulic wire gadgets, wires and other gizmos. This work is actually the brains, the heart and muscle of an Animatronic creature.

Then comes Painting & Finishing. Gifted artists add the beautiful airbrush details to make these creatures and props look authentic and film ready. It’s interesting to note that the paint was literally still drying when everything was shipped to Prague, where the movie was shot.

Then we have a review of the entire process in a chapter called Start To Finish.

Then we go On Set to see how the crew put their work into use amongst actors, lights and physical shooting conditions.

The book ends with a two-page spread of photos that number over 100 behind the scenes images on set, as well as in the ADI workshop.