CALGARY -- Magic hour is the time of day movie directors love: when the light is the most beautiful, at dawn and then again at dusk.

Late Thursday afternoon on the Trans-Canada Highway outside Canmore, Alta. was a little more magic than usual.

That's because a huge herd of elk wandered out onto the highway and, with the help of a police escort, crossed it, stopping traffic for all the right reasons.

Filmmaker Andy Arts was one of the lucky motorists stuck in traffic, and pulled out his phone to record the event.

"This was taken around 4:30 today coming home from work," Arts wrote, in reply to an email from CTV News. "It's taken on Highway 1 (Trans Canada) in Canmore."

Arts added in a little soundscape before posting the footage to Facebook.

From the looks of it, no one was injured, and traffic resumed once all the elk got to the other side of the road.

"It's a special place I live in," said Arts.