SoundWorks1SoundWorks Collection recently took a trip to Wellington, New Zealand to speak with the wizards at Park Road Post Studios about their work on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. From these interviews comes a 10-minute video (which we’ve embedded below) detailing the tremendous process of constructing the sound design of the second film in Peter Jackson’s epic adaptation.

This profile comes on the heels of the Oscar nominations the film
received in both sound categories – Sound Editing and Sound Mixing (in addition to Visual Effects). The Academy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 2.

Interviews in this video include re-recording mixers Michael Hedges, Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, and Gary Summers, as well as composer Howard Shore and producer/co-screenwriter Philippa Boyens. Continue reading “SoundWorks Collection profiles ‘The Desolation of Smaug’”

Hobbit fans catching site of Peter Jackson at last year's Wellington Premiere Party
Hobbit fans catching sight of Peter Jackson at last year’s Wellington Premiere Party

Red Carpet Tours wants to invite Wellington fans to celebrate the release of the Desolation of Smaug with them in style: at Miramar’s Roxy Cinema, right in the heart of Wellywood. The Roxy Cinema complex has received accolades internationally for its authentic Art Deco design, and incredible sculptures and artworks that showcase Weta Workshop talent. Its co-owners include Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger, and Jamie and Anne Selkirk.

Jed Brophy (Nori) and William Kircher (Bifur) will be among the Hobbit film talent invited as special guests for this party.

There will be Costume prizes awarded, hearty Hobbit food and drink, great music and lots of Hobbit fun ! It’s a wonderful occasion to get together with like minded fans and celebrate the release of the ‘Desolation of Smaug’ along with an international party of fans brought to New Zealand by Red Carpet Tours !

Date: Wednesday 11th December, 2013

Time: 8:30pm – Midnight

Location: The Roxy Theatre, Park Road, Miramar-Wellington.

Cost: NZ$150 per person. (Strictly no door sales.)

Party ticket includes: Entry to the party, entertainment, hearty Hobbit fare, especially invited guests ~ Jed Brophy (Nori) and William Kircher (Bifur) and prizes for best costume. Tickets are limited.

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live event To wrap up the week that saw an unprecedented live fan event where fans gathered in theaters around the world with cast and crew, here is a list of things that stood out for TORn staff.

During the event, fans were treated to costume displays, live Q&As, a preview of the end credit music video, and most importantly, 20 minutes of nearly complete, previously unseen footage. As stated in previous posts, this means movie spoilers are coming, so feel free to stop reading now if you wish to spend the next four weeks without knowing what’s to come. Continue reading “Thirteen things we love about The Desolation of Smaug footage”

Desolation  of Smaug soundtrack special edition As you probably know by now, the closing credits song for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a tune entitled I See Fire by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.

At yesterday’s Fan Event, Peter Jackson said Sheeran became involved in the production after his daughter Katie introduced the artist to her parents after attending one of his shows back in March/April.

“She said that I just had to listen to him, and that he could be the perfect fit for the end of the film… and she was right.”

They noted at the time that Sheeran had a “great voice” and “great sensitivity”, then put it on the back-burner for a few months.

As Peter told fans in Wellington, the musicians always see the film before they write and record their tune. Inevitably that means it occurs late in the production process. Continue reading “Listen to and buy The Desolation of Smaug closing credits song I See Fire on iTunes!”

TORn logoBeginning last Saturday and running through to September 4, TheOneRing.net is hosting a Pledge Drive (see the banner at the top) as well as a bunch of auctions for some really cool memorabilia and collectibles.

The day-to-day operation of the website, and the events we host, require a lot more resources than when we first started nearly 15 years ago. We sometimes find it hard to ask our readers for the help we need to keep running, so we began discussing what it is that makes TheOneRing.net worth helping out. It started out as a search for the Top Ten Moments of TORn, but the list got so long because each staff member had their own idea of important moments in TORn history. Here, instead, is something more encompassing: Ten Ways TORn helps serve Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fandom (listed in no specific order).

And, if you enjoy what we do, consider a donation (no amount too small, because every bit does help!) to keep us running!

If you can’t, that’s fine as well — keep reading, commenting and contributing. Because TORn is as much you as it is us!

If you’ve ever sent in an article, submitted a photo or report, posted on our messageboards, visited our chat, or commented on our twitter, facebook or g+, you’re the reason TheOneRing.net is among the largest and most-respected pillars of the Tolkien community on the web.

Continue reading “Ten ways TORn serves Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fandom”

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.