Production designer Dan Hennah and Joe Letteri from Weta Digital spoke to Medakdo Murphy from the New York Times about the challenges of bringing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey HFR 48fps to the big screen by using a combination of digital sets and normal sets and merging the two together.
Mr. Hennah supervised the building of a flexible set. “We set it up so that we could make every component something we could move, lift up, turn around, interchange,” he said. They had two studios full of these movable elements, from the rock walls to the walkways and ladders. A digital version of some of those elements was created by Mr. Letteri’s team and blended together with the on-set props to create a seamless environment. Spoilers ahead.
Christmas brings to mind the timeless, poignant image of a mother cradling her newborn child.
At this rather apt time of year then, TORn’s music geeks are pleased to bring you an exclusive interview with Hilary Summers.
An alto hailing from Wales, UK, Hilary recorded “Gilraen’s Song” that plays over the scene where Aragorn kneels in reverence before his mother Gilraen’s memorial in Rivendell, and whose lyrics hark back to the words once spoken by Gilraen herself.
Little boy, little one, night is falling, come into my arms, let me hold you safe. But still you run through the twilight, lost in your play, slaying demons in the shadows. Little boy, little one, full of grace, full of joy, oh, my heart will break,
For I see it in your eyes… you are your father’s son, not your mother’s child.
Join us in this exclusive interview as we talk to Hilary about her experience recording the song for The Lord of the Rings.
Philippa Boyens. Photo: KENT BLECHYNDEN/Fairfax NZ At the New York Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Vulture spoke to Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson about the absence of Gandalf’s backstory from the film. In particular, they delved into why there’s no insight into why Gandalf assists the Dwarf company, and how he obtained the map and key of Thrain. Read on below the cut for some spoilery answers that hint at what we can anticipate for The Desolation of Smaug. Continue reading “The Hobbit and Gandalf’s backstory”
TORn Staffer Magpie reports that for the LoTR sheet music, which is available on the same site, “you could print the sheet music once and it has your name on it. But then you got this digital download that let you play the sheet music (with their player). It displayed the sheet music on your computer screen and played a midi file — highlighting the notes being played.”
You can also can preview most songs for one page to get a sense of how it works.
greendragon with actor John Bell, who plays Bain in The Hobbit movies
On 12th December staffer greendragon was lucky enough to attend the red (well, actually it was green!) carpet in Leicester Square, London, for the Royal Film Performance of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Many of the film’s stars – and other celebs who were there to see the movie – stopped by to say hi, and were delighted to see TheOneRing.net (‘our special friends,’ as Peter Hambleton said) represented there. This is because YOU, our readers, are all so fabulous – everyone involved with the films knows that the best fans are the ones who visit TORn. 😉 So here, as a little festive mathom offered to you all from us, the staffers at TORn, is a video of some greetings (and some ‘woohoos’!) to you all, from the folks who work in Middle-earth.
After a little footage of the set up in Leicester Square to set the scene, you’ll see John Bell (Bain) and his parents, Graham McTavish (Dwalin), James Nesbitt (Bofur), William Kircher (Bifur) and his beautiful wife Nicole, artist Alan Lee, Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Adam Brown (Ori), and of course Dominic Monaghan (Merry) and Billy Boyd (Pippin)- who were there to see the movie and revisit old haunts! Enjoy! Wishing you all happy holidays!
Talking to Shawn Adler from movieline.com, Weta Digital visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri talks about the use of 3D HFR in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He explains why it takes some getting used to, and why he feels it’s a big step forward for films, like the transition from black and white to color.
“If you grew up seeing films in black and white and suddenly start seeing films in color, some people are going to have the reaction ‘Wow, that’s great!’ and other people are going to have the reaction, ‘That’s not moviemaking! Films should be made in black and white! You’re losing the mystery of how to deal with tonality, you’re sacrificing that to deal with color!'” [Read more]
Production designer Dan Hennah and Joe Letteri from Weta Digital spoke to Medakdo Murphy from the New York Times about the challenges of bringing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey HFR 48fps to the big screen by using a combination of digital sets and normal sets and merging the two together.
