When we got to the correct theater we were about to buy the tickets when a very kind lady at the book table offered us some extra tickets she had (bless here heart!). We then proceeded to go in and passed a book table of Tolkien Literature. We went into screen one and sat towards the back. Inside were seated about 40-50 people and behind a podium at the front was Alan Lee. A soft spoken man,he talked of other non-Lotr films he had done concept art on and proceeded to guide us through an extended slide show. What we saw was a ton of concept art never seen by the general public as well as photographs from his time in New Zealand. Various Pics were:

1.Jackson exploring a site for the Dead Marshes. they ended up using just a backlot because the other site was to much to handle. :)

2. Jackson at the Moria set looking for the exit lol.

Along with stills we see many sets,building,and props in their early stages. The Dwarven Tombs in grander scale,the knotted roots of a tree where Elrond was to have his throne (they dropped this because our beloved cast might trip),Bilbo's Books and a number of many other things which many fellow reporters have mentioned.

I liked Alan Lee and his love classics,fantasy and art. He is a very cultured person and has wonderful amount of skill and knowledge. I asked him a question of how they film miniatures as opposed to real sets (being you don't want an ugly crane and a cup of joe behind Minas Tirith thank you very much) and he explained how they used green screen for that.