Told you I don’t know much about computers and the like. Super Ringer spy that I cannot even name for sake of his life! (but remember thoe bits of the script and Character breakdowns? this is the dude). He sent me some info regarding what will be done with LOTR after it’s in the can, take a gander:
Regarding the item about LOTR being shot digitally… The trilogy is being originated on film, shooting in what is called “Super 35”, a non-anamorphic method of capturing a widescreen image, by utilizing the entire width of the 35mm film frame from sprocket hole to sprocket hole, while cropping vertically to produce a 1:2.35 image ratio. All of James Cameron’s widescreen films have been shot in Super 35, for example.
I guess the confusion with the article came from the massive amount of footage that will be digitized and processed in the CG realm. However, production footage isn’t being shot on electronic digital cameras; as George Lucas is planning to do with the next installment of the “Star Wars” prequel (and as he semi-successfully experimented with for a single sequence in “Phantom Menace”, in the night time scene when Qui-Gon test Anakin’s blood for midiclorian content).
Even though 80 computer artists working sounds like a handful to manage, this is entirely routine on all contemporary major effects and animated films at the various effects houses and studios where they are produced(Pixar, ILM, Dream Quest, Dreamworks, Disney Animation, Digital Domain, Pacific Data Images, etc.) and Weta should do very well.
Cool tech stuff, thanks!