Given the awe-inspiring miniatures and “bigatures” used for The Lord of the Rings, many of TORn’s members have been questioning (some with a pang of longing!) the decision to do away with miniature photography for The Hobbit, speculating the use of 3D may have had something to do with it.
Whilst poring over the numerous press interviews and Q&As conducted with Peter Jackson over the course of this weekend, we found the answer via Collider.com in PJ’s response to the question of what the biggest advances in technology have been since The Lord of the Rings. He says:
The technology that advanced the most, in the last 10 or 12 years, is really the fact that we did a lot of miniature shooting on The Lord of the Rings. All the big architectural structures of Middle Earth were really miniatures, some of them quite large. But, you’re limited to what you can do with a miniature because you literally have to have a big camera that has to sweep past it, so you can’t get too close to it and the detail doesn’t hold up too well, if you do.
This time around, there are no miniatures. It’s all done with CGI. Everything that we need to build, from a miniature point of view, we build as a CG miniature. I can now swoop in, over rooftops and through doorways. I can do things that I never could have dreamt of doing with the miniatures. For me, that’s actually one of the most profound differences.
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We are having a great time live blogging from #Hobbitcon (Comic-Con)! If you haven’t been following along, staffers are tweeting, posting pics, sharing thoughts and occasionally streaming LIVE video from all areas of the big show – making it seem like you are right there with us in San Diego! We toured booths from WETA, LEGO, Sideshow, Bridge Direct, Gentle Giant and many more on the live stream, as well as hung out with Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood and Richard Taylor! Today should be even more historic as we cover the official Hobbit Panel at 2:30pm PT. Our team will report as much as we can via our LIVE coverage page, so join us there for the fun and frivolity! See you there! [LIVE from Comic-Con 2012] Please do take a moment to share that link with your friends and family.
(And, if you enjoy this type of coverage from us, please consider a small donation to help us handle the expenses. Even just a few dollars can go a long way!)
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As we reported earlier, today is The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit day at Comic-Con 2012 (aka #HobbitCon) and LEGO® was kind enough to send us this exclusive image of a brand new ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ Playset! The set is called ‘An Unexpected Gathering’ and features Bag End with six mini-figures. As you can see in the image above, we have Bofur holding an axe, Bombur with a sausage and knife, Dwalin wielding a really large weapon and knife, Balin with chalice, Gandalf the Grey with walking staff, and Bilbo Baggins. As you can see the set is highly detailed with greenery, vegetables and much more. From the looks of the image we’ll have a nice inside component to play with as well. Stay tuned as we report more from Comic-Con 2012! [Live Coverage]
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We are very excited to share with you our LIVE coverage from this year’s Comic-Con, now appropriately renamed #HobbitCon! Throughout the next few days, our 100% volunteer staff will descend on San Diego to give all of us who can’t make it to the show, the best LIVE coverage a not for profit website can muster! That includes a live blogging feature which follows select staffers as they work their way around the exhibit hall and panels, a LIVE video feed from the TORn Tuesday team and Stickam.com, and a special Flickr gallery that we hope to update often with great Tolkien related photos. In a year in which The Hobbit will rule Comic-Con, we want to give you the absolute best online experience possible. All of this takes place in our LIVE event center – http://www.theonering.net/sdcc. As we all know, if you step on the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to! [LIVE from Comic-Con 2012] Please do take a moment to share that link with your friends and family.
(And, if you enjoy this type of coverage from us, please consider a small donation to help us handle the expenses. Even just a few dollars can go a long way!)
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LEGO Systems Celebrates a New Theme Each Day at San Diego Comic-Con
-Surprises abound for fans as construction toy maker unveils new playsets, life-sized models, mystery builds, contests and one-of-a-kind giveaways in support of popular licensed properties-
SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON (July 11, 2012) – LEGO Systems, Inc., the world’s leading construction toy manufacturer, unveils its largest ever San Diego Comic-Con presence with a “theme of the day” calendar of events that celebrates its top licensed properties including LEGO® THE LORD OF THE RINGS™ and LEGO THE HOBBIT™, LEGO Super Heroes, LEGO Star Wars™ and LEGO NINJAGO. LEGO Systems welcomes show attendees with displays of life-size models, first-ever “reveals” of LEGO building sets and limited edition giveaways. In addition, attendees are invited to help “build” a section of its booth each day that features 7.5 feet tall mosaics of Comic Con favorites at booth #2829 of the San Diego Convention Center, July 12-15.
“Each year we’re overwhelmed by the excitement Comic-Con fans show toward the LEGO brand and the new playsets we introduce based on their favorite characters and storylines,” said Michael McNally, brand relations director, LEGO Systems, Inc. “As we celebrate our 80th anniversary this year, we’re pulling out all the stops in San Diego to show fans how the classic LEGO brick continues to build popularity among children and adults of all ages with a rotation of themes and activities for fans of all interests.”
Continue reading “LEGO Announces The Lord of the Rings/Hobbit Thursday Celebration at Comic-Con”
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In this article, The New Zealand Herald’s Helen Frances speaks to Weta concept designers and illustrators Ben Wootten and Paul Tobin about how they got their starts in the industry.
Wootten joined Weta in 1996, and has worked on King Kong, The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. His knowledge of animal anatomy and behavior (he studied zoology at university) was key to creating the dinosaurs for King Kong.
Paul Tobin began his career at Weta Workshop in 2003 when the first Narnia film and King Kong were underway. Tobin says he was “lousy at drawing dinosaurs” so he stayed with Narnian fantasy. His background in ancient history and archaeology proved the inspiration for concept designs for Peter and Edmund’s armour and weapons and Susan’s horn.
Read more here. Photo by Steve Unwin.
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