Here’s my report on the seminar given by Paul Kirwan during the Science Week held in Canberra back in August. It was so popular that the 6pm session was booked out so quickly that another session for 3pm that afternoon was also scheduled. This too was booked out very fast, not surprising given the popularity of the Lord of the Rings plus the fact Paul is a Canberra Boy! We attended the 6pm session. It was a fascinating seminar, I was madly scribbling notes in the dark to report back.
After thanking both Weta Digital and New Line for the permission to both come back to Canberra for the Science Festival as well as show images from Fellowship of the Ring, Paul gave us a brief outline of how he came into the field of digital animation. He is originally studied Computer Science at the Australian National University (ANU), then went on to be a data base administrator. Having found that rather dry, he then did a course in computer graphics and animation. After that he then completed a Masters in computer animation. He worked in James Cameron’s effects studio, on a number of projects including films such as Dante’s Peak and Titanic. Some 18 months ago he moved to Wellington to work at Weta on the Lord of the Rings.
Paul is a 2D compositor, he has a very good eye for detail which is something he said you either have or don’t, you can’t teach, but such ability is crucial for the work he does. Technically, there has been nothing like LOTR before, although Star Wars came close but the feel is different. He stated that it is crucial for the special effects work properly, he believes that he’s done a good job if you can’t tell that it is actually a computer generated image. This has been difficult with LOTR, particularly as we know that demons and trolls don’t exist, but they had to make them look believable.
We were treated to three scenes on which Paul had worked on, and were taken from the early pre-visualisation (very blocky, basic graphics) to blue screen shots of the actors/body doubles, right through to the finished shot.
The first was the bridge at Khazad-dum. Although the entire scene is around 3 and a half minutes, it was 6 months work with 35-40 effects shots. Paul pointed out that 99% of the arrows shot in FOTR were all computer generated, due to the danger of shooting real arrows! We were shown the process from the goblins/orcs who were shooting at the Fellowship after Gandalf and Legolas had jumped across the breach in the bridge. It was interesting to hear that when filming the extras against blue screen, where one falls into the chasm after getting shot, the guy bounced back which you could see in the shot. They were able to mask this through both background as well as having the creature fall.
The next sequence was the Watcher at the Moria entrance. A huge amount of time was spent on this sequence, as it was one of the three major monsters (the others being the Cave Troll and the Balrog). Originally the scene was 3 minutes, but was cut down to 1, and there was more blood and guts, but this too was cut in order to meet the PG13 rating. Paul showed how the Watcher was developed, skeleton, slimy wet skin and all, and the detail behind Frodo being grabbed by the leg and pulled up and out of shot. As we saw Elijah Wood being dragged up and out of shot by a cable attached to his leg by a leather cuff, Paul explained that as the actors also had a passion for the project, they did things well beyond the call of duty, the passion of Peter Jackson was contagious!!
The final scene was that of the Cave Troll (Troll Boy as he was referred to!). Paul explained how much thought and detail went into the troll, which is why he looks heaps better than the Harry Potter version (my bias creeping in there!). Once the basic troll had been developed, the animators then put him through some physical activity to make sure he moved right. We were treated to Troll Boy watching a fly then swatting it with his club, juggling a number of coloured balls and finally doing some serious sniffing, which included a whiff of his own armpit! We even saw a “shell” of the Troll’s torso being “dropped” and watching cave troll fat wobble, all in the name of realism. As well as detail on the Troll, we were shown how they morphed a CGI Aragorn with a Aragorn garbed stuntman to get the realism behind Aragorn being flung aside by the Troll. We also saw motion capture images of Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen, for their computer generated doubles. Paul explained the difficulty in doing hair (strange to see Aragorn with a head half Gandalf hair and half Legolas hair) and cloth, however this is getting easier with developments in both software and hardware.
The seminar went a full two hours, too short of course. Paul explained that in FOTR there were about 485 shots, 25 minutes of film, that were computer generated. He’s currently working on The Two Towers, they have 9 weeks to go. Paul believes that TTT will be better than FOTR, with some 800 computer generated shots, and Return of the King even better, with approximately 1,200 shots. He was treated to a huge round of applause by an audience of both LOTR fans and computer geeks.
Nancy Kapitanoff of Pulse Magazine gave FOTR a great review in the current September issue. Here’s what they had to say:
“This is just plainly and simply one of the greatest films ever made–as well as probably the best combination of classic book and classic movie in the history of cinema. Director Peter Jackson embraced one of the most beloved texts in all world literature and turned it into something his own while keeping entirely faithful to his source. It was, in part, because the tools of the medium were equal to his imagination–that cave troll, those dark horsemen, the weird effects when Frodo foolishly puts on the ring, those Orcs, that thing of fire, the Balrog. In part, too, it was because Jackson was given the inestimable gift of time: Not only is this three-hour film merely one third of the story that he’ll ultimately tell, but we’re sure one day to see a cut closer to 12 hours–and I will set aside a full day to luxuriate in it as soon as you tell me when I can, thank you. Finally, the thing is exquisitely mounted, cast, played, paced, scored, shot–you name it. There’s enough humor to temper the foreboding, enough explication to keep the neophytes up to speed, enough natural beauty to make you book a flight to New Zealand, and more action and supernatural whatnot to appease the boy-geek in us all. And how instructive that it came on the heels of the first Harry Potter picture–a movie that amounted to little more than a half-afternoon of day care compared to the mammoth genius of Jackson’s achievement.”
News for Calgary Ringers from Galadriel: “I just thought I’d let you know that a group of Calgary Ringers are putting together a potluck picnic for the Baggins’ Birthday on Sunday, Sept. 22nd at Edworthy Park. Tentative events include Tolkien/fantasy-themed improv games, Middle-earth trivia contests, and a demonstration by a local medieval recreation group. All Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Wizards (and even Orcs) are invited. The details are available here”
For Northern Californian Ringers, there’s the Chico Cabaret’s production of The Hobbit. [More]
Celebrated artist Alan Lee will discuss his contributions as illustator of the centenary edition of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the 60th anniversary edition of THE HOBBIT (Houghton Mifflin) and as Conceptual Artist for the film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson (New Line Cinema), illustrated with behind-the-scenes footage. Presentation to be followed by book signing.**
Date/Time: September 26, 6:30 — 8:00 p.m. Location: Cleaview Chelsea West Theater, 333 West 23rd Street (8th & 9th Ave.) Tickets: $15.00
To purchase tickets, visit the Chelsea West box office or call Moviefone (777-FILM)
A limited number of $100 premium tickets are available. They include reserved seating, transportation, and access to all-evening celebrity champagne reception.
For more program information, and a complete listing of New York Is Book Country’s Film Book Festival’s event lineup, visit www.nyisbookcountry.com
**Soon to be available from Houghton Mifflin and ON SALE at the event: a newly reconfigured three-volume edition of THE LORD OF THE RINGS illustrated by Alan Lee.
Ringer Spy Padfoot sends along these scans from Germany’s ‘Cinema’ magazine, and provided a translation for us, take a look!
The calm before the tower (I think it lost something in translation here -Xo)
Icy cold winter rain drums down on the Weta Studio buildings. Peter Jackson isn’t the least impressed. Barefoot and in shorts, the director trudges towards one of the ocre-coloured buildings. The New Zealand weather is his least problem. Because in the wooden bulding lies a treasure that elecrifies “cinema pirates” all over the world. The film material of his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Only a few initiates know the details, admittance is forbidden to unauthorized people.
The “Ring” forge has turned into a top-secret laboratory. Whereas before the start of The Fellowship the makers stepped willingly before the public, they’ve now been muzzled. The arrogance of producers, sure of victory? It’s true that the people involved know by now that The Two Towers will become money safes, but their secretiveness has other reasons as well. In the Weta FX labs and cutting rooms they are working on a part II that’s not only to exceed all expectations – but by far exceed them.
But the dream of the top-secret-status is gone. More and more informations that give an impression of The Two Towers, leak through from New Zealand.
It’s already known that the movie will contain more exciting creatures and action scenes. Besides the creatures Treebeard and Gollum, exotic war elephants and giant werewolves belong to the beasts. “The closer we get to the kingdom of evil, the more fantastic and more evil the monsters will become”, promises Richard Taylor, Peter Jackson’s FX supervisor.
Center of The Two Towers will be the battle for the mountain fortress Helm’s Deep. It’s approximate length will be around 45 minutes. In one scene, the elf warrior Legolas will glide over his enemies’ shields like a surfer.
But Jackson won’t just be adding an extra load of blood and bytes to The Two Towers. He’s setting more an psychology than on pyrotechnics. The “Kiwi-Spielberg” is taking the consequences from The Fellowship. Self-critic, he’s complaining about the restless pace of the movie. For example, it had only partly been possible to show the characters’ relationships and the dimsions of their journey. The Two Towers will contain more scenes that concentrate on the development of the different characters. This means that The Two Towers will be farther away from Tolkien’s original – even more than it’s predecessor. For example, the fans will have to do without the cliffhanger final when Frodo, paralysed by a spider’s bite, gets captured by Orcs. These scenes will be featured in the 3rd movie.
How determined Jackson is, show the re-shoots that took place in June. Originally set up for 2 weeks, the shoots took twice as long. Almost all of the leading actors – except Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm and Cate Blanchett – had to return on camera. Apart from small completions and corrections to the existing material, completely new scenes (that were previously left out) were shot. To do that, he even had re-built the giant set of the Edoras Throne Hall and the Forest of Fangorn.
Even the dead experienced their re-birth. “Boromir” Sean Bean was flown in to shoot flashback sequences that explain his relationship to his brother Faramir (David Wenham). About 25 additional minutes were created this way. The actors realized and understood how ambitious their director is: “This film is way deeper”, Bernard Hill (King Theoden) explains enthusiastically.
However, one negligence happened to Peter Jackson. He’s trained a competitor. On a day off, “Sam Gamgee” Sean Astin shot the short movie “A Tall Story” with the entire crew. His Tolkien-inspired subject is: Differences in sizes…
But by next year, Jackson will show everyone again who’s the real Lord of the Rings. Because by then the re-shoots for The Return of the King will take place.
The tournament scene in Southern California has definitely found its stride. Thanks to the So Cal “Riders of Rohan” (Decipher’s Product Champions), LOTR TCG players now have an incredibly wide range of locations and playing communities to test their skills. Cities like Garden Grove, Tustin, Pasadena, Lancaster, Santa Barbara and San Diego represent just a few of the very diverse playing communities in So Cal, with players ranging from novice to veteran. The tournament circuit is fun, challenging and a great way to meet other LOTR fans as well as gaming fans (TCG, CCG, RPG and LARP) in general.
If you have never been to a tournament before, or if you are a new player and feel that the tournament scene is too intimidating or competitive for your taste – then here is an example of how fun a tournament day can be for you and for players of all skill levels:
Tournament Date: August 24, 2002 Location: Mile High Comics – Garden Grove, CA
What a great day for the tournament scene! The game welcomed 10 (out of 24) brand new players to the scene as well as three female participants! During the course of the tournament, each player competed in a total of five games – the Swiss Format of tournament play. Each victory and loss resulted in points earned to qualify for the next game and another chance to play against a completely different person.
The Uruk-Hai were out in force, as many deck designs relied on the power of Saruman and the savage minions of Isengard to acheive victory! The nine Nazgul thundered down from Minas Morgul as their thirst for the power of the one plagued the Fellowship from the very start. The relentless goblin swarms of Moria tried at every turn to overwhelm the Fellowship with their sheer numbers. And the prescence of Sauron was only briefly felt, yet problematic enough for the Fellowship’s defenses against his battle hardened army who marched forward waiving banners of the Eye, armed with vile blades and seething with hate.
As for the Fellowship, early Elven support as seen with Legolas and Arwen were among the more popular starting companions for their combination of direct damage and anti-Nazgul defensive strength. At the Prancing Pony, Aragorn was summoned early to defend the Fellowship with his unparalleled fighting skills and armaments. Remember, he knows what hunts you…
The competition was indeed fierce as each opponent tried their best to protect Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship from falling into shadow; succumbing to the forces of Goblins, Orcs, Uruk-Hai and the Nazgul. And then of course…there was the Balrog.
After five very intense and engaging games, veteran player John Patchell from Apple Valley, CA – on his birthday, won the coveted first place prize with a fantastic record of 5-0. Randy Simon, another local veteran from Long Beach, CA took second place. But the most surprising victory of the day – and the most inspiring for new players – was from Eddie McGovern; a brand new player who took third place in his very first tournament. Congratulations to all the players for a fun and exciting day of tournament play.
First time TD (Tournament Director) Ramesses DeLeon, a top-level player from Riverside, CA – ran a very well organized, fun and exciting day. The veteran players had a great time and the newer players – especially Eddie McGovern – really stepped up their games and gave many of the vets a pretty good run for their money!
For those of you who live near the Garden Grove area – Mile High Comics is a great place for all skill levels to come and try the tournament scene. And if tournaments aren’t quite your pace, but you still love playing the game – there is always league play in almost every playing community out there.
For more information on LOTR tournaments and league play in your area, please contact your local comic or trading card retailer, or visit Decipher’s website at www.decipher.com or check out the Decipher Games Management Authority (DGMA) at www.dgma.com.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The next tournament at Mile High Comics will be September 14, 2002 starting at 12:00 p.m. Please check out Decipher’s tournament boards for further details.
And if you are interested in the tournament and league playing community at Mile High Comics here is how to contact the store:
Mile High Comics 12591 Harbor Blvd. Garden Grove, CA 92840 (714) 741-2096
