1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Director: Peter Jackson
Year: 2001
Followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King
All 3 were filmed at once, over 274 days
Cast:
Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood)
Gandalf (Ian McKellen)

2. Cast, continued Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) Gollum (Andy Serkis)
Bilbo (Ian Holm)
Arwen (Liv Tyler)
Elrond (Hugo Weaving)
Galadriel (Cate Blanchett)
Legolas (Orlando Bloom)
Saruman (Christopher Lee)

3. Source material Trilogy (3 books) by J.R.R. Tolkien
The movies follow the structure of the books
The Hobbit takes place in the same setting (Middle Earth) and has some of the same characters (Bilbo, Gollum, Gandalf)

4. New Zealand
It is estimated that filming of the trilogy pumped about $200,000,000 into the New Zealand economy
Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, changed its name to Middle Earth for the film's opening
Air New Zealand safety video

5. Conflicts in the Fellowship
Aragorn vs. Boromir
Boromir is the son of the Steward of Gondor
Aragorn is the descendant of the King of Gondor (Isildur)
Gimli vs. Legolas
Dwarves and elves dislike and mistrust one another
The Ring – Frodo cannot trust anyone

6. Creating the Look of the Film
Peter Jackson recruited the two most renowned Tolkien artists, Alan Lee and John Howe
Hobbiton was made a year before production began so it would look lived-in
Real vegetable patches
Sheep kept the grass short

7. Creating the Illusion
Two sets of Bag End, Bilbo Baggins's home, were built.
One full size for the Hobbits
the other 33% smaller for Ian McKellen
Customers in The Prancing Pony (the inn at Bree) were on stilts
Forced perspective
When Frodo and Gandalf sit together on a cart, Elijah Wood is actually 3 feet behind Ian McKellen

8. The Hero’s Journey
A monomyth – a universal story framework that appears in many great myths
Three stages:
Departure
Initiation
Return

9. The Hero’s Journey - Departure
The Call to Adventure: Gandalf tells Frodo he must carry the Ring to Rivendell
Refusal of the Call: Frodo and Sam plan to return to the Shire once the Ring is in Rivendell
Supernatural Aid: Frodo receives mithril armor, and the Fellowship including a wizard to guide him, and an elf, a dwarf, and two men to protect him

10. The Hero’s Journey - Initiation
The Road of Trials: The Fellowship must fight their way through the mines of Moria
The Meeting with the Goddess: The Fellowship meet Galadriel, who is wise and caring and gives them gifts
Apotheosis: the hero
The Ultimate Boon: achieving the goal of the quest, which may benefit all mankind

11. The Hero’s Journey - Return
Refusal: The hero may not want to return to ordinary life
The Magic Flight: Escaping with the boon may be perilous
Rescue from Without: The hero may need guides and assistants to help him home
Crossing the Return Threshold: The hero must be able to re-integrate into ordinary life

12. The Two Towers Part two of a trilogy
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are pursuuing the orcs who are taking Pippin and Merry to Saruman
Frodo and Sam have entered Mordor

14. Animating Gollum Motion capture Key frame animation
Actor Andy Serkis wore a suit that allowed “cameras” to capture his motion
The same technique used to create the alien creatures in Avatar
Key frame animation
Allows Gollum to do impossible things
Captures fine movements, like fingers
Facial expressions all were animated