10 Epic Movie Moments You Won't Believe Used No CGI
3. The Lord Of The Rings - The Hobbits
The aforementioned Lord of the Rings trilogy did need to lean on CGI at times, with the logistics of bringing Tolkiens fantasy to life making it practically unavoidable. While some of the computer generated moments are easier to believe than others, some of the most seamless and impressive effects are achieved through a trick of the eye.
With so much of the story involving the diminutive Hobbits sharing scenes with elves, men, wizards, orcs and many other races that tower over them in height, it would have been easy for Peter Jackson to dip into his budget and pass the problem over to the effects team, but he went with a far more effective set of techniques.
Sometimes, when the Hobbits had their backs to the camera, children in wigs and fake hairy feet were used, though what they did when the actors needed some face to face time was simply ingenious.
During scenes in which Frodo and Gandalf sat face to face at a table, Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen were actually sitting at different tables, one with regular sized food and drink for the wizard, and one with enlarged food and drink for the hobbit, joined seamlessly using the perfect camera angles.