10 Things You Didn't Know About The Hobbit Trilogy

1. All Of New Zealand And Australia's Gold Paint Was Used Up By The Production

When it came to realising Peter Jackson€™s vision for The Hobbit Trilogy, the makeup artists weren€™t the only ones with their hands full (although presumably they were the only ones who had their hands full of yak hair); creating the props and sets was a herculean task that required the hard work input of hundreds of dedicated crew members. Weta Workshop mocked up in the region of 500 primary illustrations for conceptual designs and eventually produced some 8,000 digital paintings all in all, and although CGI was used extensively the crew still had to create dozens of practical sets for Bilbo€™s epic journey. Perhaps the single most important €“ and certainly the most ostentatious €“ set in the entire production was the lair of Smaug the dragon, filled as it is with precious jewels, gemstones and, above all, mountains of gold. In order to create the desired effect and survive the scrutiny of the 48 fps cameras, the crew used up so much gold paint that they virtually exhausted the entire supply to be found in New Zealand and Australia - and even that wasn€™t enough. They then had to import additional supplies of gold paint from Germany to finish the job, but their hard work resulted in the perfect setting for what might be the trilogy€™s standout scene. Excited about the final instalment of The Hobbit trilogy? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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