Chapter 340: Film is the Art of Deception

The pre-production work took two years. The entire crew, along with the studio, invested great effort. The biggest benefit of this meticulous preparation was the smoothness of filming. The first ten days before the shooting were full of difficulties, but once Duke adjusted the crew's condition, the filming proceeded smoothly.

For the fight scenes, both the lead actors and the stunt doubles underwent strict training for a long time. Even Orlando Bloom, despite being more showy, displayed an archery pose that was both beautiful and accurate.

For the stunt doubles, the crew found four dwarf substitutes for the Hobbits and even made silicone headpieces for characters like Frodo. As long as it wasn't a close-up, the doubles could wear these headpieces and easily perform.

The silicone headpieces were incredibly lifelike, and if seen at night, they would definitely scare someone half to death.

After ten days of shooting in the studio and outdoor sets, the crew left Wellington city and began filming on location. The crew was so massive, with dozens of large trailers, hundreds of actors, and nearly a hundred horses, that every place they went became the focus of attention.

The first stop for the crew's outdoor filming was near Mount Ruapehu, located in the central-southern part of New Zealand's North Island. This intermittent volcano was chosen by Duke as the prototype for the apocalyptic volcano in the movie. Aside from filming the volcano, the crew would camp nearby in the wilderness for a while to shoot horseback scenes.

However, once they reached this point, Duke decided to split the crew.

Standing outside the crew's camp, Duke looked at the distant Ruapehu volcano. The black volcanic mountain, which would emit a sense of evil and death in the film, looked particularly majestic under the blue New Zealand sky. Especially the snow-capped peak, which looked particularly enchanting.

"Zack…"

Duke's gaze moved from the distant view back to Zack Snyder, who stood to his left. "You're still working with Ben Watts. You're best at using lighting and color to bring out the beauty of New Zealand."

Zack Snyder nodded but then said, "Duke, I need a helicopter."

"The helicopter will be here by this afternoon." Duke checked the time. "You go prepare."

Zack Snyder would take a large part of the crew, including key members like cinematographer Ben Watts. This was also Duke's preparation for him to eventually become a director of photography. They had worked together on all the outdoor scenes of The Matrix.

As the first assistant director, Zack Snyder's temporary task was to work with the team from Weta Studios to film New Zealand's pristine landscapes for the special effects scenes.

"Anna, you and sound designer David Farmer will go to the North Island Zoo."

Turning around, Duke spoke to Anna Prince. "The crew has already made arrangements for you. Go there to record animal sounds—kangaroos, tigers, sea lions, cows, horses, and lions, as well as wolves. I need both their daytime and nighttime calls. You have an entire week, so record as many as you can."

"I understand."

Anna Prince headed for her trailer to prepare for her trip to the zoo.

The crew had just set up camp here, and they were temporarily unable to film. Because so many horses were accompanying them, the crew inevitably attracted the attention of animal rights activists in New Zealand. While not as difficult as their North American counterparts, these activists were still not easy to deal with.

Standing here, looking out at the wilderness, Duke thought about the animal rights group he disliked the most. The crew would need someone to handle them. The person in charge couldn't be too prominent, or they'd get the idea that they were important.

But the person had to be clever enough and unafraid of their pressure.

Thinking of this, Duke had an idea and turned around, waving for Tina Fey and Ivanka Trump to come over.

Duke gave Tina Fey a look she could understand and said to Ivanka Trump, "Ivy, what's your main purpose for coming to New Zealand?"

"A flower in a greenhouse will wilt in the wind and rain…" Ivanka Trump spoke mysteriously before answering, "To hone and improve my skills."

"Now, here's a perfect opportunity."

Duke turned and gazed into the distance again. "I need someone to communicate with the animal rights group. They're a tough bunch."

"I'm willing to do it," Ivanka replied without hesitation.

"Tina."

Duke gestured behind him, and Tina Fey walked away with Ivanka to explain the basic things they would need to keep in mind.

According to the animal rights group's demands, the horses could only work for three hours a day, with breaks every half hour, and a longer rest after an hour and a half.

If the crew followed this schedule, shooting scenes with horses would take at least six months.

These people, who loved animals more than humans, never considered the human perspective.

The crew's demands weren't high, just five to six hours of work for the horses each day. Even Duke himself had never considered mistreating the animals.

Thankfully, there were no real half-orcs or ogres in this world; otherwise, if the half-orc and ogre association protested, that would really be a problem.

Shaking his head, Duke pushed these unhelpful thoughts aside and focused on the shooting schedule for the next day. The scenes here were relatively scattered, mainly involving the combination of humans and horses.

After one afternoon and an evening, the crew set up camp and began preparing the filming locations. Any areas that didn't meet Duke's standards were adjusted by adding props or green screens to create the proper backgrounds during post-production.

The next day, as the sun rose, the entire crew began working at full speed. Cranes, cameras, props, and weapons for the horses were brought to the first filming location, where the set crew quickly arranged green screens in front of the main camera and at a 45-degree angle.

Duke walked by each camera station, checking the setup, then walked over to a horse trainer.

"How's Bill doing?"

The trainer was leading a gentle white horse, which stood quietly by his side.

"His condition is excellent." The trainer gently stroked the horse's neck.

Standing next to the trainer, Duke pointed to the main camera station. "When I say go, have Bill run at a 45-degree angle to the green screen over there."

After getting the trainer's confirmation, Duke returned to the director's monitor, quickly asked the assistant director, and had the script supervisor call out "Action."

The scene with Gandalf was not too difficult. The specially trained horse ran three times in front of the green screen, and Duke declared the scene done.

Then Ian McKellen, in his white robes, white hair, and staff, arrived and performed a scene calling the King of Horses, followed by a moment with Bill, the horse. For both McKellen and the crew, this was an easy shot.

After working for an hour, the representative of the animal rights group arrived to protest, claiming that the horses' continuous work was too much.

Bill's owner and the trainer were present and had no objections to the work conditions. Duke didn't even bother to address the issue and handed it over to an assistant director and Ivanka Trump to handle, while he continued with the filming.

"Cut!" Duke called out.

"I protest…"

Although the protest reached Duke's ears, he ignored it and swiftly moved the crew to a different location nearby, the "Peran Plains," to film the scene of Gandalf and Pippin riding to Minas Tirith.

In addition to cranes and green screens, a new piece of equipment was added for the scene: a prop horse!

The prop horse, powered by a continuous drive, wouldn't run but only simulated bouncing in place. It was just the horse's back and part of its head, designed specifically for Ian McKellen and Billy Boyd's stunt doubles.

"Duke, ride it."

Billy Boyd, who wasn't short, joked as he tapped the prop horse. "Gandalf will never make it to Minas Tirith."

"I'm old, Billy."

Ian McKellen, holding his wizard's staff, walked over. "If I had Viggo's riding skills, I'd use a real horse."

Duke looked up from his director's chair and called out, "Billy, we're starting the shoot."

Billy Boyd, though fond of joking, knew when to be serious, so he immediately left the filming area. His dwarf double, wearing the silicone headpiece, climbed onto the white prop horse with the crew's help.

Once Duke called "Action," the scene began. The prop horse bucked, and the close-up shot of Ian McKellen looked dynamic. After about a minute, Duke called for a stop, and the prop horse was moved aside. The crew shifted forward to continue filming the scene.

Next up was Ian McKellen's stunt double for the wide shots. Riding the horse at full gallop was a piece of cake for the stunt performer. Duke called for two NGs, but that was due to issues with the camera track, causing the shot to misalign.

This was a typical Hollywood filming method. Not every actor was a skilled rider like Viggo Mortensen. Most of the time, stunt doubles took on the horseback scenes. It was easy to tell when a stunt double was used—wide shots of galloping horses were usually performed by doubles, while close-up shots showing only the back of the horse were often the actor.

Film is a visual art, and it is also an art of deception.

As filming progressed, more and more horses joined the set, and large-scale equestrian stunts followed.