This battle in the Moria Mines ultimately turned out to be a continuous series of intense action scenes. However, when filming, it was divided into countless small segments. After each action and expression, Duke would pause, then he would watch the 3D effect footage with Anna Prinz, John Schwartzman, and Andy Serkis to find areas that needed improvement.
Using real people's motion data to drive virtual characters is an optical technology that Hollywood has been using for a long time.
Weta Workshop did not stick to the original technology. During the past two years of Duke's crew's preparations, they also improved the existing motion capture technology. The optical motion capture technology they mastered was highly advanced and accurate.
This technology has been developed by Weta Workshop into various specialized fields. For instance, there are teams specifically working on fluid effects, where something like a water-pouring scene can be made so realistic that it's impossible to tell it was made by a computer. There are also teams working on crowd simulations. For example, the orcs pouring out of the Moria Hall were mostly simulated, with only a few main actors performing the motion capture, and the rest were generated.
With the advancement of computer technology, the effects of some special effects composite shots are completely unimaginable compared to ten or even five years ago. After the ogre character model was completed, all that was needed was to modify the motion information from Duke's performance and apply it to these models.
These things look simple, but in reality, Weta Workshop did a lot of preparatory work beforehand.
The creation of the ogre special effects involves four key steps. First, creating the character model using a computer to design the virtual character, which can be done at various levels of detail based on the required control points. The second step is to establish the skeleton structure, because the virtual character needs a skeleton to move, and this structure also requires the relationships between the bones to be defined.
Next, the skin model needs to be created, since skin is elastic. Movements like stretching bones will cause the skin to contract, so corresponding relationships need to be established.
Finally, during Duke's performance, motion capture technology collects the motion data, which is then applied to the corresponding skeletal model. This allows the captured motion data to drive the movement of the skeleton.
Therefore, motion capture devices were attached to Duke at specific points. High-speed cameras surrounding the area captured the data, creating a series of tracking points to obtain the spatial movement coordinates of each point.
But there are flaws too. The motion capture points do not have identity labels, making it difficult for the computer to recognize them, which can lead to confusion.
Such filming is suited for studios, not for complex outdoor lighting environments.
Weta Workshop's technical improvements are still ongoing. Their latest motion capture devices can emit infrared light at different frequencies. Modified cameras collect the data, and soon this will be applied to Gollum's scenes.
With this, filming Gollum scenes no longer needs to be restricted to the studio, and outdoor shoots will no longer be affected by natural light, allowing for effective data capture.
After watching a few motion capture shots, Andy Serkis said to Duke, "Your performance is too restrained. You're playing an ogre; you need to fully unleash its brutal, savage side. Your body movements can be more exaggerated…"
"More exaggerated?"
To be honest, Duke was not a very good actor.
Anna Prinz, standing on the other side, also agreed with Andy Serkis' comment. "Duke, you need to forget you're a director; right now, you're just an actor. Just an ogre."
Just an ogre?
Nodding his head, Duke returned to the filming set, ready to continue fighting the guard squad.
After the Weta Workshop staff checked the equipment, filming resumed.
Holding the prop hammer wrapped in blue screen cloth, Duke slammed it onto the ground. The stunt doubles for Merry and Pippin turned into rolling gourds, and then he went after Frodo, with Elijah Wood hiding behind a column, dodging twice. They almost bumped into each other.
"Roar…"
Duke let out a roar full of energy, like an ancient beast descending, as if he wanted to devour Elijah Wood alive.
"Great!"
Anna Prinz's voice came from outside the set. "Duke, that was perfect."
After handing the hammer to the crew, Duke and Andy Serkis went behind the monitors. On two large screens, one showed Duke's performance, and the other displayed the motion data applied to the 3D model of his ogre character.
After watching his performance, Duke's mouth twitched slightly. His facial expression was extremely exaggerated, and if this were for a normal scene, it would be completely unacceptable.
But on the other screen, the ogre representing him was also roaring, and the exaggerated movements looked great on the ugly, terrifying face.
"I think I found the key," Duke said, borrowing a line from Sam.
After all, he was just playing a tortured ogre, not a complex character like Gollum with dual personalities. It was relatively simple, and if Duke had to do motion capture for Gollum, he wouldn't have been able to handle it.
This was just a cameo to add promotional material, and Duke knew very well that being a director was his main job.
This is Hollywood. While many people direct and act, even seasoned veterans like Clint Eastwood focus on one role at a time. In fact, you won't find anyone who can simultaneously be both a director and actor at the top level anywhere in the world, not even in Hollywood.
Whether as an actor or a director, both careers require intense focus.
Just like Andy Serkis, who, in the future, would become the top figure in motion capture in Hollywood, his success was inseparable from his focus. Most of his live-action roles were minor, but characters like King Kong, Gollum, and Caesar were landmark roles in motion capture history.
Filming the Moria Mines scene involved many breaks, with actors and stunt doubles taking turns. Some shots of the ogre character didn't just rely on Duke's motion capture but also involved one-to-one models for filming, making the whole process extremely lengthy.
While Legolas was shooting arrows at the ogre model, Duke took off his motion capture suit, sat down to rest, and reviewed the already filmed shots. If any were unsatisfactory, he would reshoot them.
"How do you feel about our special effects?"
Duke didn't know when, but Richard Taylor, the head of Weta Workshop, had come up behind him. Duke pointed to the chair next to him. "Please sit, Richard."
After Richard sat down, Duke said, "Although it's a bit different from what I imagined, Richard, your work has exceeded my expectations."
"Thank you," Richard Taylor smiled, his excitement hard to hide.
If the Lord of the Rings trilogy is considered as one work, and then Peter Jackson's King Kong, Weta Workshop had already handled four super-budget projects, each costing over a hundred million dollars, and more would be released in the coming years.
Although Richard Taylor was not very confident about Peter Jackson, he had great hopes for Duke. Not to mention Duke's status and influence in Hollywood and the global film industry, the meticulous and overwhelming pre-production work itself was the guarantee of success.
If the Lord of the Rings trilogy succeeded, even if it didn't reach the level of The Matrix, a box office comparable to Con Air would still make Weta Workshop accompany Duke to the global stage.
It could be said that Weta Workshop had already knocked on Hollywood's mainstream commercial doors, and whether they could truly break into the North American market would depend on Duke's Lord of the Rings trilogy.
After chatting with Richard Taylor for a bit, Duke went back to work. There was no secret to making special effects; to make them excellent, one just needed to spend large amounts of money and time. Just like his usual style, the extra budget for the Lord of the Rings trilogy was all poured into special effects.
Special effects technology was rapidly advancing, and in the future, it would be outdated. What Duke wanted was for the Lord of the Rings trilogy to have the best special effects of its time.
As for the critics who said the special effects overshadowed the film, Duke didn't care at all.
Filming the battle scene took nearly four days to complete, marking Duke's first acting role since entering Hollywood. The role was definitely going to surprise audiences.
Afterward, Anna Prinz was once again sent out by Duke to film scenes with half-orcs for Isengard and Minas Morgul, while Zack Snyder went to Sydney for meetings with Warner Bros. Duke led the fellowship as they continued their journey in the Moria Mines on set.
A lot of models were also used in the shooting. The grand Moria Mines were not entirely dependent on post-production CGI; Weta Workshop built a large number of models and combined them with CGI for those magnificent panoramic shots.
As for the actors, aside from close-up shots with props and set pieces, most of the time they had to act against blue screens and empty space. The powerful Balrog that dragged Gandalf into the abyss was also shot using a combination of models and motion capture.
Filming in the Moria Mines lasted for half a month. After this part of the shooting wrapped up, Duke led the crew out of Wellington to prepare for location shooting.
The Fellowship was soon to fall apart, and the shooting of their scenes was spread out, so there was no need to have all nine actors together anymore.
With Ian McKellen finishing his journey as Magneto, the actors' schedules were now freer, and Duke adjusted the shooting plan, sending Andy Serkis to continue working on Gollum's characterization while the Fellowship set off on their outdoor journey