How Fellowship of the Ring Built a World Before It Hit Screens
Peter Jackson's Middle-earth was stitched, painted, and scored long before the first trailer broke the internet.
Arrow River, New Zealand — Mat Cross, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
Where to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ↓Designing plausibility over fantasy
The push for a lived-in Middle-earth started early. Peter Jackson directed storyboarding to begin in August 1997 and instructed design teams to approach the world with historical plausibility rather than pure fantasy aesthetics.
That direction found its visual voice a few months later. Alan Lee and John Howe, both experienced illustrators from Tolkien tie-in projects, became the trilogy's primary conceptual designers starting in November 1997.
Clothes, rivers and craft
Scale showed up in the wardrobe department. Costume designer Ngila Dickson and 40 seamstresses created 19,000 costumes, with 40 versions per actor and their doubles that were worn to create a naturally aged appearance.
New Zealand doubled for Middle-earth on location as well. The Arrow River in Otago region doubled as the Ford of Bruinen where Arwen confronts the Nazgûl.
An orchestra and a singer
The score was built from a wide ensemble. Howard Shore composed the film score with performances from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Voices, and the Maori Samoan Choir.
Songs arrived from outside the orchestra too. Enya composed and performed two original songs for the film, 'AnÃron' and the end title theme 'May It Be', and allowed her label Reprise Records to release all three films' soundtracks.
From trailer frenzy to DVD dominance
Hype arrived online first. A special trailer released in April 2000 was downloaded over 1.7 million times in its first 24 hours, breaking the record held by 'The Phantom Menace'.
The home release became a benchmark. The theatrical DVD release sold 14.5 million copies and held the record for best-selling DVD until 'Finding Nemo' surpassed it the following year. An extended edition released in November 2002 added 30 minutes of new material and special effects while including 20 minutes of fan-club credits for a total runtime of 228 minutes.
Theatres felt the momentum too. The film set a December opening record at the US box office with a $47.2 million opening weekend, surpassing 'Ocean's Eleven'.