The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles - Cloaks and Daggers (20.08.14 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

The ultimate celebration of the first two Hobbit movies reveals the culmination of the creative vision for the film through more than 500 previously unpublished photographs, plus exclusive interviews with the designers, cast and crew, written and designed by the team at Weta Workshop.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles – Cloaks and Daggers peers through the silver screen to examine the incredible efforts undertaken to create thousands of costumes, armour, weapons, props and set dressing elements for Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s adaptations of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

Covering both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, this lavish volume bulges with behind the scenes images, sumptuous photography and film stills. The films’ stars and the creative geniuses behind countless beautiful objets d’art share their insights and stories, revealing how it felt to craft, wield and wear these precious pieces of Middle-earth.

Researched and compiled by Weta Workshop senior concept designer Daniel Falconer, with a foreword by Evangeline Lilly, playing Tauriel the Woodland Elf, and an introduction by costume designer Ann Maskrey, this is the definitive guide to the artefacts and sumptuous fabrics of The Hobbit film adaptations.

Richly illustrated with behind-the-scenes photographs, digital renders, and film stills, this comprehensive book explores the costumes and props, including armour, weapons and jewelry, made for the first two films. Chapters will be broken down by type and character: Dwarves, Wizards, Hobbits, Rivendell Elves, Mirkwood Elves and more.

The book will lean heavily on beautiful studio and on-set photography of the finished pieces as well as film stills that provide context. Concept art, detail shots and imagery of materials samples and mock-ups will also be used to weave stories around the finished items. Behind the scenes processes will be showcased with supporting photographs of elements being created.

First-hand accounts from the actors, artists, digital effects specialists, and many other crew members describe the process and how the production unfolded, while also sharing insights into the characters. If you are into the Hobbit movies, this is the book to acquire. If you really are a collector you should of course buy the complete series! After reading the book, you'll probably watch the film again with new appreciation.

Weta Workshop

Weta Workshop is a multi-award winning conceptual design and physical manufacturing facility based out of Wellington, New Zealand, servicing the world's entertainment and wider creative industries. Weta Workshop is also a multi-disciplinary facility, with crew members expert in a diverse range of disciplines all housed under the one roof. These services include conceptual design and the manufacturing of weapons, armor and chainmail, specialist props, custom vehicles, specialty costumes, miniatures and models, special makeup and prosthetics, and public art installations or displays. The team at Weta enjoys engaging in projects holistically, from preliminary technical analysis and conceptual design through to manufacture across all departments and the final delivery of product and crew to set, anywhere in the world. Drawing on more than twenty years of filmmaking experience, five-time Oscar-winning design and special effects supervisor Richard Taylor is intimately involved in all projects from concept through to delivery. Best known for the company's design and effects work on award-winning film projects, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar, District 9, and The Adventures of Tintin, Weta Workshop is not limited to film and television, offering services to creative industries worldwide.

Other books in the Weta Chronicles series

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles – Creatures and Characters explores the amazing cast of heroes and villains, beasts and beings that populate Middle-earth in the first chapter of Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of The Hobbit.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles – Art & Design is packed with more than a thousand images of concept artwork, photographs and development paintings by the artists working behind the scenes to bring Middle-earth to life.

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Chronicles - Art & Design explores and celebrates the creative vision of the second film in Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien.

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