<P> Jackson began storyboarding the series with Christian Rivers in August 1997 and assigned his crew to begin designing Middle - earth at the same time . Jackson hired long - time collaborator Richard Taylor to lead Weta Workshop on five major design elements: armour, weapons, prosthetics / make - up, creatures, and miniatures . In November 1997, famed Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee and John Howe joined the project . Most of the imagery in the films is based on their various illustrations . Production designer Grant Major was charged with the task of converting Lee and Howe's designs into architecture, creating models of the sets, while Dan Hennah worked as art director, scouting locations and organising the building of sets . </P> <P> Jackson's vision of Middle - earth was described as being "Ray Harryhausen meets David Lean" by Randy Cook . Jackson wanted a gritty realism and historical regard for the fantasy, and attempted to make the world rational and believable . For example, the New Zealand Army helped build Hobbiton months before filming began so the plants could really grow . Creatures were designed to be biologically believable, such as the enormous wings of the fell beast to help it fly . In total, 48,000 pieces of armour, 500 bows, and 10,000 arrows were created by Weta Workshop . They also created many prosthetics, such as 1,800 pairs of Hobbit feet for the lead actors, as well as many ears, noses, and heads for the cast, and around 19,000 costumes were woven and aged . Every prop was specially designed by the Art Department, taking the different scales into account . </P> <P> Principal photography for all three films was conducted concurrently in many locations within New Zealand's conservation areas and national parks . Filming took place between 11 October 1999 and 22 December 2000, a period of 438 days . Pick - up shoots were conducted annually from 2001 to 2003 . The series was shot at over 150 different locations, with seven different units shooting, as well as soundstages around Wellington and Queenstown . Along with Jackson directing the whole production, other unit directors included John Mahaffie, Geoff Murphy, Fran Walsh, Barrie Osbourne, Rick Porras, and any other assistant director, producer, or writer available . Jackson monitored these units with live satellite feeds, and with the added pressure of constant script re-writes and the multiple units interpreting his envisioned result, he only got around four hours of sleep a night . Due to the remoteness of some of the locations, the crew would also bring survival kits in case helicopters could not reach the location to bring them home in time . The New Zealand Department of Conservation was criticised for approving the filming within national parks without adequate consideration of the adverse environmental effects and without public notification . The adverse effects of filming battle scenes in Tongariro National Park meant that the park later required restoration work . </P> <P> The following is a list of cast members who voiced or portrayed characters appearing in the extended version of The Lord of the Rings film series . </P>

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