The work was driven by Jackson's desire for realism, to give the effect of history rather than fantasy. Some of the miniatures, such as of the city of Minas Tirith, were very large and extremely detailed, becoming known as 'bigatures'. Weta Workshop created armour, weapons, prosthetics, creatures and miniatures. Extensive sets were built, including the village of Hobbiton. Storyboarding began in 1997 the Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee and John Howe worked as conceptual artists throughout the project, Lee mainly on architecture, Howe on characters such as Gandalf and the Balrog. The three films were shot simultaneously, entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand, from October 1999 until December 2000, with pick-up shots from 2001 to 2004. They were produced by New Line Cinema, assisted by WingNut Films the cinema versions appeared between 20, and the extended edition for home video in 2004. The series as realized consists of three epic fantasy adventure films based on J. Many earlier attempts had failed most that had reached the screen were animations, and many filmmakers and producers had considered how to achieve the task and then set it aside. The production of The Lord of the Rings film series under Peter Jackson's direction was an enormous challenge, starting in 1997 and ending in 2004.
