There are some big no-nos in the aural landscape of Middle-earth. The one thing to rule them all? Nothing synthetic. “Peter is pretty sensitive to things that sound sci-fi,” says Farmer. “Synth-based stuff doesn’t fly in Middle-earth. It’s a very gritty world.”

Sadly ironic quote regarding PJ's approach in there:

Quote

If only he took that approach with the visual side of things. "Grit" is nowhere in this trilogy. The visual equivalent of "synth", rather.

So we got no synth audio, all synth visual.

Thanks for the link. I wish there were long, in-depth videos of Shore at work with the orchestra, and his quiet moments composing, pencil in hand. I would pay big money for a documentary just on that aspect of it. For both trilogies. Just to see where he writes, practice sessions, sound testing, from zero notes to the amazing "Gandalf the White" theme.. that process for each of the thousand themes. There's not enough Shore footage :(

While I agree that the visuals have left some to be desired, I can definitely reconcile that with the understanding that this production has been marred with a lot of last-minuteness. There are flaws, many of which are subjective to each individual. I personally would have preferred miniatures and prosthetics. While PJ says this was a creative choice, I honestly am convinced that the switch to use so much CGI came out of necessity to accommodate the weight of the shooting schedule and the necessity to tweak a lot in post.

With all that said, I am definitely happy with the way the story has been handled much of it is great. There are bits I don't like, i.e. the over the top action, the unnecessary Morgul arrow, but overall this is about as good of an interpretation of the Hobbit as could be hoped for. There's a lot of expansion that's been done that's improved the story in cinematic sense.

But the interview went on, PJ said he wanted the freedom "to move his camera through a keyhole if he wanted to." Which the Tintin technology allows, thus why miniatures were dropped. Miniatures are also difficult in that they start shooting them very early on, and you're kinda locked into the shots you originally boarded. It's a toss up. I personally think the restraint and aesthetic value (they capture light better than any digital model can) of miniatures highly outweighs the ability to record a shot a month before the release date. The freedom to do anything isn't always a good thing.

EDIT: With that said, I do think the CGI models of the Woodland Realm and Erebor look fantastic. I think where CGI environments fail massively is in organic sets, like Mirkwood and the Barrel Sequence. The technology hasn't arrived at the point in which is can fully render a realistic forest full of foliage and texture. The shots in the Hobbit look good, and don't ruin the experience for me (not of the CGI could affect my enjoyment of the films), but a mix of miniatures and CGI would have gone much further in selling the locations and the world. It just put too much strain on the digital artists this go around.

They added a sense of realism. While I admire what Weta Digital have done, Laketown still has a unnatural sheen to it. The CGI riverbanks in the barrel sequence are atrocious compared to the miniature forests of Fangorn and Skull Island. PJ has become obsessed with that Tintin technology that has proven to be a curse more than a blessing. It's given him the ability to just add whatever he wants whenever he wants, even if it means rushing VFX shots. I miss the days when he was restrained by the practical tech. Instead we end up with half realized SFX like the Bombur barrel gag, which while funny, looks like a PS4 cut scene.

On any FINAL critique of DOS until we
get the FINAL version of
IT ...in November?

IT ...could be? that PJ izzzz still tweakin'
IT ...along w/ the BOT5A Theatrical Release.

Bomby
Believe thizz is SOooo...