Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1480624
When the cast, in Kate's amazing costumes and armor, straddled the decks, when the wind machines started to blow, the gimbal to rock, and water to crash over the bow—while actual sailors as extras manned the sails, my childhood fantasies of sailing the seven seas of adventure sprang amazingly to life. And there is so much more in future episodes I can't talk about yet! There is no way I can acknowledge all of the people who helped this come to life, from the skills of embroiderers, to the craftsmanship of blacksmiths, to the medics that helped keep the crew safe and healthy. At its largest, the Art Department had about seventy-five people in it, but that does not count the dozens of others who cycled in and out over more than two years. Construction, at its peak, had over five hundred craftsmen, staff and laborers. There were hundreds of people working in set decoration and props, and more in the workshops of WETA and other vendors. And the weapons! Designing the weapons of Middle Earth was not even on my radar when I agreed to take on this project, but it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the job. Joe Dunkley and his team at WETA worked tirelessly, through multiple iterations of the weapons for each culture, striving to come up with pieces that were specific to each race and to each character. In the long run, they made over one thousand weapons (and twenty-five hundred arrows). These had to be not only striking, but practical and safe. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. And it wasn't exactly the response I expected when emailing a producer three years ago. I had known Lindsey Weber through several Bad Robot projects, and she was now producing what would become known as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. So, when a question arose to explore an Amazon Studios non-film- related project with my husband, I gave her a call. Turns out there wasn't a department for his type of work, but, what, she asked, was I doing…? ADG A. ELENDIL'S SHIP, DIGITAL CUT-AWAY MODEL BY KEVIN CROSS AND RON MENDELL. B. EXAMPLES OF ANDÛNAIC SCRIPT (HUMAN). GRAPHIC LAYOUT BY DANIEL REEVE AND JORDAN YOUNGBLOOD. C. & D. GUARDS' SHIELDS, AND GALADRIEL'S HEIRLOOM DAGGER (NOLDOR ELVES). ILLUSTRATIONS BY IONA BRINCH AND JEREMY HANNAH AND TAHIWI TRENOR-HUNT. E. THE GATES OF OSTIRITH. SET PHOTO. F. THE GREAT HALL, THE KINGDOM OF LINDON (ELVISH) ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERTO FERNÁNDEZ CASTRO. OVER A MODEL BY SHARI RATLIFF AND MARINA STOJANOVIC. A B